GEORGIA: SAAKASHVILI OUTLINES NEXT STEPS ON REFORM

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TBILISI 001339 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/21/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL OVIP OTRA RS GG SUBJECT: GEORGIA: SAAKASHVILI OUTLINES NEXT STEPS ON REFORM REF: A. TBILISI 313 ¶B. TBILISI 276 Classified By: Ambassador John F. Tefft for Reasons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary and comment. In a nationally televised speech to Parliament July 20, President Saakashvili outlined his vision for next steps on reform and invited all elements of society to enter renewed dialogue. Key themes included the election code and local elections, constitutional and judicial reform, and media freedom. Although few of the basic ideas were new (reftels),Saakashvili offered more concrete proposals on actual implementation. The speech was followed by a four-hour parliamentary debate, to which the presient responded at 1:00 A.M., all carried live on TV. Some opposition figures focused their criticism on specific proposals; others called the event a publicity stunt in anticipation of Vice President Biden's July 22 visit. Saakashvili did refer to the Vice President in his speech, suggesting that Biden's address to parliament might be a way to draw the non-parliamentary opposition into the room. The speech moved Saakashvili's lofty reform goals closer to specific and measurable objectives, and with several deadlines set for the next few months, the country will be able to gauge the government's progress. The exchange also helped institutionalize the healthy precedent set in February (ref A) of open and respectful engagement between the president and all elements of the legislature. It is unlikely that the non-parliamentary opposition will accept the president's renewed invitation to engage, but if the government delivers on its commitments, the non-parliamentary opposition will likely move even further to the sidelines. End summary and comment. THE SPEECH ¶2. (C) In his 45-minute address to Parliament, attended by the Ambassador and representatives of the diplomatic corps, Saakashvili appeared confident, offered a well-crafted message with both style and substance, and received a respectful reception, punctuated on several occasions by applause. Noting several challenges that continue to face Georgia, he insisted that the only way forward was through reform, and explained his speech as an effort to move the discussion of reform from the conceptual to the concrete. He also called for increased dialogue among all elements of society, including all political entities as well as the Georgian people, to engage constructively on implementing these reform proposals and identifying additional areas for work. ¶3. (SBU) Saakashvili focused on five broad areas for reform in the next several months: elections; constitutional revisions; judicial independence; media; and national security cooperation. On elections, he proposed completing a revision of the Election Code by the end of 2009, to be followed by early local elections, including the direct election of the Tbilisi mayor, in May 2010. On the constitution, he suggested that the Constitutional Commission should energize its work and, in particular, propose changes that restrict the president's ability to dissolve parliament. He also proposed making it easier for Georgians from abroad to get involved in political life in Georgia. On judicial independence, he proposed increasing the penalties for those attempting to have improper contact with judges about ongoing cases, making such offenses criminal. He said this step Qcases, making such offenses criminal. He said this step should be taken by the end of September. On the media, he suggested that all stations be given the opportunity to broadcast by satellite, as Maestro is in the process of doing. He also proposed a nine-member board for public broadcasting consisting of four government representatives, four opposition representatives, and one civil society representative, a change he said would be adopted within 90 days. At the same time, he called on all media to be responsible in their broadcasts and to offer any dissenting views in a respectful manner. On national security cooperation, he announced that the government would invite opposition representatives to meetings of the National Security Council on a monthly basis. ¶4. (SBU) Saakashvili also proposed expanding the opportunity for political dialogue within the country. He repeated his call to Parliament to enable those individuals who were elected to the legislature but refused their seats to finally take those seats. He also suggested that even if those individuals still refused to enter Parliament, perhaps they would be willing to enter the room to hear Vice President Biden's speech this week. The president also announced that members of his government and his party would be traveling to TBILISI 00001339 002 OF 003 all regions of Georgia to engage in consultations with the people. Based on what they hear, the government will compile a list of the top five concerns of the people and publish it by the end of September. In response to a proposal made by a member of parliament to move the body to Kutaisi, Saakashvili proposed dividing the work of Parliament between Tbilisi and Kutaisi, holding committee meetings in the capital and plenary sessions in Kutaisi. THE RESPONSE ¶5. (SBU) For four hours after the speech, both majority and minority members of parliament engaged in a lively debate about Saakashvili's proposals and broader policies. To take several examples, Christian Democratic leader Giorgi Targamadze suggested that the speech was primarily a publicity stunt, timed to coincide with Vice President Biden's visit; his colleague Levan Vepkhvadze added that he had heard nothing new in the speech. Another CDM member, Magda Anikashvili, leveled a more specific criticism about the inadequate health care system. Several opposition members charged that the government had been overly aggressive in their response to the recent protests, with We Ourselves' Paata Davitaia, for example, calling for investigations into the May 6 and June 15 incidents involving demonstrators at police stations; Vepkhvadze voiced disapproval of the recently revised legal restrictions on political rallies. Criticizing Saakashvili's "counterproductive conflict resolution policy" and "reckless step" in August 2008, Movement for Fair Georgia's Peter Mamradze called for dialogue with Russia with no preconditions; other members rejected Mamradze's remarks, including UNM member Akaki Minashvili, who declared that dialogue with Russia would only be possible when Russia's occupying forces have left Abkhazia and South Ossetia. ¶6. (SBU) President Saakashvili concluded the session with a response to several of the points raised during the debate. In particular, he took exception to criticisms leveled at police conduct during the protests, saying that the police have played a key role in protecting Georgia and deserve the support of the parliamentarians. He also defended the rally-related legislation as designed to protect citizens. He expressed great pride in the debates themselves, characterizing them as evidence of Georgia's new political culture and contrasting his willingness to engage in such open discussions with someone like Putin. He praised the Parliament, saying Georgia has not had such a good legislature for years. Looking ahead to 2013, Saakashvili said his goal was to ensure not the continuation of his own power, but a smooth transition to the next administration; he also said he intended to transfer his power not to Georgia's enemy, but to the Georgian people. THE SIGNIFICANCE ¶7. (C) With a few exceptions, Saakashvili did not introduce any truly new ideas in his address. The task he set for himself, however -- and that he largely accomplished -- was to translate vague ideas about reform into concrete and measurable objectives with specific time frames. On election reform, for example, he repeated proposals he has made before, but he set dates of the end of 2009 for completing revisions and moved an earlier pledge of fall 2010 for local elections up to May 2010. On constitutional reform, he set before the already existing commission the specific task of Qbefore the already existing commission the specific task of limiting the president's ability to dissolve parliament. On judicial independence, he introduced the new idea of increasing the penalties for judicial interference by the end of September. On the media, he suggested expanded satellite access for channels and offered a very specific proposal on the makeup of the public broadcasting board -- and also set a time limit of 90 days for the latter step. Although he has proposed opposition involvement in national security discussions before, Saakashvili extended the specific invitation of involvement in monthly NSC meetings. Finally, even though his call for national dialogue is rather vague, he did set a deadline of the end of September for a summary of the dialogue's results. Not only do these commitments promise to keep Saakashvili accountable, but, if implemented, they could have a substantial impact on Georgia's overall progress on reform. ¶8. (C) While it is too early to gauge public reaction to Saakashvili's speech, his remarks are noteworthy for their specificity. Saakashvili has set a number of deadlines for himself, and it will be easy for all political figures and the public itself to determine if he and the government are following through on their commitments. Given their TBILISI 00001339 003 OF 003 continuing strident rhetoric, most of the non-parliamentary opposition is unlikely to respond positively to Saakashvili's renewed call for constructive engagement. If the ruling party is able to deliver on even some of these reform proposals, the already sidelined non-parliamentary opposition could lose even more of its already limited public support. Some, such as Irakli Alasania who are already moving toward dialogue, may decide that the time has come to make a final step away from confrontation to engagement. TEFFT