GEORGIA: NON-PARLIAMENTARY OPPOSITION VOWS TO MAKE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TBILISI 000769 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/22/2019 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL GG SUBJECT: GEORGIA: NON-PARLIAMENTARY OPPOSITION VOWS TO MAKE TBILISI A "CELL" CITY Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOHN F. TEFFT. REASONS: 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) Summary: As the non-parliamentary opposition promised, rallies resumed on Tuesday, April 22 with roughly 5,000 protesters staging in front of Parliament. Levan Gachechiladze vowed to make Tbilisi a "cell" city and the non-parliamentary opposition brought 50-60 fake jail cells and placed them in front of Parliament, the Mayor's office and the Tbilisi Courtyard Marriott, blocking traffic in Freedom Square. Non-parliamentary opposition leaders vowed to block other government buildings such as the State Chancellery and the Presidential Residence to disrupt government business and apply pressure to the government. Irakli Alasania (Alliance) stated the protests are starting to gain momentum and accused the GoG of ignoring society's demands for Saakashvili's resignation and all efforts by the non-parliamentary opposition to achieve compromise. Non-parliamentary opposition leaders intend to bus protesters in from the regions for the April 23 rally. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Comment: The non-parliamentary opposition's promised "new action plan" turned out to be yet another call for Saakashvili's resignation and an escalation by putting up more mock jail cells along Tbilisi's main thoroughfare Rustaveli Avenue, including a major traffic point in Freedom Square. The small change from last week was their announcement of their intention to block other government buildings with "cells". Delivering Utsnobi ("anonymous" - pop singer, reality TV star and the brother of Levan Gachechiladze) to the Parliament in a jail cell via a pickup truck-led procession can only be described as absurd for a group that portends to take the reigns of government because of President Saakashvili's erratic and unserious leadership. It appears the non-parliamentary opposition has determined it lacks the numbers of supporters to block streets and buildings so it has decided to use the cells to accomplish their intended escalation. For its part, the GoG, bolstered by ongoing focus group data, feels confident in its ability to let the non-parliamentary opposition continue its efforts, feeling that such bizarre antics need no official response and ultimately only undermine whatever public credibility the non-parliamentary opposition has left. End Comment. Saakashvili Must Resign and an Attempt at Absurdist Theater ¶3. (C) Despite attracting only about 5000 protesters, the non-parliamentary opposition did not back down on its sole call for Saakashvili's resignation. Levan Gachechiladze appeared to be the ringleader of the newly announced action plan to fill up Tbilisi with mock prison "cells". Non-parliamentary opposition leaders stated that massive numbers of protesters from the regions would join them on Wednesday, although they gave no explanation as to why such protesters did not join Tuesday's rally as previously promised. Irakli Alasania made the claim that the GoG had "totally ignored society's demands" and the GoG's only response to their offer for dialogue was violence. (Embassy Comment: Society's demand, according to polls and focus groups, has been for dialogue and not Saakashvili's resignation. Alasania's statement, that the GoG has not responded to the non-parliamentary opposition's call for dialogue, is completely at odds with reality. In post's view, the GoG's offers of dialogue have been refused at every Qview, the GoG's offers of dialogue have been refused at every turn by the non-parliamentary opposition. The non-parliamentary opposition's only known offer for dialogue was for Saakashvili to negotiate his own resignation. End Comment.) Protesters set up about 20 "cells" in Freedom Square in front of the Courtyard Marriott and mayor's office to block traffic. ¶4. (C) Levan Gachechiladze announced to the crowd at one point that the MOIA had illegally confiscated their cells and started to set off with a small group of protesters to "liberate" them. MOIA representatives had no idea as to what Gachechiladze was referring. Apparently Gachechiladze himself was confused returning to the stage briefly thereafter. Gachechiladze's brother Giorgi, better known as the singer Utsnobi who has spen the better part of the last few months in a "cell" demanding Saakashvili's resignation on a Tbilisi cable channel (and interviewing opposition figures from his "cell" on his Maestro TV reality show) was given a hero's welcome at the rally. He was brought in by pickup truck in his "cell" with a procession of about 200 protesters. In all, about 60 "cells" were delivered to Rustaveli avenue and Freedom Square with the promises of more. One press report said that the opposition planned to construct 5,500 more "cells." Non-parliamentary opposition leaders promised more information on their "new action plan" to be delivered at Wednesday's rally. GoG and MOIA representatives told Post that they have no plans to TBILISI 00000769 002 OF 002 intervene, making the apparent political calculation that the non-parliamentary opposition's actions are largely self-defeating. MOIA representatives expect the rallies to last a couple more days then die out. Targamadze Unloads On Non-Parliamentary Opposition - Not Fond of Saakashvili Either ¶5. (C) In a roundtable organized by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) to facilitate dialogue between the business community and opposition leaders, only Giorgi Targamadze (Christian Democratic Movement "CDM") and his advisors attended. (Embassy Note: ICC is headed by Fady Asly, a former AmCham head and long-time Lebanese resident of Tbilisi, who has been highly and openly critical of the non-parliamentary opposition's motives and the effect of the protests on Georgia's business climate. End Note.) Targamadze assessed that the intransigence of the non-parliamentary opposition will only make Saakashvili stronger and themselves weaker and he predicted that the ultimate losers will be the Georgian people. He lamented the lack of communication among the political elite and a lost sense of moderation on both sides. Targamadze got a notably positive response to his observation that "today's political elites are captains of radicalism". He sharply criticized the non-parliamentary opposition's extreme position of calling for Saakashvili's resignation in spite of little apparent public support but also noted that Saakashvili came to power as a radical. Targamadze noted that the non-parliamentary opposition has not called for other GoG resignations, only "Misha's," stating that the rallies have nothing to do with legitimate criticism of the functioning of the government, only personal political agendas and personal animosity towards Saakashvili. Targamadze noted the irony that a number of those "crying" for democratic reform had no problem doing business with Shevardnadze. ¶6. (C) Targamadze drew a distinction between the CDM and the non-parliamentary opposition saying that the CDM was interested in pursuing sustainable pragmatic policies and reforming institutions. Targamadze said that his party sees Saakashvili's record as mixed with positive and negative aspects whereas the non-parliamentary opposition viewed Saakashvili's record as wholly negative. In Targamadze's view, the major mistake of the non-parliamentary opposition was their singular demand for Saakashvili to resign and to continue to protest until their ultimatum was fulfilled. Targamadze said that after April 9, the non-parliamentary opposition could have pocketed huge democratic gains in media, local elections and election code (which Targamadze described as better than many in Europe),the judiciary, and many other areas. Targamadze said history shows that time and time again, the non-parliamentary opposition refused to compromise on any issue. (Embassy Note: Targamadze noted that Giorgi Gachechiladze (Utsnobi) was offered the Public Broadcaster Directorship in 2008 which he refused. End Note.) Targamadze said that real democratic leaders need to step forward from the non-parliamentary opposition but noted that they will be branded as traitors and sell-outs much like he was/is. He indicated that a real leader understands that democracy is hard work and not simply organizing protests and leveling criticism. Targamadze's presentation was well-received by the business community representatives. Qwell-received by the business community representatives. TEFFT