GEORGIA: PROTESTS - SAAKASHVILI MEETS WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TBILISI 000906

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/25/2018
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL GG
SUBJECT: GEORGIA: PROTESTS - SAAKASHVILI MEETS WITH
OPPOSITION

REF: TBILISI 899

Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOHN F. TEFFT. REASONS: 1.4 (B) AND (D).


1. (C) Summary: President Saakashvili met separately with
both the non-parliamentary and parliamentary opposition May

11. The non-parliamentary meeting reached no public
agreement other than a commitment by some in the
non-parliamentary opposition to continue to talk.
Nonetheless, privately the GoG offer to discuss reforms was
well received by a number of non-parliamentary leaders and
the meeting deemed a positive step forward by both Speaker
Bakradze and opposition leader Irakli Alasania. They both
provided similar readouts to the Ambassador of the meeting
with Saakashvili. During the meeting, the non-parliamentary
group expressed the hope that protesters and protests
organizers would not be punished for their actions.
Saakashvili countered that he was agreeable, would put the
guarantees in writing, and offered that both sides could use
the Patriarh's statements about reconciliation as cover.
Saakashvili's second meeting, with the parliamentary
opposition, resulted in an agreement in principle to begin
negotiations on constitutional reform; to continue working on
electoral reform and media reform; and to further cooperate
in reforming various state structures. Late in the afternoon
May 11, a crowd of about 7,000-10,000 gathered in front of
Parliament to hear non-parliamentary leaders address the
crowd. Protest leaders promised a more detailed announcement
of intentions on May 12, but several including Nino
Burjanadze, Salome Zourabichvili and Eke Beselia roundly
condemned the ongoing dialogue and vowed to escalate
protests, although they may have decided against escalation
in the short term. End Summary.


2. (C) Comment: The fact that retribution was a major
point of discussion for the non-parliamentary opposition is
as clear a sign as we have seen that the leaders of the
non-parliamentary opposition are working on an end game.
Saakashvili's offer to the non-parliamentary opposition was
well received by Alasania who indicated that others in the
non-parliamentary opposition felt similarly. Saakashvili's
proposal, as we understand it, could represent meaningful
positive democratic reform. At a minimum, various channels
are open with a growing momentum toward dialogue. Another
group, led by Nino Burjanadze is attempting to scuttle
dialogue at all costs. We will continue to encourage ongoing
discussions and are cautiously optimistic that the reforms
proposed by President Saakashvili can form a solid basis for
continuing political dialogue. End Comment.

Saakashvili Meets with Non-Parliamentary Opposition


3. (C) According to both Bakradze and Alasania, the meeting
was largely positive and constructive except for a few
hiccups. Separately, they each told the Ambassador that
virtually all issues were discussed, and Saakashvili was firm
that he would not resign under any circumstances.
Saakashvili laid out a number of areas in which he was
prepared to engage in negotiations. Saakashvili proposed the
following:

-- Establishing a Constitutional Commission with an
opposition member as its chairman which would work to
strengthen Parliament's power versus that of the Executive
branch;

-- Expanding opposition seats on the public broadcaster's
board; granting Maestro TV a satellite license; expanding
Public Channel 2 to provide C-Span-like political coverage;

-- Holding local elections on an early timetable in the
Q-- Holding local elections on an early timetable in the
Spring including the direct election of Tbilisi mayor;
electoral code reform (ongoing); the possibility of pre-term
Parliamentary elections;

-- Reforming the judiciary in which Saakashvili asked for
proposals on how to accomplish said reforms;

-- Opposition oversight of the MoIA including a Deputy
Minister position.


4. (C) In addition, at the request of the non-parliamentary
opposition, Saakashvili said he would support an amnesty and
provide written guarantees against retribution for those who
participated in the protests. Bakradze said protection for
protesters and organizers was the main issue for the
non-parliamentary side. Alasania did not disagree, but
indicated it was more of an issue for Levan Gachechiladze
whose brother Giorgi (pop singer "Utsnobi") led the brief
storming May 6 of a police station and, according to

TBILISI 00000906 002 OF 002


Alasania, probably deserved to be arrested. Alasania said
David Usupashvili (Alliance - Republicans) was working on a
response to be circulated among the non-parliamentary
opposition which, according to Alasania, would respond
positively to Saakashvili's proposals. Alasania did not
believe he would get widespread support from the radicals for
the response but hoped that Gachechiladze and some of the
others would come around. Alasania mentioned that a number
of the more radical factions, such as the National Forum,
were looking for a dignified way out. Saakashvili left the
door slightly ajar for pre-term parliamentary elections, but
cautioned that he would have to see how local elections
(scheduled for 2010) proceeded and would not allow discussion
of pre-term parliamentary elections to further polarize the
political climate.


5. (C) Bakradze told the Ambassador that he was surprised
at how much Saakashvili offered. He mentioned that Alasania,
Gachechiladze, and Shartava (National Forum) were engaged and
constructive. Bakradze singled out Salome Zourabichvili
(Georgia's Way) as extremely unconstructive and combative.
Apparently, she started the meeting with a long tirade
demanding Saakashvili's resignation. Alasania largely shared
Bakradze's assessment saying the choice of sending
Zourabichvili to the meeting was a contentious one among even
the non-parliamentary group. (Embassy Note: Alasania
countered that they had to endure a long Saakashvili
monologue about how wonderful the new MoIA building and new
buildings in Batumi were. End Note.) Both Bakradze and
Alasania were pleased with the meeting and committed to
further political dialogue. Alasania said that once his
response is circulated, he will go ahead with negotiations.
Noting that he had previously made a similar statement,
Alasania explained that he was sincere, but in the meantime
the non-parliamentary group started moving towards
negotiations on its own. Alasania said he made his decision
to let the process play out. However, now that the meeting
with the President had taken place, Alasania felt the time
was right to break and pursue negotiations on his own if need
be. For its part, Bakradze said the GoG would hold a
Diplomatic Corps briefing in the next day or so (now
scheduled for May 13),then wait a few days for a
non-parliamentary response. If no response wasforthcoming,
the GoG would start working on its proposals without them.

Two Camps Forming - Protests In a Holding Pattern


6. (C) Alasania explained that certain members of the
non-parliamentary opposition would never accept dialogue and
were hoping that confrontation would galvanize the public to
rise up and force Saakashvili to resign. The leader of the
group was Nino Burjanadze (Democratic Movement - United
Georgia) along with Zourabichvili and Eka Beselia (United
Georgia - Okruashvili's nominal party). According to him,
Gachechiladze understood that protests had failed and they
needed to get something tangible from them. Gachechiladze,
using opposition parliamentarian Paata Davitaia (We
Ourselves) as an intermediary, was speaking to Saakashvili's
team. Alasania said Gachechiladze may meet separately with
Saakashvili. In addition, Alasania said he was planning on
meeting Bakradze soon to discuss moving negotiations forward
and might meet separately with Saakashvili. Alasania
indicated that a number of non-parliamentary leaders were on
Qindicated that a number of non-parliamentary leaders were on
the fence, but starting to lean toward talks, realizing that
protests had not been successful. In the other camp,
Burjanadze was advocating the escalation of protests and no
dialogue.


7. (C) Alasania said that Burjanadze, Zourabichvili,
Beselia and others hoped that the GoG would forcibly remove
the cell cities blocking Rustaveli for the traditional May 26
(Georgian Independence Day) parade, thereby providing a spark
to oust Saakashvili. According to Bakradze and Alasania,
Saakashvili made clear that he had no intention of doing this
and that he would be happy to let the non-parliamentary
leaders take the blame for ruining a national holiday.
Alasania indicated that he was tired of protests and would
not support the blocking of major roads or ports of entry.
For the time being, a decision had been made by the
non-parliamentary opposition to maintain the status quo.
Alasania said that even National Forum members regretted
their statements calling for wider protests and were looking
for a way to backtrack from them. Apparently, Burjanadze was
holding their feet to the fire demanding that they back up
their statement. Among the group; however, Alasania said
that there was general understanding among the moderates that
expanding the protests would be counterproductive.
TEFFT