CODEL SCHWARTZ (HDAC) VISITS GEORGIA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TBILISI 000091

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

H FOR CODEL SCHWARTZ, DEPT FOR EUR/CARC

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KDEM GG
SUBJECT: CODEL SCHWARTZ (HDAC) VISITS GEORGIA

REF: A) 08 TBILISI 0346

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1. (U) Summary and Comment: In support of its ongoing partnership
with Georgia's Parliament on democratic and institutional reform
(reftel),CODEL Schwartz and the House Democracy Assistance
Commission (HDAC) visited the Republic of Georgia from December
17-19, 2008. CODEL Schwartz met with Parliamentary Speaker David
Bakradze and multiple Parliamentary Committees, the Ministers of
Foreign Affairs and Finance, and President Saakashvili. Wide
ranging meetings covered Georgia's security, economic recovery
efforts, IDP situation, domestic political events, and European
cooperation. CODEL Schwartz also visited the town of Gori, a focal
point of Russia's August invasion, where they were updated on events
in the area by the governor and the EU Monitoring Mission (EUMM)
field office commander. The overarching theme of the visit was that
Georgia's security needs to be assured and the GOG must continue to
implement democratic and good governance reforms. Pursuing further
democratic and economic reforms will provide for continuing economic
growth and enhanced security. Georgian officials expressed thanks
for USG assistance and hope for continued cooperation with HDAC.
End Summary and Comment.

HDAC RETURNS TO GEORGIA


2. (U) The House Democracy Assistance Commission (HDAC) --
represented by HDAC Chair Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-PA),Rep. David
Dreier (R-CA),Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA),Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ),
and Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA) -- returned to Georgia on December 17,

2008. (Note: HDAC's last visit took place in February 2008 (reftel)
End note). HDAC continues to help the Georgian Parliament become
institutionally stronger and become a more independent branch of the
Georgian Government. In conjunction with the CODEL, two
staff-to-staff meetings were held between Parliamentary and HDAC
staffers. Prior to meetings with Georgian officials, the Embassy
Country Team and USAID Democracy and Governance office briefed the
CODEL on current events. During their visit, HDAC presented a new
server and computer equipment to Parliament (worth 60,000 USD),to
improve Parliament's computer network and information processing
capabilities.

PARLIAMENT'S INVESTIGATORY COMMISSION


3. (SBU) CODEL Schwartz spent December 18 in Parliament meeting with
individual members and committees. Parliament's Ad-hoc Committee to
Investigate the August Events, including Chairman Paata Davitaia,
briefed the CODEL on the Committee's findings. Davitaia explained
that he and others had used Congress' 9/11 Commission as an example
when formulating the Committee and its makeup. They noted the
committee questioned 22 senior Georgian Government officials,
including President Saakashvili. Davitaia focused on the
committee's finding that the GOG needs to make institutional changes
to create a more systematic approach for both dealing with the
Russians and their role in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Davitaia,
himself an opposition MP, explained how unprecedented such a
committee was in the countries of the post-Soviet space. The CODEL
agreed and commended the committee for their professionalism and
work.

PARLIAMENT'S FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE


4. (SBU) A smaller group which included Reps. Payne, Dreier, and
Schiff met with the Foreign Affairs Committee. The Georgian MPs
explained that Georgia's success as a small, increasingly democratic
state threatens Russia by demonstrating a viable alternative to its
autocratic government. They explained their goal of further
integrating Georgia into the west, specifically into the EU and
Qintegrating Georgia into the west, specifically into the EU and
NATO. The members acknowledged that further reforms are needed to
achieve these goals, namely in the judicial system. They explained
their desire to use assistance money strategically for
infrastructure projects, notably a southern route for vehicle
traffic from Batumi to Tbilisi which would strengthen Georgian
security and provide closer commercial links with Armenia.

PARLIAMENT'S DEFENSE AND SECURITY COMMITTEE


5. (SBU) Concurrently, Reps. Schwartz and Shuster met with the
Defense and Security Committee, chaired by MP Givi Targamadze.
Schwartz said the CODEL was in Georgia not just to ask questions,
but to "work together and create a dialogue." Both Representatives
wanted to know how the Parliamentary Committee would use the
information from the Investigative Committee to strengthen Georgia's
defense and improve its security. Targamadze replied that the
Government does not have much time and must quickly address these
issues. He said that Georgia's strategic documents are being
rewritten to account for the experiences of August, and that
ineffective personnel had been dismissed from the Ministry of
Defense, including the Chief Officer of Defense (CHOD),and former
Defense Minister Kezerashvili himself. MP Akaki Minashvili (now the
new Chairman of Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee) added that a

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"Trust Group" of five MPs exists, which has access to all MOD
documents and information. Targamadze said Georgia needs to develop
its Officer Corps and purchase new equipment to assure Georgia's
defense, but that both require funding. Unless Georgia's security
needs are met, he said that "it is impossible for Georgia's economy
to develop."

THE ANTI-CRISIS COUNCIL...


6. (SBU) The CODEL next met with the Anti-Crisis Council (ACC). The
ACC was established in the aftermath of the August invasion. The
Council consists of MPs and several non-Parliamentary opposition
figures. Chaired by opposition MP Gia Tortladze, the Council
briefed the CODEL on its recent initiatives, including increasing
political programming and media freedom, an reforming the election
code. Tortladze said the opposition's overarching goal is to
restore checks and balances in the government, as well as the rule
of law.

...AND THE OPPOSITION


7. (SBU) CODEL Schwartz followed the ACC by meeting the larger
Parliamentary opposition. Leader of the Christian-Democratic
Movement faction, Giorgi Targamadze (no relation to Givi),echoed
Tortladze's goals. Furthermore, he said the country needs stronger
regional political parties, and not new elections. Elections now,
without substantial reform of the election code, would produce the
same results. Davitaia, also leader of the Powerful Georgia
faction, noted that the opposition in Parliament is cooperating on
multiple initiatives, and not just via the ACC (which includes
majority members). Davitaia said the opposition will soon introduce
bills on tax breaks for IDPs, improving the criminal code, and
restoring political party financing. The opposition members agreed
that they have much work remaining. One example is Parliament's
Chamber of Control (similar to the GAO),which they said must be
made independent from executive branch influence. Vice Speaker
Levan Vepkhvadze concluded that Georgia is far from a perfect
democracy, but it is not a classic authoritarian state. Most of the
opposition MPs agreed that they had joined Parliament to improve
Georgian democracy constitutionally. They are encouraged by the
constructive engagement they have experienced in Parliament, and
duly credited Speaker Bakradze for this engagement.

SPEAKER BAKRADZE AND VICE SPEAKERS


8. (SBU) Speaker Bakradze and five Vice Speakers met with the full
CODEL. Bakradze gave the group an overview of his assessment of the
current situation in Abkhazia and South Ossetia saying that Russia
is trying to use its diplomatic levers to legitimize its recognition
of both breakaway regions. Bakradze stressed the importance of
allowing access for international observers in the breakaway regions
as the only way to reduce tension. Bakradze expressed his desire to
have more working level committee-to-committee parliamentary
exchanges with HDAC. The Speaker outlined his commitment to
pursuing further democratic reforms and creating an inclusive
political environment. He praised the work of the Ad-hoc
Investigatory Committee, noting that it has set a new democratic
precedent that will be hard to change. Bakradze told the group
about plans to launch a new political channel (similar to C-SPAN) in
Georgia in the near future. .

GORI: SECURITY SITUATION STILL TENSE


9. (SBU) On December 19, the CODEL traveled to Gori, which lies 60km
west of Tbilisi and just 15km south of South Ossetia. Gori was
bombed by Russian planes and missiles during the August invasion,
and was invaded and temporarily held by Russian and South Ossetian
Qand was invaded and temporarily held by Russian and South Ossetian
forces. The CODEL met with the commander of the field office of the
European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM). The commander said that
the situation is mostly calm in his sector, although he detailed
numerous shooting incidents and attacks over the previous two
months. He lamented that the EUMM still does not have access into
South Ossetia, nor cooperation from South Ossetian or Russian
military officials.


10. (SBU) The CODEL then met Lado Vardzelashvili, Governor of Shida
Kartli region and lead government official in recovery and IDP
assistance efforts. Vardzelashvili recounted the August invasion
for the CODEL, and his efforts to evacuate the city and surrounding
villages. He regretted that the government was not fully prepared
for the conflict, but was grateful that the Parliament's Ad-Hoc
Investigatory Committee allowed the public to judge the government's
actions for themselves. Now, Vardzelashvili said improving the
security situation is the number one problem facing his region and
constituents. Meanwhile, he continues to work on providing
humanitarian assistance to IDPs. After leaving Gori, the CODEL met
with several English teachers, themselves IDPs from the recent war.
The CODEL then visited one of the 5,000-plus homes the Government
has built for the war's IDP families.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS


11. (SBU) The CODEL met Foreign Minister Vashadze on December 19.
Vashadze hailed the Ad-hoc Investigatory Committee as a watershed
moment and that the MFA was looking to implement some of its
recommendations, namely having better coordination between Georgian
embassies abroad to be able to present more cohesive diplomatic
responses in times of crisis. Vashadze warned that Russia would
block any attempts for monitoring missions to enter Abkhazia and
South Ossetia in the near future. Vashadze opined that Russia's
position was ultimately untenable as it needs western capital,
expertise, and its own wave of democratic reforms if it wants to
secure its own economic prosperity.

MINISTRY OF FINANCE


12. (SBU) First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Nick
Gilauri gave the CODEL an overview of the economic situation in
Georgia before and after the conflict. Gilauri stressed that the
GOG's priority is to ensure the care of the most vulnerable section
of its population. As such, he detailed the GOG's plan to increase
social spending and dramatically decrease defense spending. He
indicated his desire to move forward on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
with the United States, which resulted in a lively discussion on all
sides about the possibility of such an accord. Concluding the
meeting, all sides agreed to continue discussions on a Georgia-U.S.
FTA.

PRESIDENT SAAKASHVILI


13. (SBU) In their final meeting, CODEL Schwartz met with President
Saakashvili over dinner. The discussion focused on the economy,
democratic reforms, parliamentary development, and the August
conflict. Saakashvili stressed that, while Georgia has not faced a
banking collapse like some of its neighbors, the economic situation
is difficult. Congressman Dreier mentioned his interest in
advocating for an FTA. Saakashvili thanked him, and stressed the
importance of such an agreement for the Georgian economy, as well as
for the message it would send to the larger region. Saakashvili
noted that he is moving ahead on democratic reforms, which is
something the Russians can't understand or counter. The CODEL
congratulated him on the recent investigatory commission as
unprecedented in the FSU. Regarding the opposition, Saakasvili
pointed out that those who chose to take their seats in parliament
are gaining in popularity, while those who refused their mandates
have seen their poll numbers plummet. Saakashvili shared his belief
that only President Bush's speech in the Rose Garden stopped the
Russian invasion. He added that the Russians' current strategy is
to keep Georgia off balance by creating instability in and around
the separatist regions. In a move that was pure Saakashvili, the
president had the restaurant bring a television set to the table to
illustrate to the CODEL that press freedom is alive and well in
Georgia.


14. (U) Representative Schwartz has cleared this cable.

TEFFT