Georgia As I Saw It

2003 SOME PERSONAL VIEWPOINTS

Georgia as I saw it

Andrei Valentinov Attaché, Political Department

As the OSCE co-ordinator at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I have collected and analysed information on Georgia from the OSCE point of view.

One of the oldest (since 1992) and largest OSCE missions operates in Georgia, which also includes the OSCE Border Monitoring Mission (its number of members changes fre- quently). In 2003, two Estonian representatives worked in the OSCE Border Monitoring Mission. The work of the OSCE Border Monitors is dangerous, because the monitoring occurs in the mountains where in the winter two meters of snow is the norm and where the changing weather in the spring and in the fall renders the use of monitoring tech- nology to a minimum. These missions also carry large risks since the monitors are not armed and the behaviour of the people illegally crossing the Georgia-Russia border, many of whom are smugglers, is unpredictable. Hidden in the neighbouring Chechnya’s and Georgia’s own frozen conflicts lie many hazards. Border Monitors remarked that unmarked airplanes flew into Georgian airspace with regularity. Many such reports were made every day.

Before the OSCE Ministers Meeting, the issue regarding Russian military bases in Georgia became a burning question. According to the Istanbul Agreement made in 1999, Russia was to immediately liquidate its Soviet period bases that belonged to the so- called Transcaucasia Military Region. Russia made two different types of commitments in Istanbul. One commitment is the complete removal of Russian military bases, those being the Vazian and Gudauta bases. The other, which is more complicated, is linked to the Batumi navy base and the Alhalkhalak base located on the Turkish border. In Istanbul, it was agreed that the Russians and the Georgians would agree independently on the temporary use of these bases. Negotiations have lasted for years, but an agreement has not been reached and the Russian bases have no de jure status.

The liquidation of the Gudauta military base was supposed to be completed by July 1st, 2002. Moscow announced the closing of the 50th Military Base located in Gudauta, Transcaucasia. However, Georgian officials are sceptical and they have requested the closing to be monitored internationally.

The OSCE mission also sent regular reports about South Ossetia, which is one of the three autonomous republics in Georgia. This is a long-term conflict, which remained unsolved in 2003.

In November, Georgian parliamentary elections were held, which resulted in the November Revolution, also known as the Revolution of Roses. Before the November 2nd elections, electronic voter lists were completed with the help of USAID and other donors, which had to be qualified by the Georgian Ministry of the Interior. Concerned Georgian state institutions and ministries distorted the voter lists by adding the names of deceased people and thus artificially expanded the voter lists in certain administra-

63 2003 ESTONIAN MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS YEARBOOK

tive divisions, in some cases by up to ten times. These facts have been proved and Georgia’s public prosecutor has started an inquiry. OSCE member nations sent short term and long term observers to monitor the elections. One observer, MP Andres Herkel, represented Estonia. The international observers witnessed election procedural viola- tions in all polling stations. Some regions used the electronic voters lists and others used the 2001 Presidential election lists creating even more disorder. The falsification of elections results came as no surprise, because the same situation occurred in neighbouring Armenia and Azerbaijan. However, no one was expecting such consolidation and organ- isation from the previously divided opposition. The opposition organised a permanent rally outside the parliament building, whose peaceful nature prevented the use of force. Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze initially ignored the opposition even after the rally had lasted weeks and had grown even more massive. Shevardnadze and his confi- dants’ nerve gave up and on November 21st Chairman of the Georgian National Security Council Tedo Djaparidze made a statement admitting to the falsification of the election results. The following day, opposition leader Mikhail Saakashvilli and his partners entered the parliament building holding roses and stopped the President’s speech. Georgian President Shevardnadze, who had survived a civil war, many assassination attempts and various crises, resigned. No one, especially the leaders of the Revolution of Roses, could have foreseen the resignation. The post elections crisis ended peacefully with the Revolution of Roses. At the OSCE Council of Ministers meeting in Maastricht, the acting President of Georgia Nino Burdjanadze participated as the guest of honour. Burdjanadze called the events “a truly democratic November Revolution”, which is an affirmation of the desire of the Georgian people to live as a democratic nation. In the evening of December 1st, Estonian Foreign Minister Kristiina Ojuland met with the acting President of Georgia Nino Burdjanadze in the framework of the 11th OSCE Council of Ministers. Foreign Minister Ojuland affirmed Estonia’s political support of Georgia on its way to democracy. Estonia is prepared to offer Georgia, technical and expert assis- tance along with allowing access for Georgian civil servants to information about Estonia’s reform and EU/NATO accession experiences.

The first democratic test for the leaders of the Revolution of Roses was the early Presidential elections held on January 4th 2004.

In spite of the inadequate election campaign, voter participation was the highest in Georgia’s contemporary history. The participation of international and local observers was also larger than ever before (450 OSCE/ODIHR short-term observers from 38 countries and 24 long-term observers from 18 countries (10 from the region), 150 UN observers and over 3 000 local observers).

Estonia’s representation at January 4th presidential elections was the largest ever: OSCE PA Observer Peeter Tulviste, ENPA Observer Andres Herkel and three experts, Mihkel Pilving, Director of the Elections Department of the Chancellery of the Riigikogu, Jüri Heinla, Member of the Estonian National Electoral Committee and Taavi Torgo, Former Secretary of the Estonian National Electoral Committee. Observers with the OSCE ODIHR mission were Eve Vungo (Ministry of Defence), Merje Stanciene (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Ahti Raidal and Andrei Valentinov (Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

In Tbilisi, all of the observers were split into groups for 10 regions. My colleague Merje Stanciene and I were sent to Ajaria. Another colleague from the Foreign Ministry was an observer close to Abkhasia, where the majority of the population did not participate in the elections. The OSCE ODIHR mission paired up all observers. One observer of each pair had to have had previous monitoring experience. My partner was an American who

64 2003 SOME PERSONAL VIEWPOINTS

had observed the November elections. On January 2nd, we drove out to Ajaria. Even though the travel distance seemed relatively short (approx. 280 km), the trip lasted seven hours. Many of the observers were reading up on Ajaria, but a growing pressure was felt. During Shevardnadze’s presidency, Ajaria did not pay taxes to the state coffers; Ajaria ran its own independent social, economic and foreign economic policy. Following Shevardnadze’s retirement the separatist mood grew in Georgia. Ajaria’s autonomous leader declared a state of emergency and shelters were built on the administrative border for the de facto border control. The leaders of the Revolution of Roses were able with the help of US Ambassador Richard Milles to arrive at a compromise with Aslan Abashidze, the President of the Ajaria Autonomous Republic, who four days prior to the elections gave permission for elections to be carried out in this region.

No one knew whether the OSCE bus would be allowed into the autonomous territory. Since, I was one of the few Russian-speaking observers, the trip leader asked me to assist in dealing with the Ajarian “border” guards. The discussion was short and we were allowed to continue on our way. A translator, a car and driver awaited each pair of observers in Batumi. The long-term observers distributed hand drawn maps/schemes of the area, which we had to observe. Only on the way to our destination did I realise that we were to observe the elections high up in the mountains. The day before the elections, we had to visit the polling stations and monitor their preparations for the Election Day. We began our trip early in the morning and the car travelled along a serpentine road into the mountains. From the side windows of the Russian all-terrain vehicle Niva, we could see a several hundred meter drop to the bottom of a valley where a beautiful river was running. The car moved slowly, but at a constant speed. At one point, the driver acceler- ated unexpectedly. Looking to the back of the ATV, we could see large boulders falling. A small boulder hit the hood of the ATV. Fifteen minutes later after having travelled ever higher, the road was covered with ice. My partner asked the driver with the help of the translator, whether he was sure that it was worth continuing. The answer was laconic: “I would like my four children to still have a father.” Before the next curve, I noticed black marble tablets with photographs attached to them. I asked the translator, “What are they for?” The translator’s face went pale and he answered that according to Georgian tradition marble tablets are placed as memorials where people have perished after driv- ing into the gorge. I counted at least a dozen tablets.

It took close to an hour and a half to get to the first polling station. At the station, we were assured that that the roads would get better and they suggested that we enjoy the Georgian hospitality. We asked the locals if they could show us the way to the other polling stations on our map. The locals marked several locations on our map and added that we would arrive at some polling stations only in our dreams. In twelve hours on polling day, we were able to visit only five polling stations. In spite of some minor viola- tions, overall the elections met international standards.

No one questioned the results of the early Presidential elections, because the people had voted for the new, less corrupted power and in the name of a better life. According to the results given by Georgia’s Central Elections Commission, Saakashvilli won 96.25 per cent of votes in becoming the world’s youngest head of state.