What's behind the resignation of Georgian president?

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, November 26, 2003

What's behind the resignation of Georgian president?

After Eduard Shevardnadze resigned, the Republic of Georgia realized a bloodless alternation of regime. Opposition party supporters hailed in the streets of Tbilisi, celebrating the victory of the "velvet revolution".Deeply concerned about the situation of the Republic of Georgia, people will not easily forget Eduard Shevardnadze.

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After Eduard Shevardnadze resigned from presidency, the Republic of Georgia realized a bloodless alternation of regime. Opposition party supporters hailed in the streets of Tbilisi, celebrating the victory of the "velvet revolution". Meanwhile, their leader Nino Burdzhanadze claimed her responsibility as the acting president. On November 24, this woman politician aged only 39 years of age addressed to her national fellows, calling on the people to resume their normal lives and urging judicial institutions to rectify the order. After that, she chaired the meeting of the National Security Council and decided to launch the presidential and parliament elections as soon as possible.

Deeply concerned about the situation of the Republic of Georgia, people will not easily forget Eduard Shevardnadze. On the evening of November 23, after Shevardnadze announced his resignation in the Krtsanisi Governmental Residence in suburban Tbilisi, a stream of news about his future, contradictory to each other, came out. Burdzhanadze said that Shevardnadze has been exiled overseas, while the National Movement Party leader Mikhail Saakashvili said that he was still in Georgia. It was not until the evening of November 24, then came reliable news by saying that Shevardnadze has never left the Krtsanisi residential villa.

Although Shevardnadze did not go to Germany for asylum, the warm invitation from German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder left people a lot for imagination. "There are no eternal friends but only eternal interest." Obviously, Berlin is not giving deliberately a disproof of this old saying. So people have been talking much about the "kindness" and "consciousness of paying off the favor". But more people are recalling of the past brilliance of Shevardnadze. When he was in the tenure of the Foreign Minister of the Soviet Union during 1985 and 1990, his contribution to appeasing the cold war atmosphere and promoting the "unification of the two parts of Germany" have been proved by the history. If not for the collapse of the Soviet Union, this statesman then of over 60-year-old were not likely to go back to Georgia, let alone his over ten years' struggle in crises and deterioration.

Why was Shevardnadze, an experienced politician in Georgia for more than ten years, finally forced to give up his presidency? Former Soviet Union president Mikhail Gorbachev deemed his old subordinate saved Georgia with his "self-sacrifice" and prevented the split of the nation. However, most people think that Shevardnadze has reached a deadlock and, facing the reality of an utter isolation, he has no other way out.

Among the overwhelming analytical conclusions of the political life of Shevardnadze in these days, there are a lot of wonderful ones. However, so far as the reporter is concerned, some remarks made by Russian president Vladimir Putin in November 24 are especially worth of musing upon. This Russian leader thought that Georgia has made a series of mistakes these years in its internal politics, diplomacy and economic policies, thus the alteration of regime is an "inevitable result." Specifically, Shevardnadze failed to consolidate the democratic mechanism and the national foundation but blindly sought for "helpless dodgery" among the various factions of political powers. In addition, the national economy has been deteriorating to the "brink of collapse": people are living in a difficult plight and even see no "bright end of the tunnel," while corruption has corroded various aspects of the political and economic life. When talking about those diplomatic problems, Putin pointed out sharply that Shevardnadze did not take the "historical and cultural foundation" of the Georgian people into consideration but begged blindly for the "merciful benefaction" from "overseas", regardless of the reality of geopolitics.

However, according to experts on international issues, what behind this round of power scramble in the Republic of Georgia is more a contest in secret between Russia and the United States for their influence on this small country of strategic importance in the Caucasus Mountains. Over the recent years, the United States outdid Russia in its influence on the Republic of Georgia. The pro-US diplomacy of Georgia is mainly represented in its hope to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which won Georgia a great deal of aid from the United States. Particularly, after the "9.11" event in 2001, Georgia gave the United States support in the US military attacks in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Besides, sprawling along the inevitable course of oil and gas pipelines between the Caspian Sea to Turkey Mediterranean port, Georgia was naturally put on the chessboard of the energy contention among big powers. Although Shevardnadze has made his efforts to be close with Washington and has been occasionally in friction with Russia in the past year, Shevadnadze, due to his weakening position in the country, turned round to Russia. From this we can see that his resignation and the situation in Georgia will surely touch the nerves of several big powers.

"I want to go home, I have a lot to write��" These are the last remarks Shevadnadze made to the video camera after he announced his resignation. Now, has the deposed president really gone home? How is he going to write about his merits and lapse?

Article by Lu Yansong on the third page of the People's Daily, November 26, translated by PD Online staff Gao Lanrong.

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