Georgia: Ex-PM goes "radical" to promote president Saakashvili's departure

Molly Corso: 3/05/09

As Georgia's opposition warms up for spring protests, a former prime minister's corruption accusations against President Mikheil Saakashvili signal that a period of post-war political calm in Tbilisi is drawing to a close. The accusations – to date, unsubstantiated – reflect the soap-opera-like nature of the infighting among Georgia's political elite.

In a February 28 television interview, former Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli, previously known for his moderate criticism of the government, charged that Saakashvili and his "close circle" used funds that had been filched from the military procurement process to gain control of Imedi Television, one of Georgia's three national broadcasters. Noghaideli named Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili as among that "circle," but did not elaborate.

The United Arab Emirates-based sovereign fund Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority (RAKIA) purchased a 90 percent stake in Imedi on February 25 through its Georgia holding, RAK Georgia. Noghaideli alleges that Saakashvili and Merabishvili are acting as RAKIA's shadow partners in the deal.

Neither the president's office nor the Ministry of Interior Affairs responded to requests for comment.

Giorgi Isakadze, the newly named chief executive officer of Georgia Media Production Company, the limited liability company that represents both RAK Georgia and minority partner Joseph Kay, have denied any government connection with his company or RAK Georgia's purchase.

"I think that RAK Georgia Holding and all the investments coming from RAK are very well known to Mr. Noghaideli since he was prime minister and minister of finance from the start of their investment in this country," Isakadze said. He expressed confusion as to why "personalities" like Noghaideli are trying to score political points off RAKIA.

Noghaideli, who now heads the opposition movement For a Just Georgia, could not be reached to elaborate on his charge. The accusation echoes longtime opposition charges that millions of dollars were diverted from Georgia's military budget under ex-Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili, now an opposition leader in exile.

But in an interview with EurasiaNet, Petre Mamradze, a co-founder of Noghaideli's opposition movement, stated that the accusations largely hinge on a government letter written to an Arab company that was interested in taking part in a 2007-2008 tender for a free economic zone in the port of Poti.

Mamradze stated that the letter indicates RAKIA as the tender's winner even though the tender had not officially ended. The ex-prime minister received the letter via email from "friends" in the government, he said.

The proof, however, is far from conclusive. The email shown to EurasiaNet contains no time stamp, no signature and no physical indication that it originated from a government office.

In the English-language version of the letter, the writer states that "a competitor" of the Arab company has been chosen as the tender's "preferred bidder." The Georgian version states that the competitor has been named as the "winner."

Mamradze, who was head of the State Chancellery during the Poti tender process, asserted that the letter was written after Noghaideli's departure from office in November 2007. Mamradze alleged that Saakashvili told Noghaideli that RAKIA was better for Georgia than other companies because "it would not leave Georgia" in the case of war, or other serious incident. The president's office did not respond to the claim.

Aside from the Poti free economic zone, RAKIA also holds a Tbilisi amusement park and is overseeing development of a luxury shopping mall-residential complex in the Tbilisi suburbs. Despite several attempts by telephone and email, EurasiaNet was unable to reach RAK Georgia or RAKIA for response to Noghaideli's remarks.

A similar lack of physical documentation appears to mark the claim about Saakashvili's alleged involvement in RAKIA's Imedi purchase.

Once a pro-opposition station, Imedi has been controlled by Joseph Kay, a distant relative of Imedi founder Badri Patarkatsishvili, since early 2008. Kay, whose ownership stake the Patarkatsishvili family disputes, announced on February 25 that he could no longer afford to maintain his interest in the station.

Mamradze claims that Saakashvili fears Imedi could be used again to build support for the opposition. In the wake of the disastrous 2008 war with Russia, the president has been under increasing pressure from former allies and Georgia's fractured opposition to resign.

The lack of "signed documents" to substantiate the allegations does not concern Mamradze. "[Y]ou know, it is like two plus two equals four for me," he said. "It is clear that Saakashvili would never allow anybody to buy Imedi shares, if he were not sure [he would control it]."

Some political analysts, however, see a tactical reason for Noghaideli's claims – whether substantiated or not. With the recent reincarnation of other ex-Saakashvili allies as opposition leaders, Noghaideli's scandalous statements are a way to make sure the public will "remember him," noted Tbilisi State University political scientist Malkhaz Matsaberidze.

Noghaideli is joined in the opposition's so-called "radical" wing by two other well-known recent converts: Irakli Alasania, Georgia's former United Nations ambassador, and Nino Burjanadze, the Rose Revolution leader and former parliamentary chairperson.

Five days before Noghaideli's interview, Alasania issued a demand that Saakashvili call for a referendum on whether or not new presidential elections should be held. The 35-year-old former security official now heads a coalition between two moderate opposition parties, the Republican Party and the New Rights Party.

Meanwhile, Burjanadze, who disagrees with the referendum approach, has vowed to take to the streets on April 9 with a wide-ranging assortment of opposition parties to call for Saakashvili's resignation. Among those joining the march is the party of another ex-government official, former foreign minister Salome Zourabichvili's Georgia's Way.

To make his own mark, the ex-premier must hype Saakashvili's flaws in order to separate himself from a crowded pack of opposition figures, suggested Archil Gegeshidze, a senior fellow at the Georgian Institute for Strategic and International Studies.

In last week's interview, Noghaideli seemed to embrace that strategy, lambasting Saakashvili a "traitor" and a "coward." Previously wary of public protests, he also announced that his movement would start demonstrations in the Black Sea region of Ajara on March 10 and, possibly, participate in the April 9 opposition rallies.

Going radical holds potential traps for Noghaideli, said political scientist Matsaberidze, if voters wonder about his role in alleged scandals during his own 2005-2007 premiership.

The "what next?" question also poses a risk, Matsaberidze continued. "Saakashvili will go, but what will happen then? Part of the public is concerned about that," he said.

For Noghaideli, though, the way ahead is clear. "The downfall of this regime will begin from Ajara," he declared on the pro-opposition TV channel Kavkasia on February 28. "The existing reality makes me a radical."

Editor's Note: Molly Corso is a freelance reporter based in Tbilisi.