Georgian President in trouble?
http://www.huanqiu.com 来源：新华网 进入论坛 2007-11-15 14:46
BEIJING, Nov. 14 (Xinhuanet) -- Mikheil Saakashvili has been Georgian president for nearly four years, resisting the Russian and opponents within his own country, but now he is facing mounting pressure to call early elections -- or resign. Often described as a U.S. ally, will President Saakashvili keep his job?
"I think Saakashvili has already lost his chance.... No one wants this government; everyone wants a new one," Georgy Khaindrava, a former minister in Saakashvili's government, was quoted as saying.
On Nov. 12, Georgia's Prime News Agency described the situation in this way:
"At first opposition leaders voiced four demands at the protest rally -- to hold parliamentary and presidential elections within constitutional frames (spring 2008), completing of the Central Election Commission on principle of parity, release of political prisoners and distribution of mandates according to votes, received by each candidate in majority constituencies. Lately they added the fifth one -- the resignation of Mikheil Saakashvili, President of Georgia."
Ian Bremmer, the leading American expert on CIS affairs and President of influential Eurasia Group consulting firm, however, said: " The U.S., although obviously frustrated with recent events in Georgia and the government's moves, still strongly supports the Georgian government and Saakashvili. "
Russian Attitude
On Nov. 9, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov took a stand at a briefing in Moscow.
"We are not interfering in the internal affairs of Georgia or telling Georgian politicians what they should be doing or when. These are not our methods," he said.
But he added, "I hope that people will have a chance to express their will for the sake of their future."
Saakashvili said earlier in a televised address to the nation that "several employees of the Russian embassy were engaged in subversive activities and espionage in Georgia. These employees of the Russian embassy will leave Georgia within days."
He accused the Russian secret services of subversive actions against Georgia. "We have proof and we will make it public. We have recalled our ambassador (to Russia) and it's not a theatrical gesture,"
Bremmer suggested the Georgian government has been making efforts to discredit the opposition by accusing it of being aligned with Russia.
He said: "In fact, the opposition parties have already launched a diplomatic offensive in the West, proclaiming in a joint manifesto that their political goals include improving relations with the EU and joining NATO. The opposition leaders have been just as anti-Russia in their stated foreign policy goals as Saakashvili himself. "
The Issue
In 2003, Eduard Shevardnadze, former Foreign Minister of Russia and President of Georgia was ousted from power in Georgian historic "Rose Revolution."
Considered one of the architects of "Russia's liberalization," Shevardnadze was born in the Transcaucasus region of the former Soviet Union. Praised by forces that swept him to power in the newly-independent Georgia in 1995, many of the same forces swept him from power in "Rose Revolution."
Educated in the George Washington University, Mikheil Saakashvili was one of the leaders of the "Rose Revolution" and was elected as Georgian President in 2004. Saakashvili wants his country to become a member of the NATO alliance.
United States President George W. Bush has hosted President Saakashvili at the White House and visited him in Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, an occasion marked by a widely-publicized security breach.
