“Saakashvili got rid of Klitschko”

"By staffing Ukraine’s Government with Saakashvili’s protégés, Poroshenko paid tribute to Saakashvili, who once lobbied him in the U.S., helping him to be nominated as a presidential candidate.

“Very soon they might declare that Ukraine needs a grand privatization, and hospitals occupying large plots of land in the middle of big cities will be sold through very unfavorable conditions for the state.”

After the Rose Revolution of 2003, former head of the parliamentary faction “Alliance – New Georgia“, Irakli Gogava decided to continue his political career abroad.

In 2007-2008, he served as director of the International Republican Institute (IRI) in Iraq, while in 2009-2010 he was a chief political consultant and field operations manager of Ukrainian leader, Viktor Yushchenko. Before 2014, he presided over the American Committee for Open Democracy Program, and later he returned to Georgia.

We started our exclusive interview with Irakli Gogava by shedding light on the present developments in Ukraine.

Irakli Gogava:

- Ukraine is Georgia’s traditional partner and ally and the fact that the country is in a desperate situation today is a great tragedy for the Georgian people. From this it follows that Georgia must provide Ukraine with maximum support and assistance, political as well as humanitarian aid.

Equating the present conflicts in Abkhazia and Tskhinvali to those of Ukraine must be a key task of the Georgian government today.

The western sanctions against Russia combined with a deliberate drop in the price of oil gives very powerful leverage against the Kremlin that will sooner or later force the Kremlin to back down and make concessions.

Today, the Georgian authorities are simply obliged to use the present situation to their own advantage; however, unfortunately, no signs pointing to their endeavor to do so have emerged thus far.

We must also emphasize that the current developments would have never occurred in Ukraine if in 2008, the West took a strong stand against Russia and curbed its aggression.

- Could the West have failed to foresee what its lenient policy with Russia would ensue?

- Unfortunately, the West failed to take a strong stand against Russia; however, it hampered the aggressor from occupying Georgia. As you know, the Russian army was ready to march on Tbilisi and take over it.

The Europeans easily backed down by giving advantage to pragmatic benefits over their principles. The Mistral contract is an example of this: France took a billion and a half USD, with Sarkozy doing everything in his power to have the deal completed. Likewise, Turkey received some benefits from Russia.

The only thing that had actually helped Georgia preserve its sovereignty was a strong and principled position from the United States.

- So do we label the appointment of Georgians to Ukraine’s Minister’s Cabinet a diplomatic failure, as Tedo Japaridze labeled it, or is it actually a transfer of know-how of Georgian reforms to a bigger stage, as former authorities define it?

-In order to analyze this issue thoroughly, we must first figure out how Power changed hands in Ukraine. Unfortunately, after they swept away the President, one oligarchic clan just replaced the other. By staffing Ukraine’s Government with Saakashvili’s protégés, Poroshenko paid tribute to Saakashvili, who once lobbied him in the U.S. and in this way helped him to be nominated as a presidential candidate.

If you remember, after the Maidan developments, Vitali Klitschko’s popularity soared; according to social polls, his rating was much higher than that of Poroshenko, who had only a 5-6 percent rating.

I will refresh your memory and remind you how Klitschko followed Saakashvili everywhere, in Kiev, Tbilisi as well as Europe. First Mr. Klitschko himself asked Saakashvili to become his lobbyist in the U.S., in this way, he intended to become a presidential candidate of the united opposition. He stood a really strong chance of achieving his goal then since he was the most popular politician from Maidan.

However, quite unexpectedly, Poroshenko got a huge spike in popularity; as polls had it, he left other candidates in the dust. This was the direct result of Saakashvili’s successful lobbying – he got rid of Klitschko by giving advantage to an oligarch over him. Saakshvili’s readiness to lobby him was a priceless gift for Poroshenko in those days.

When it comes to appointing Georgian officials in Ukraine’s government, I would first focus on their move to grant a high post to Kvitashvili, who never passed any practical reforms in Georgia. The only thing he did successfully is alienate our hospitals, including the Republican Hospital, which he sold for 6 million GEL instead of 30-35 million its actual market price. Plus, today the government strains to regain and nationalize the state property that was once sold so indiscriminately and easily.

Very soon they might declare that Ukraine needs a grand privatization, and hospitals occupying large plots of land in the middle of big cities will be sold with very unfavorable conditions for the state.

A huge medical clinic under the name of Alexandrov that covers 6 hectares of land is located in the center of Kiev. Saakashvili and his entourage that were used to alienate such real estate for a symbolic price of one GEL may be easily tempted to do the same again. I also assume that all these hospitals will soon fall into the hands of Poroshenko as well the companies linked to Saakashvili.

I want to stress that the people who have come into power in Ukraine will just try to bring in some ostensible reforms, and I do not even exclude that Eka Zguladze will pass the same reforms in Ukraine that were once introduced in Georgia.

We should realize that even patrol police poses as a “white façade” of MIA; however, we all know perfectly well what kind of misdeeds they performed behind this façade, how they tortured hapless inmates in prisons that were led by MIA.

The same happened in Ukraine and in light of our stomach-churning experience it is unbelievable that the people who have recently taken up the reigns of the country will prove able to pass radical reforms there, especially today, when they are headed by Saakashvili, who viewed his own country as one of his LTD companies.

- Believe it or not, Zurab Adeishvili, whose name is accredited to the creation of a criminal system in Georgia, is intended to be appointed head of the bureau a prime task of which is to crash this system. How big is a chance that Adeishvili, who is wanted by Interpol, will occupy this post?

- Let’s be realistic. By bringing Saakashvili’s people into Ukraine’s government, they slapped our top officials in the face. However, I must emphasize that our Foreign Service, the representatives of which are to be taken to task for their irrational activities, must also be held accountable for insulting our government. This doesn’t happen only in Ukraine. The Foreign Ministry has serious problems: it has failed to adopt the right approaches, deliver the right messages, and coordinate embassies, diplomats, etc.

For instance, when the Georgian delegation visits a European forum, the representatives of the Georgian Dream Government, as a rule, keep silent, while the Nationals can’t hold their tongues and are immensely active. Do you know why this happens? Because the acting top officials lack political experience and are incompetent.

The same thing happens in the USA, where the government has hired the largest lobbyist company Patton Boggs for which the Georgian government is an frequent customer, while Saakashvili enjoyed the service of the Podesta Group for which the ex-president and his attendants were VIP guests.

As Poroshenko announced, the head of anti-corruption council will be published on January 14. Regarding this I would say that Zurab Adeishvili’s appointment as head of the anti-corruption council will create a rift between the Georgian and Ukrainian people.

- As you know, the Georgian fighters’ involvement in Ukraine’s military activities has repeatedly become a point of heated political debates. Here I will also emphasize that a citizen of Georgia is not entitled to get involved in military operations of other country as a hired soldier. In addition, an announcement from the Defense Ministry regarding Alexi Grigolashvili’s death sparked a massive outcry in the public. How would you evaluate this occurrence?

- Our government obviously cannot control this process and Georgians must be free in their decision to involve themselves in the so-called anti-terrorist operations. The government must hold back from in any way thwarting our servicemen in taking this step.

Nothing bad can be said regarding the Ukrainian people’s determination to fight for their independence and territorial integrity – they fight for their rights and this fight is just and fair; however, Saakashvili’s appeal to the Georgian officers is nothing more than provocative and untruthful.

Regarding the statement from the Defense Ministry, I would say that such irrational statements are being released by ministers who lack political experience. In the Georgian Dream, actual politicians are scarce.