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Is Misha Going to Create a Microcosm of Georgia in Odessa?

Is Misha Going to Create a Microcosm of Georgia in Odessa?
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Georgian Journal has invited Amiran Giguashvili, head of the Georgian Politics and Law Center and former attaché to Ukraine of the Georgian Defense Ministry, to discuss the recent appointment of Mikheil Saakashvili to the post of governor of the Odessa district – as well as ongoing political processes in Ukraine and beyond:

– Our ex-president becoming the governor of Odessa has given rise not just to another tide of political intrigue, but also to some purely legal questions – such as whether he has really lost his Georgian citizenship or what is going to happen if he comes to Georgia as a foreign citizen, with his Ukrainian diplomatic passport. Could you offer us insight on this?

– Mikheil Saakashvili, for all intents and purposes, is no longer a Georgian citizen. According to paragraph 21 of the Georgian constitutional law, he lost his citizenship automatically upon accepting that of another country. The Constitution states this very clearly. As for dual citizenship, our acting president can make an exception if Mr. Saakashvili applies to him with a corresponding request. This is a unilateral right also afforded by the Constitution, and all talk of the contrary is nothing but political speculation.

As for theories on Mikheil Saakashvili’s possible arrest in case of his arrival to Georgia, clause 4 of paragraph 4 of Georgian Criminal Code states that a person with diplomatic immunity can be held criminally liable only in accordance with the rules defined by international law. Simply put, Saakashvili’s arrest needs to be sanctioned by the Ukrainian government, which is never going to happen. Especially considering that Ukraine has not only refused to extradite our ex-president, but that it has now given him a carte blanche to turn the district of Odessa into a microcosm of Georgia.

– Some claim that the new appointment only increases the range of Saakashvili’s capabilities, while some members ot the Georgian government insist that he was sent there to keep him out of Kiev. What do you think?

– I think that we should distinguish politically motivated statements from reality. It would be strange to hear our ruling party make any other statements, but no matter how hard they try, they cannot change the fact that an important agreement was reached between Saakashvili and Poroshenko; this is visible even by a naked eye. By giving up his Georgian citizenship, Saakashvili has declared his unprecedented loyalty to Poroshenko, and in exchange was given a chance to actually make a difference in Ukrainian politics. Prior to that, he was confined to the role of an advisor and his political impact was miniscule.

Now, however, he holds sway over an extremely important region and will do everything in his power to gain enough momentum for promotion to an even higher rank. This appointment is intended to prepare Ukraine for having Saakashvili as an executive authority. Besides, we should take the condition of the Ukrainian people themselves into account – driven to anguish by rampant corruption and tired of the war, they desire nothing but a bold leader to release them from servitude to oligarchs and to implement critically needed reforms. For Ukrainians, Saakashvili represents if not a knight in shining armor, then a new hetman, at least, who is going to fight Ukraine’s two biggest enemies: The Kremlin and the corruption.

– However, this freshly hatched hetman still gave up his Georgian citizenship – a step that was negatively evaluated not only by President Margvelashvili, but by his own supporters as well. Some experts claim that this step by Saakashvili will only hasten the dissolution of his party – as you most likely remember, four members left the National Movement just recently.

– The catch here is that Saakashvili has never been a president of a scholarly type who would be content with giving out free or paid advice after resigning for his post. Moreover, for the likes of him, the presidency or any other post he occupied or may occupy in the future is merely a means of gaining international recognition and self-fulfillment. With his recent appointment, he staked out for himself a new area of activity, one that involves both conducting reforms in Ukraine and opposing Putin, a sworn enemy of Western values. I am very much interested in what the roster of Saakashvili’s new team will be like and what influence Zurab Adeishvili, one of the chief architects of the National Movement’s governance, will have on creation of a scale model of Georgia in the Odessa district. You can be sure that no matter what, Saakashvili will use every tool and resource at his disposal to do the job he was appointed to do.

As for the issue of citizenship, although it is definitely not nice when your country’s former president becomes a foreign citizen, changing one’s passport does not necessarily mean treason against the fatherland. Treason can take far more grievous forms – for example, when a man who holds a Georgian passport considers Vladimir Putin, the number one enemy of his country, a friend just because they share the same faith.

– Final question: What influence or impact will Saakashvili’s appointment have on the current balance of power in Georgian politics?

– Despite the large amount of flak from Georgian society that Saakashvili caught during his rule – especially in its final years, when human rights violations reached an unprecedented scale – he still remained the main beacon of opposition to Bidzina Ivanishvili. I strongly doubt that he is ever going to completely give up his ambitions in Georgia, but Georgian Dream’s glee at his temporary departure from the Georgian political scene is very premature. The likely dissolution of the National Movement is going to cause a multitude of problems for Ivanishvili and his men, since they will no longer have an enemy to demonize. With the crux of their fear-mongering gone, our government will have to commit to the unpleasant task of actually being efficient in order not to also go down the drain in the next elections. In either case, it is going to be a win-win situation for the Georgian people.

Author: Zaal Abuladze

Is Misha Going to Create a Microcosm of Georgia in Odessa?

Georgian Journal has invited Amiran Giguashvili, head of the Georgian Politics and Law Center and former attaché to Ukraine of the Georgian Defense Ministry, to discuss the recent appointment of Mikheil Saakashvili to the post of governor of the Odessa district – as well as ongoing political processes in Ukraine and beyond:

– Our ex-president becoming the governor of Odessa has given rise not just to another tide of political intrigue, but also to some purely legal questions – such as whether he has really lost his Georgian citizenship or what is going to happen if he comes to Georgia as a foreign citizen, with his Ukrainian diplomatic passport. Could you offer us insight on this?

– Mikheil Saakashvili, for all intents and purposes, is no longer a Georgian citizen. According to paragraph 21 of the Georgian constitutional law, he lost his citizenship automatically upon accepting that of another country. The Constitution states this very clearly. As for dual citizenship, our acting president can make an exception if Mr. Saakashvili applies to him with a corresponding request. This is a unilateral right also afforded by the Constitution, and all talk of the contrary is nothing but political speculation.

As for theories on Mikheil Saakashvili’s possible arrest in case of his arrival to Georgia, clause 4 of paragraph 4 of Georgian Criminal Code states that a person with diplomatic immunity can be held criminally liable only in accordance with the rules defined by international law. Simply put, Saakashvili’s arrest needs to be sanctioned by the Ukrainian government, which is never going to happen. Especially considering that Ukraine has not only refused to extradite our ex-president, but that it has now given him a carte blanche to turn the district of Odessa into a microcosm of Georgia.

– Some claim that the new appointment only increases the range of Saakashvili’s capabilities, while some members ot the Georgian government insist that he was sent there to keep him out of Kiev. What do you think?

– I think that we should distinguish politically motivated statements from reality. It would be strange to hear our ruling party make any other statements, but no matter how hard they try, they cannot change the fact that an important agreement was reached between Saakashvili and Poroshenko; this is visible even by a naked eye. By giving up his Georgian citizenship, Saakashvili has declared his unprecedented loyalty to Poroshenko, and in exchange was given a chance to actually make a difference in Ukrainian politics. Prior to that, he was confined to the role of an advisor and his political impact was miniscule.

Now, however, he holds sway over an extremely important region and will do everything in his power to gain enough momentum for promotion to an even higher rank. This appointment is intended to prepare Ukraine for having Saakashvili as an executive authority. Besides, we should take the condition of the Ukrainian people themselves into account – driven to anguish by rampant corruption and tired of the war, they desire nothing but a bold leader to release them from servitude to oligarchs and to implement critically needed reforms. For Ukrainians, Saakashvili represents if not a knight in shining armor, then a new hetman, at least, who is going to fight Ukraine’s two biggest enemies: The Kremlin and the corruption.

– However, this freshly hatched hetman still gave up his Georgian citizenship – a step that was negatively evaluated not only by President Margvelashvili, but by his own supporters as well. Some experts claim that this step by Saakashvili will only hasten the dissolution of his party – as you most likely remember, four members left the National Movement just recently.

– The catch here is that Saakashvili has never been a president of a scholarly type who would be content with giving out free or paid advice after resigning for his post. Moreover, for the likes of him, the presidency or any other post he occupied or may occupy in the future is merely a means of gaining international recognition and self-fulfillment. With his recent appointment, he staked out for himself a new area of activity, one that involves both conducting reforms in Ukraine and opposing Putin, a sworn enemy of Western values. I am very much interested in what the roster of Saakashvili’s new team will be like and what influence Zurab Adeishvili, one of the chief architects of the National Movement’s governance, will have on creation of a scale model of Georgia in the Odessa district. You can be sure that no matter what, Saakashvili will use every tool and resource at his disposal to do the job he was appointed to do.

As for the issue of citizenship, although it is definitely not nice when your country’s former president becomes a foreign citizen, changing one’s passport does not necessarily mean treason against the fatherland. Treason can take far more grievous forms – for example, when a man who holds a Georgian passport considers Vladimir Putin, the number one enemy of his country, a friend just because they share the same faith.

– Final question: What influence or impact will Saakashvili’s appointment have on the current balance of power in Georgian politics?

– Despite the large amount of flak from Georgian society that Saakashvili caught during his rule – especially in its final years, when human rights violations reached an unprecedented scale – he still remained the main beacon of opposition to Bidzina Ivanishvili. I strongly doubt that he is ever going to completely give up his ambitions in Georgia, but Georgian Dream’s glee at his temporary departure from the Georgian political scene is very premature. The likely dissolution of the National Movement is going to cause a multitude of problems for Ivanishvili and his men, since they will no longer have an enemy to demonize. With the crux of their fear-mongering gone, our government will have to commit to the unpleasant task of actually being efficient in order not to also go down the drain in the next elections. In either case, it is going to be a win-win situation for the Georgian people.

Author: Zaal Abuladze

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