Georgia: Political Development and Regional Security

Meeting Report Vol. 2, No. 4, July 20, 2000

On July 19, 2000, Zurab Zhvania, Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia, spoke at the Endowment about the latest political and economic developments in his country. Zhvania described his efforts to reform the Georgian political system, and offered his perspective on regional security. We provide below a summary of his remarks and the discussion period.

"During the last five years, Georgia has experienced genuine independence and stability," said Zhvania. His remark underscored the progress that has been made in building a democratic society in Georgia from "ground zero." "When our first parliament was elected in 1992, we were very enthusiastic, but absolutely inexperienced," he commented. Georgia was faced with "civil fragmentation, a collapsed economy, and ruined state institutions that threatened to tear the state apart." Today, Zhvania emphasized, the situation in Georgia is much more stable; with the emergence of free press, a market economy, and a civic sector, Georgia is "firmly placed in the democratic community of nations."
Georgia's leadership has taken risks and often learned from its own failures in the quest to build a democratic state. "Georgia's trial by fire has sharpened and brought into focus the urgency of improving the life and future of our citizens," said Zhvania. Accordingly, the Georgian parliament, under Zhvania's leadership, has drafted over 700 pieces of legislation to create a new legal framework for the nation.

Much of this legislation focuses on the elimination of corruption in Georgian political and economic institutions. "Corruption and irregularities in the rule of law present the greatest obstacles to implementing new laws and regulations," said Zhvania. As Chairman of the Georgian Parliament, Zhvania is currently engaged in a struggle to eliminate rampant corruption in Georgia. Because of corruption, Zhvania emphasized, new laws "remain frozen on paper," and the Georgian people, as a result, cannot enjoy the benefits of democratic and free-market reforms. "It is for precisely these reasons that [Georgian] President Shevardnadze identified corruption…as the cancer that threatens the very foundations of Georgia's fragile experiment with democracy," said Zhvania.

In response to this threat, Zhvania outlined the Georgian parliament's "concrete plans to attack the very roots of institutional corruption." "Major steps" have been made in the reform of the judiciary, including the introduction of comprehensive examinations, retraining programs for judges, and the recruitment of new judges. Zhvania noted that public opinion was supportive of these reforms, which give cause for optimism in the transformation of a corrupt, post-Soviet state into a democracy where civil servants will be "professional, energetic, and pure." Other reforms include the creation of budgetary oversight committees and the establishment of an independent commission charged with developing a comprehensive anti-corruption plan. He said the committee is to be composed of members of Georgia's "vibrant civil society" and the Chief Justice of the Georgian Supreme Court, and "will lead to the radical evaluation and reform" of Georgia's procuracy, tax and custom administration and law enforcement agencies. "Only through this united and comprehensive approach can we hope to maintain and expand our current achievements," said Zhvania.

Regional Security
Zhvania emphasized the central role Georgia plays in the regional structure of the Caucasus and Central Asia. He noted that "developments in Georgia affect the entire region." He was optimistic about the future situation in South Ossetia, noting that "the conflict is solved, more or less." He commented on the helpfulness of the President of South Ossetia during the negotiations, noting that his open style and clear demands aided the peace process. In Abkhazia, Zhvania does not see "any visible progress," but said that talks are continuing, and the present is "an important time" for resolving the conflict.
When questioned about the effect of the new leadership in Moscow on regional security, Zhvania stated that the present leadership demonstrates a "better organized and coordinated process of political decisions." Zhvania emphasized that Georgia firmly supports Russian territorial integrity, since the disintegration of Russia would have negative effects on Georgian security. Speaking on Chechnya, Zhvania said that Russia had missed a valuable opportunity for a peaceful end to the conflict in the fall. He hopes that Russia will soon initiate peace talks, but he does not know with whom Moscow can now negotiate. On a more positive note, Zhvania said that Russia has made significant improvement in using economic tools, rather than force, to promote its interests.

Asked about Russia's promised withdrawal of some of its military bases from Georgia beginning in August of this year, Zhvania said that he hoped this would proceed as planned and that Russia would withdraw from its two remaining bases in Georgia within the next three years. Zhvania was confident that Georgians, with the assistance of OSCE peacekeepers and observers, would be able to maintain its cease-fire agreement with Abkhazia, and hopefully bring an end to the conflict. He said that the presence of Russian peacekeepers was detrimental to the situation, and Russian threats that the situation would worsen if they withdraw are unfounded.

Partnership with the United States
Zhvania stressed that the Georgian parliament has taken the "first critical steps" in building a "stable and transparent state." However, he underscored the importance of cooperation with the US, stating that "although the solutions to these challenges can only be generated and led within Georgia, the process must still be assisted through cooperation and strong, reliable partnership with the US." Zhvania looks forward to developing his nation's already close relationship with the US.
In particular, Zhvania stated the importance of US assistance in the reform of the Georgian fiscal administration. In cooperation with the US Embassy in Tblisi, Georgia has established examinations to eliminate the influence of nepotism and other forms of corruption in the hiring of tax officials. Georgia is also in need of US support for the reform of its military, which has suffered as a result of major budget cuts.

When asked about Georgia's relationship with NATO, Zhvania echoed President Shevardnadze's controversial statement that Georgia would "knock at the doors of NATO" within Shevardnadze's current presidential term. Zhvania stated that this intention reflects the majority of political groups' thinking of Georgia's future relationship with NATO.

Perspectives for the Future
Zhvania was confident that Georgia will make great progress in its democratic and market reforms, and will become a valuable member of the "globally interconnected community" of democratic nations. He said that the present Georgian government is committed to establishing the legal framework for democracy, particularly in its comprehensive anti-corruption drive. Expressing the current Georgian leadership's dedication to positive change, he said that "all of us, we either sacrifice and succeed in these reforms, or we have no political future in Georgia."

Summary by Erik Scott, Junior Fellow with the Russian and Eurasian Program.