Newsday, NY
March 24 2004
FILM FESTIVAL: Political dynamite from new directors
BY JOHN ANDERSON
STAFF WRITER
The New York film fan’s equivalent of spring training and the Final
Four, New Directors/New Films begins its 33rd year tonight with as
much international flavor and political volatility as it’s probably
ever shown.
Presented jointly by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Film
Department of the Museum of Modern Art, the annual showcase for
filmmakers and movies fresh to the area kicks off tonight with the
multiculti, multicharacter “Everyday People” – a touching populist
portrait of a transitioning Brooklyn neighborhood by returning
director Jim McKay (“Our Song”). Between now and April 4, the series
will screen 28 films from 23 countries (including Armenia, Mongolia,
Israel and Peru) and probably set off more than a couple of
firestorms, with work topical enough to qualify as news bulletins.
Most notably among these is “Control Room,” (USA-Egypt, 2004), in
which young Egyptian-American filmmaker Jehane Noujaim explores the
inner workings of the Arab news agency Al-Jazeera during the onset of
the current Iraq War. As implied by the title, however, “Control
Room” is not just about the Arab perspective but the U.S. military’s
carefully crafted dissemination of combat information, the media’s
willingness to swallow it and the general dilemma of news during
wartime.
Elsewhere, “Checkpoint” by Israeli filmmaker Yoav Shamir was filmed
over two years at the dozens of border crossings along the occupied
West Bank and Gaza Strip and documents the frustrating, humiliating
and destructive daily encounters between Israeli soldiers and
Palestinian travelers. Insightful, unflattering and often
infuriating, “Checkpoint” offers yet another angle on the Byzantine
relationship between the Israeli and Arab worlds.
On the lighter side is the ravishing “Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
… and Spring,” which will do nothing to diminish the growing
stature of Korean filmmaking throughout the world. Directed by Kim
Ki-duk, “Spring … ” is set on a secluded lake and floating
monastery, where a monk and a young boy traverse the seasons of life.
Beautifully shot (and metaphorically shameless), the film has been
getting raves at festivals worldwide.
Its stylistic counterpoint might be “Le Monde Vivant,” a fairy tale
in blue jeans in which French theater director Eugene Green
re-imagines a world of medieval chivalry and adventure with
modern-looking people and a lion played by a golden retriever.
Alternately whimsical and enchanting, “Le Monde Vivant” is joyful,
and more than a little thought-provoking.
“I’m very pleased with ND/NF this year,” said Richard Pena, who, with
Joanna Ney and Marian Masone, composes the selection committee’s Film
Society component (MoMA members are Laurence Kardish, Jytte Jensen
and Mary Lea Bandy). “It’s a nice, broad selection, internationally
and stylistically.”
And politically. And intellectually. And, perhaps, in the case of
“Spring, Summer … ” even poetically.
WHEN&WHERE
New Directors/New Films, today through April 4. For complete list of
films and descriptions, go to
Screenings will be held at three venues: Alice Tully Hall, the Walter
Reade Theater at Lincoln Center and the MOMA Gramercy, 23rd Street
near Lexington Avenue, Manhattan. Call 212-875-5050.

Cyprus Mail, Cyprus
March 24 2004
Armenians plead school case in Parliament
By George Psyllides
THE Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) yesterday failed to
convince the House Education Committee on why it wanted to shut down
the Melkonian Educational Institute (MEI), though deputies admitted
there was little parliament could do to reverse the decision.
The AGBU decided to close down the school, saying it no longer
fulfilled the duties it had been set up to carry out.
But the Armenian community is furious at the decision, and has
claimed financial interests are dictating the fate of the historical
school.
The representative of the Armenian community in Parliament, deputy
Bedros Kalaidjian, appealed to the government for help, otherwise the
Armenian community would be left without any secondary education.
`We cannot imagine an Armenian community without the Melkonian,’
Kalaidjian told the committee.
`It is a national treasure,’ he added.
In a statement read by lawyer Freda Georgiou, AGBU said the vision of
the benefactors – the Melkonian brothers – could be better achieved
through new programmes that would be more beneficial to a much larger
spectrum of the diaspora and those of Armenia itself.
`AGBU regrets the painful decision to close the Melkonian Boarding
School but taking into consideration the long term goals of the
benefiting Armenians globally, this decision must be adhered to, as
will be future decisions concerning schools in other host countries,’
the statement said.
The AGBU stressed that the MEI matter was not a political one, but
concerned an internal decision of a philanthropic organisation, which
is managing its assets in the wisest possible manner with a view to
serving the best interests of the Armenians.
But a member of the school board charged that the AGBU wanted to
close down the school and set up summer camps in other countries
where they would try to teach the Armenian language and culture in
two or three months.
The alumni association disputed the AGBU’s jurisdiction on the
school, adding that the Union’s arguments were not convincing.
On November 14, 2003, the AGBU had said they were not shutting down
the school, yet just three months later this was exactly what they
were doing, the association said.
The alumni urged the government to intervene, declare the school of
national importance, and minimise the building coefficient to deter
developers.
Some say the land on which the school is built is worth £40 million.
AGBU representative Dr Gordon Anderson said a very small number of
Armenians went to the school to justify its operation.
He said the AGBU was looking into three alternatives: setting up a
day school, entering a partnership with an existing institution, or
creating an Armenian department in one of the existing schools.
DISY deputy Ionas Nicolaou asked whether the school’s trust fund was
deposited in Cyprus, only to be told that the AGBU had nothing
deposited or registered in Cyprus.
However, the school receives government subsidies and only
Cyprus-registered philanthropic organisations are entitled to such
funding.
The alternative for the Cyprus government is to declare the school a
historical site and its surroundings a protected environment thus
putting an end to any plans for its development.
But one deputy told the Cyprus Mail that this would be a hostile act
and should only be used as a last resort.
Anderson stressed that there were no plans to demolish or sell the
buildings, but when asked by DISY deputy Nicos Tornaritis whether
AGBU would agree to listing the buildings, he said the AGBU objected.
`I think AGBU likes to have flexibility on the use of the buildings,’
Anderson said.
He said the AGBU also strongly objected the area being designated as
a forest.
`If we are going to assist Armenians we need to maximise assets,’ he
said.
The proceeds of a commercial centre operating next to the school all
go straight to the Armenian community, he added.
He repeated that pupil numbers were declining – averaging just 5.7
pupils per year from the island’s Armenian community in the last few
years, with the others coming from abroad.
The AGBU plans to shut the school down in June 2005.

International Committee of the Red Cross News
March 24 2004
Southern Caucasus: Towards TB-free prisons
Every year, two million people die of tuberculosis (TB), and another
eight million contract the disease.
In most countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, it has
proven difficult to bring the disease under control because of the
social and economic situation and the breakdown of the health-care
system. In the southern Caucasus, where TB causes enormous suffering
and death in the prisons, the ICRC has been working with the national
authorities for many years to provide treatment for prisoners. In
1995, when the ICRC launched a TB-control programme in the prisons of
Azerbaijan, the disease was at least 60 times more prevalent among
inmates than among the country’s civilian population. In 1998, the
ICRC began providing support for implementation in Georgian prisons
of the DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment, Short Course) strategy
recommended by the World Health Organization. In 2002, the ICRC
extended its support for this programme to Armenia.
If prisoners have TB when they are released, they bring the disease
with them back into society. Since TB is a national public-health
issue that also affects the population outside prisons, the ICRC is
coordinating its activities in prisons with others working on behalf
of the population at large, including the donor community, to
reinforce joint efforts to fight the disease. Since 1995, the ICRC
has provided support for the treatment of more than 8,000 prisoners
in the southern Caucasus. One of the problems it has encountered is
that prisoners are sometimes released before they have completed
treatment, without proper coordination between the authorities
responsible for health care inside prisons and those responsible for
national TB programmes.
Major challenges still lie ahead. Outbreaks of multidrug-resistant TB
in prisons could cause these dangerous strains to spread into the
community through the families of prisoners, released prisoners, and
prison staff. In addition, as the number of AIDS cases rises
throughout the former Soviet Union, opportunistic TB infections will
increasingly destroy families and whole communities. In response, the
resources of the entire public-health system must be brought to bear
on this already devastating epidemic. Urgent action must be taken, in
particular to treat drug-resistant patients and reduce the
progression of HIV.

Pravda, Russia
March 24 2004
Armenia seeks to release its arrested pilots
The Armenian foreign ministry is taking further efforts to set free
Armenian pilots who have been arrested for their participation in a
plot against the government of Equatorial Guinea, spokesman for the
ministry Gamlet Gasparyan told reporters on Wednesday.
According to Mr. Gasparyan, in line with the contract signed with the
Armenian-based Dvin Kontsern airlines, six Armenian pilots had been
staying in Malabo, capital of Equatorial Guinea, since January 2004
and using an AN-12 aircraft registered in Armenia. Late on March 7
the Armenian pilots were arrested.
The authorities of Equatorial Guinea are accusing them of organising
a coup in this country, of being mercenaries and of espionage.
Allegedly, the pilots gathered political, economic and military
information.
“The charges forwarded against the pilots are very contradictory and
have nothing to do with their work. The authorities of Equatorial
Guinea present them as militant mercenaries while they are
professional and experienced pilots. The Guinean authorities claim
that the Armenian citizens had infiltrated their country by ship. The
espionage charges are not logical either because the pilots knew
nothing about the country’s customs, its language and the territory,
and therefore could not have been involved in espionage in Malabo,”
said Mr. Gasparyan.
According to the spokesman for the Armenian foreign ministry,
Armenia’s diplomatic representations in Moscow and New York are
negotiating the release of the Armenian pilots with the Guinean
authorities.
Besides, the Armenian foreign ministry has appealed to the Red Cross
and the Amnesty International organisations for help.
“The Armenian foreign ministry is ready to send its diplomats to
Equatorial Guinea to address these problems, if need be,” said Mr.
Gasparyan.

Baku Today, Azerbaijan
March 24 2004
OSCE monitors cease fire
OSCE observers have not fixed violations while watching Azerbaijani
and Armenian armed forces to follow cease fire rules at their contact
line.
Field assistants of OSCE chairman’s special representative Imre
Palatinus and Yurgen Schmidt have monitored cease fire conditions
from Azeri side. Other filed assistants of the special representative
Ken-net Pikles and Gen-nad-iy Korzh have conducted monitoring from
Armenian side.
The monitoring was conducted in western Borsunlu village of
Azerbaijani Goranboy region.

Indie Wire
March 24 2004
Diverse Standouts Emerge From Strong New Directors/New Films
Selections
by Howard Feinstein
A scene from Jim McKay’s “Everyday People,” which will open the 33rd
New Directors/New Films series.

The 33rd edition of New Directors/New Films, MoMA and the Film
Society of Lincoln Center’s series that runs today through April 4,
offers the finest selections in recent years. Especially not to be
missed are a feature from Armenia and a short from Peru — and these
are just two of the standouts. The short is called “Porter” (I prefer
the Spanish title, which translates to “Only a Porter”), and it’s
directed by New York-based Peruvian director Juan Alejandro Ramirez.
(It plays with “Kounandi,” a nice feature about village jealousy from
Burkina Faso.) “Porter” feels like a documentary: A peasant, Chuqui
Orozco, who makes his meager living carrying gringos’ gear up and
down the Andes mountains, tells us in voiceover his observations of
those around him of higher rank in such a stratified society, as well
as his acceptance of his lowly place in the hierarchy. Ramirez says
he was inspired by stories he was told in southern Peru, but for
greater veracity, he consolidates them and stages the shoot.
Hiner Saleem is a refugee from Iraqi Kurdistan, now living in France,
who shot “Vodka Lemon” in Armenia. Not surprisingly, his protagonist
is a Kurd, Hamo, a poor widower living in a snowy village. Two of his
sons have moved away in an attempt to further their fortunes; only
his drunken son Dilovan and his beloved granddaughter remain. During
his daily visits to the cemetery where his wife is buried, Hamo
meets, and begins an affair with, an even poorer widow, Nina. Hamo
shleps into town to sell old wardrobes and his tv, while Nina sells a
drink called vodka lemon in a roadside kiosk. An economic cloud hangs
over the entire film, but Saleem’s deft use of magical realism — a
bed and a piano glide along the icy road, horses fly through the
frame — adds an enchanting edge.
Three of the finest films have at their center fully-realized
females. In fact, two of them are directed by women. Sabiha Sumar, a
Pakistani filmmaker residing in Germany, sets her brilliant “Silent
Waters” in the Pakistani Punjab in 1979, just as a nation under
martial law is on the verge of becoming an Islamic state. Ayesha is a
Muslim widow in the village of Charkhi who scrapes by on her
husband’s pension and earnings from teaching the Koran to young
girls. Her 18-year-old son, Saleem, is a nice, well-behaved boy and
the apple of her eye. Once he gets involved with some Muslim
fundamentalists, however, he rejects his girlfriend and even turns
away from his uncomprehending mother. We realize after occasional
striking flashbacks that she had suffered somehow during the nasty
1947 partition that carved up India into Muslim-dominated Pakistan
and predominantly Hindu India. At the time of the fighting, Sikhs and
Muslims were forcing their single women to kill themselves to protect
family honor, and those that got away were abducted. When Sikh
pilgrims come to Charkhi for their annual pilgrimage, Ayesha’s secret
surfaces, with tragic consequences.
Given the general state of moviemaking in Western Europe, the Swiss
film “Strong Shoulders” by the female director Ursula Meier is a
revelation. Although it is formally cinematic, it was, surprisingly,
made for television. Meier focuses on Sabine, a 15-year-old
obsessive, ambitious runner who attends a special school for
athletes. They are preparing for a major track-and-field meet. She
does not get along with her coach, because he frustrates her desire
to run with the boys. She has no qualms about using anyone, her
girlfriends or a young runner named Rudi, to further her ambitions;
she is left almost totally alone. Her self-absorption is so extreme
that her action at the eagerly awaited event is so unexpected that
you are left breathless.
A scene from “Vodka Lemon” by Hiner Saleem, one of the standout
selections at the 33rd New Directors/New Films. Photo courtesy Film
Society of Lincoln Center.

In the Chilean film “B-Happy,” 14-year-old Manuela becomes
increasingly isolated. Director Gonzalo Justiniano emphasizes the
point by surrounding every scene with a slow fade to black, a device
that lovingly softens her youthful existential dilemma. That her
ne’er-do-well father is in prison makes her the black sheep at her
provincial school; only one handsome newcomer shows her any
affection, and even that leads to a one-afternoon stand. Her mother
dies. Her closeted brother leaves town. She goes to work for the same
abusive grocer for whom her mom had worked. It’s all too much, and
she flees to the city, where she searches for her father and, out of
money, becomes a streetwalker.
Some of the most astounding movies take place in the world’s
flashpoints. Jehane Noujaim’s haunting documentary “Control Room,”
which deals with American control of the media during the invasion of
Iraq and offers an inside look at the Arab TV broadcaster Al-Jazeera,
has been written about extensively out of Sundance. The others are
“Fuse,” a fiction film from Bosnia, and “Checkpoint,” an Israeli doc.
In “Fuse,” director Pjer Zalica concocts a fluid political satire
that captures the dark humor and sarcasm that is endemic in the
Balkans. It’s a given that the postwar mixture of Serbs, Muslims, and
Croats is not going smoothly. In the film’s Muslim town of Tesanj,
the mayor calls for a major overhaul: Bill Clinton will be visiting.
Not only does the town leader push what is mostly a fake
rapprochement with a neighboring Serb town (“I need Serbs!”), but he
also calls for an end to corruption. Smugglers and pimps must hide
their wares, or at least turn them into something more palatable.
Zalica foregrounds an elderly, deranged, retired police chief, one of
whose sons died in the war, and another of his sons, a fireman. When
the motorcade arrives, it is the old man who has the last word.
“Checkpoint,” on the other hand, eschews humor. Filmmaker Yoav
Shamir, a former Israeli soldier, shoots Israelis on duty at a
variety of checkpoints in the Occupied Territories, both the West
Bank and the Gaza Strip. He also films the Palestinians who are at
their mercy. Shamir’s access is unbelievable. You see that most of
the combatants are very young and very, very bored. Out of ennui,
hubris, and racism-this is all in the film-you see them wield their
power over the hapless travelers like a sword. “Let them wait,” says
one soldier. People, cars, and trucks often wait for hours, even in
the rain and snow, just to get to their home cities or villages. One
young man at the Kalandia-Ramallah main entrance tells Shamir, “All
of Ramallah are animals: monkeys, dogs. We are human.” Whether these
checkpoints serve much of a purpose is arguable. As one waiting
Palestinian says on camera, “Terrorists don’t come through the
roadblocks.”

PNN, VA
March 24 2004
Nine Sister City Partnerships Awarded Sustainable Development Grants
Posted by: aneiberger

Topic PNN Worldwide
Nine sister city partnerships were awarded $45,000 in grant funds by
Sister Cities International to fund joint projects focused on
sustainable development in Eastern Europe and Eurasia.
The grants are funded and managed by the Office of Citizen Exchanges,
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State.
The grant recipients are: (1) Arvada, Colo. – Kyzylorda, Kazakhstan;
(2) Bloomington-Normal, Ill. – Vladimir, Russia, (3) Cambridge, Mass.
– Yerevan, Armenia, (4) Eugene, Ore. – Irkutsk, Russia, and World
Services of La Crosse, Inc., representing (5) Blount County, Tenn. –
Zheleznogorsk, Russia, (6) Fox Cities, Wis. – Kurgan/Shchuchye,
Russia, (7) La Crosse, Wis. – Dubna, Russia, (8) Livermore, Calif. –
Snezhinsk, Russia and (9) Los Alamos, N.M. – Sarov, Russia.
Sustainable development is a key focus for the growing international
organization, say organizers. “Engaging communities in projects that
can be sustained for the long-term is important,” said Tim Honey,
executive director of Sister Cities International. The organization
began a network focused on sustainable development two years ago to
facilitate collaboration and share best practices.
Citizen exchanges will play a critical role in developing these
projects. “Ordinary citizens can transcend cultural divides and unite
across cultures to tackle a difficult problem together,” said Honey.
“Citizen diplomacy can be amazingly effective.”
These are the first grants the network has awarded. A total of
$45,000 will be distributed as $5,000 seed grants. Funded projects
will tackle issues such as micro-financing, tourism development,
economic development, government, youth education, health care and
environmental management.
Arvada, Colo. and Kyzylorda, Kazakhstan will survey water management,
power supply and community planning. The partners aim to develop an
ongoing relationship that will design and help finance improvements
to the water and power supply system in Kyzylorda through joint
planning.
Bloomington-Normal, Ill. and Vladimir, Russia are working to develop
tourism in Vladimir. They will assess and inventory existing tourism
resources, compile a tourist market profile and develop a strategic
plan for the Vladimir region.
Cambridge, Mass. and Yerevan, Armenia will develop school-based
projects on energy efficiency in both communities to educate youth
about sustainable development and focus on linking students from
opposite sides of the globe. A children’s summer camp will focus on
environmental issues and provide training to help teachers expand the
program in Yerevan.
Eugene, Ore. and Irkutsk, Russia will create an entrepreneurial
partnership to sell native Siberian artwork in the Pacific
northwestern region of the U.S. This project builds on previous art
exchanges between the two communities and will help fund future
exchange activities.
The final five sister city pairs – Blount County, Tenn. and
Zheleznogorsk, Russia, Fox Cities, Wis. and Kurgan/Shchuchye, Russia,
La Crosse, Wis. and Dubna, Russia, Livermore, Calif. and Snezhinsk,
Russia and Los Alamos, N.M. and Sarov, Russia – funded through this
program are part of a unique consortium called the Communities for
International Development. Under the management of World Services of
La Crosse, the consortium will sponsor exchanges to Russia to conduct
planning sessions and develop a strategic plan addressing education,
economic development, federalism, health and the environment.
Representing more than 2,400 communities in 123 countries, Sister
Cities International is a citizen diplomacy network creating and
strengthening partnerships between the U.S. and communities abroad.
Begun in 1956 after a White House summit where U.S. President Dwight
D. Eisenhower called for people-to-people exchanges, sister city
partnerships are tailored to local interests and increase global
cooperation at the grassroots level. Sister Cities International
promotes peace through mutual respect, understanding and cooperation
by focusing on sustainable development, youth and education, arts and
culture, humanitarian assistance and economic growth programs.
The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of
State conducts over 30,000 exchanges annually, bringing professionals
and academics to the United States as well as sending Americans
abroad for study and research. The Bureau supports programs that
promote respect and mutual understanding between the people of the
United States and the people of other countries.

MOSNEWS, Russia
March 24 2004
Russian Vneshtorgbank Buys 70% Stake in Armenian Savings Bank
Russia’s state-owned Vneshtorgbank acquired a 70-percent stake in the
Armenian Savings Bank, Armsberbank. The deal was signed in Armenia’s
capital city, Yerevan, on Wednesday, March 24.
Speaking to journalists after the deal was signed, Vneshtorgbank’s
president, Andrei Kostin, said that this is `the first such bank
acquisition in the former Soviet republics’.
Chairman of the Board of Armsberbank Mikhail Bagdasarov, who also
talked to the press, voiced the opinion that the deal will be the
most advantageous one for Armenia since the collapse of the Soviet
Union. `This is a mechanism that unites the Russian and Armenian
banks that are supported by solid financial sources,’ said
Bagdasarov, pointing out that the deal is necessary for the
development of bilateral economic relations with Russia.
Russia’s largest companies, such as Gazprom, Unified Energy System
and Sibir Airlines, which currently work in Armenia, will take out
loans from Armsberbank, a future Vneshtorgbank affiliate. The bank
also plans to enter the retail business. `As a shareholder
Vneshtorgbank intends to increase Armsberbank’s charter capital four
or five-fold and expand its service sector,’ said Bagdasarov.
The Armenian Savings Bank will retain 30 percent of the shares and
will have a say in important deals.

NY Lawyer, United States
March 24 2004
NY Judge Leaves Bench
For Consultant’s Role
By Daniel Wise
New York Law Journal
Deputy Chief Administrative Judge Joseph J. Traficanti Jr., who has
been overseeing courts outside of New York City since 1991, will
leave the bench in May to become a consultant on the legal systems in
Russia and Armenia.
Judge Traficanti also has been in charge of setting up drug treatment
courts throughout the state for the past four years. Since 2001, 114
courts have been set up to provide treatment and social services to
non-violent addicts accused of misdemeanors, felonies and family
offenses. Judge Traficanti, 61, was elected to the bench in 1982 as
Ulster County Surrogate, and he continues to handle guardianships and
adoptions.
In his first two consulting jobs, he will advise a U.S. Agency for
International Development program in Russia on commercial courts and
alternate dispute resolution. The Armenian initiative, a World Bank
project, will involve developing measures to improve court
administration.

Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic
March 24 2004
Georgia: Konstantine Gamsakhurdia, Son of Late President, Sees ‘Great
Victories’ Ahead
By Jean-Christophe Peuch

Gamsakhuria approves of Pres. Saakashvili’s (above) efforts to gain
control over Adjaria

Georgia is gearing up for a partial rerun of the disputed 2 November
parliamentary elections that heralded the demise of President Eduard
Shevardnadze’s government. A total of 19 parties and coalitions will
compete for seats in the legislature. RFE/RL correspondent
Jean-Christophe Peuch takes a closer look at one of these groups, led
by the son of Zviad Gamsakhurdia, Georgia’s first post-Soviet
president.
Prague, 24 March 2004 (RFE/RL) — Konstantine Gamsakhurdia, the
eldest son of late President Zviad Gamsakhurdia, made his first
public appearance in Tbilisi last week (17 March) after more than a
decade of exile in Switzerland.
“Those 12 years I have just left behind seem to me just a one-second
interval after which I set foot again on Georgian soil,’ he began. `A
big marathon is awaiting us. I came back in a defeated country. Yet,
I hope we will achieve great victories. Long live Georgia!”
Critics accuse Saakashvili of dangerously stirring nationalist
feelings among his fellow citizens, while supporters say his policies
stem from a purported 18th-century, American or French, tradition of
“romantic patriotism.”A few hours earlier, as most of the Georgian
capital was still asleep, several hundred cheering supporters had
welcomed “Koko” — as he is affectionately called — at the Tbilisi
airport.
Obviously moved by the reception, Gamsakhurdia improvised an
impassioned speech just outside the airport.
“I’m glad that after 12 years of exile, I am offered the opportunity
to set foot again on Georgian soil. Like all Georgian patriots who
have once lived far away from their native land — as the great
[19th-century poet] Ilia [Chavchavadze] — I am tormented by the
following questions — What shall I tell my country? What shall my
country tell me?”
The 42-year-old Konstantine Gamsakhurdia — named after his
grandfather, Georgia’s famous 20th-century novelist — is the leader
of the right-wing nationalist Tavisupleba (Liberty) party, one of the
19 political groups vying for seats in 28 March legislative polls.
He has conducted a belated and low-profile campaign, meeting with
voters mainly in Tbilisi and in his late father’s traditional
stronghold of western Georgia.
Although the movement was set up as a party only after the 4 January
presidential elections that saw Mikheil Saakashvili succeed ousted
President Eduard Shevardnadze, its support has been increasing. Two
recent surveys ranked Tavisupleba among the three parties that enjoy
the strongest popular support after the ruling National
Movement-United Democrats coalition.
True, the polls indicate that only the latter looks set to win enough
votes to enter the legislature. But Mikheil Machavariani, the
secretary-general of Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania’s ruling United
Democrats, recently told RFE/RL he believes Tavisupleba and two other
nongovernmental groups will overcome the 7-percent vote barrier
required to win parliamentary seats.
Georgia’s Kavkaz-Press news agency said (22 March) the rating of
Gamsakhurdia’s party had increased from 1 percent to 6 percent over
the past four weeks. It is believed that Tavisupleba is appealing
especially to Georgians who feel nostalgic for the early years of
post-Soviet independence when Abkhazia and South Ossetia had not
completed their secession.
Those voters include, naturally, supporters of Zviad Gamsakhurdia.
The Zviadists — as they are known in Georgia — have set up a number
of small parties that are engaged in a bitter rivalry over
Gamsakhurdia’s political heritage. Among them is the former
president’s widow, Manana Archvadze-Gamsakhurdia, who returned from
exile in 1997 and has been running an impotent “shadow cabinet” for
the past four years.
Many prominent sympathizers of the late leader have joined the ranks
of mainstream right-wing parties, such as Saakashvili’s
National-Movement or Adjar leader Aslan Abashidze’s Agordzineba
(Democratic Revival Union).
Political experts believe Konstantine Gamsakhurdia could, more than
anyone else, appeal to the rank-and-file Zviadists.
Merab Pachulia is director of a respected polling agency known as the
Georgian Opinion Research Business International, or GORBI. He tells
our correspondent that this potential stems more from Gamsakhurdia’s
charisma and pedigree than from his political views.
“[Unlike other Zviadists], he is the direct heir to former President
Gamsakhurdia,” Pachulia said. “That is where his main attraction
lies. But there is more to it. He very much looks like his late
father, not only physically, but also in the way he speaks and moves
around. This, of course, is of great help to him because — as of
today, in any case — he has refrained from making any clear-cut
[political] statement or proposing any pragmatic step to extirpate
Georgia from its present situation. If he succeeds in overcoming the
7-percent vote barrier, he will owe it mainly to the fact that he is
his father’s son. Nobody has heard of him or read anything from him
for the past 12 years when he had been in Switzerland, be it an
article or an interview in which he would have criticized the ruling
regime. His only political background is provided by his father and
his father’s former comrades-in-arms that are still alive and live in
Georgia.”
Gamsakhurdia and his supporters have been particularly sparing of
words when it comes to detailing their electoral platform. When
reporters last week asked him about his long-term political goals, he
remained evasive while also attempting to distance himself from his
late father’s xenophobic policies.
“[Our goal is] to enter the Georgian Parliament,” he said. “We will
be more specific when we become a member of parliament. Our priority
is to prepare Georgia’s entry into the European Union, and one of the
conditions for that is to protect the rights of our ethnic
minorities.”
Asked about his views on Saakashvili’s policies, Gamsakhurdia simply
indicated he approved of the government’s efforts to restore control
over Georgia’s autonomous province of Adjaria.
Critics accuse Saakashvili of dangerously stirring nationalist
feelings among his fellow citizens, while supporters say his policies
stem from a purported 18th-century American, or French, tradition of
“romantic patriotism.”
Even before being elected in January, Saakashvili had set up a
government commission to investigate the circumstances of
Gamsakhurdia’s death in 1993.
Georgia’s first post-Soviet leader was deposed after a few months in
power by a military coup that paved the way for Shevardnadze’s return
to his homeland. Zviad Gamsakhurdia fled first to Armenia, then to
Grozny to join Chechen separatist leader Djokhar Dudayev. He died in
western Georgia while attempting to retake power at the head of his
armed supporters. Officially, he committed suicide, but his
supporters claim he was assassinated.
He was reburied in Chechnya a few months after his death.
Following his decision to pardon 30 prisoners sentenced in 1992 for
supporting Zviad Gamsakhurdia, Saakashvili on 9 March said he wants
the late president’s remains to be repatriated to Georgia.
Saakashvili said his decision is motivated not only by his “respect”
for the former leader, but also by his desire to make the best use of
the Zviadists’ “patriotism.’
“We should offer the best patriots Georgia has — I mean here the
majority of Zviadists, or rather, all 100 percent of them — the
opportunity to put their patriotism to good use and contribute to the
reconstruction of the country.”
Although formally in the opposition, Tavisupleba officials have
indicated they may support Saakashvili’s government after the
legislative elections.
Last month (18 Feb), Georgia’s Prime news agency quoted Sandro
Bregadze, a leading Tavisupleba member, as saying he does not see any
particular reason why the party should remain in opposition since the
government’s policies are — in his words — “acceptable.”
GORBI director Pachulia also believes an alliance between Tavisupleba
and the ruling coalition is possible, although he says he cannot
elaborate on the government’s views on this particular issue.
“All I can say is that when [Konstantine] Gamsakhurdia [a few days
ago] met passers-by on [Tbilisi’s main] Rustaveli Avenue, he was
accompanied by those same jeeps that usually travel with government
officials. I am not the only one who has witnessed that. Already from
this you can start making your own judgment. Barred from any personal
hatred, I believe [cooperation between Tavisupleba and the ruling
coalition] is possible and that they will work together. I do not
mean that the two parties will merge, but I would not be surprised if
they worked together. That would seem normal, and this is probably
what is going to happen.”
The Central Election Commission initially indicated that the
Tavisupleba leader could be barred from running as a candidate
because — under Georgian law — only citizens who have been
residents of the country for at least the past two years are
eligible.
But a commission spokesman told RFE/RL the election body eventually
gave Gamsakhurdia the green light after finding out that he had been
granted the status of political refugee by Swiss authorities and had
been registered as such by the Georgian Embassy in Geneva.