"Chain Reaction"
Besarion Bokhashvili
UKRAINE: a personal view from Georgia
The assembling of tens of thousands of people in Tbilisi and of hundreds of thousands in Kiev… Rose and Chestnut Revolutions … demonstrated identical purposes and the same intention - to get rid of a regime overgrown with moss, and mired in political stagnation, and to vindicate the people's choice, which has been thwarted and neglected by the authorities. The people have been firm in their determination to guard democratic principles, notably that the only legitimate government is one elected by the people; they reject as inconsistent with real democracy political systems built around, and serving the interests of, individuals or clans.
The events that have occurred in Kiev have aroused keen interest in Georgia since they were a sequel to events here -a chain reaction was detonated by last year's Rose Revolution in Georgia. Notwithstanding the problems of a muzzled media, the unsuccessful efforts of civil society to create and foster some basic habits of democracy, and even some difference of standpoints between the two societies,, the chain reaction has nevertheless reached Ukraine: there it chose to dye itself in the colour of chestnut; but it also promised to bring real Democracy, prosperity, and the establishment of respected values. Having shown the way, most Georgians were closely interested in the developing situation in Kiev. Groups of Georgian MPs and young people have visited Kiev to share their experience and to encourage their Ukrainian confreres. Among the banners fluttering above the crowds in Kiev's Independence Square, there were several depicting a red cross on a white background - the national flag of Georgia.
The course of the recently developed events was differently evaluated by Georgian society. One part of that society looked to the opposition in Ukraine and its leader to be more active and to take power and responsibility into their hands, especially since the opposition and Mr. Yushchenko had this chance several times. Delay may not be the best option for the opposition; passivity works for the authorities; and sometimes radical steps have to be taken, as was done a year earlier by the Georgian counterparts. Hundreds of thousands of people standing in Independence Square, freezing, backing their candidate and defending their choice could be insulted by the failure to do more. At this juncture the opposition has achieved only the resignation of the Central Electoral Commission and the promise of amendments to be made in the Electoral Code. The most significant request of the opposition has not been met yet: the Prime Minister and his Cabinet have not been ousted. These factors can gravely influence the results of forthcoming elections. Delay and prolonged negotiation processes may be used by authorities to split the opposition as well.
The alternative view in Georgian society is that the steps taken by the opposition were appropriate and relevant, given the fact that the situation in Ukraine is not similar to that in Georgian. Radical steps, it was feared, could increase the tension, worsen the state of affairs and risk splitting the nation. The very same risk was said to exist in Georgia as well, but subsequent events revealed the absurdity of this alleged danger. Surely no sane person could wish to back the stagnation and the moss-grown and corrupted regimes, backed by the Kremlin, which Shevardnadze and Kuchma embodied in the post-Soviet era.
I should like to express my personal wish - shared I am sure by most Georgians - that my Ukrainian confreres will win victory, success and prosperity. I believe that the Chestnut Revolution will have a happy outcome. I hope that it will be seen as one of the last bastions of the post-communist nightmare -one clearly backed by the authoritarian and destructive powers of our neighbour. I express the wish that the chain reaction that we began has not exhausted its strength and that soon it will cover other post-soviet republics, bringing there bloodless Rose, Chestnut and Velvet Revolutions.