Ex-Speaker of Georgian Parliament Speaks at CU

As the international community works to resolve last month’s conflict between Russia and Georgia, the former speaker of Georgia’s parliament blamed Russia for its “Cold War-style reaction.”

Nino Burjanadze, who served as speaker from 2001 to 2008 and as interim president twice, told an audience of 200 Columbia affiliates that global powers must work to prevent totalitarianism.

“Russia is trying to rehabilitate its imperial self,” Burjanadze said.

Georgia and Russia continue to point fingers over the August conflict, with Georgia claiming it attacked South Ossetia in response to the breakaway region’s bombing of Georgian villages, and Russia insisting it countered Georgia’s aggression on behalf of Russian citizens in the region.

Though Burjanadze is often seen as an opposition leader in Georgian politics, her defense of the country’s actions were consistent with statements made by Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, Law ’94.

During both her speech and the press conference that preceded it, Burjanadze argued that Russia had encroached on Georgian sovereignty even before its overt military intervention over the summer. Not only did Moscow encourage South Ossetian president Eduard Kokoity to attack Georgian villages, Burjanadze said, but Russia will now suffer the “boomerang” effect of its meddling in the region in the early ’90s.

“It was clear for a long time that Russia was trying to provoke Georgia,” she said.
Burjanadze said that by recognizing the autonomy of South Ossetia and another separatist region Abkhazia, Russia was defying prior agreements—including a ceasefire brokered by French president Nicolas Sarkozy—and hurting not only Georgia but itself as well.

While casting off Russia and its ally (“I hope that Nicaragua will stay alone,” she said to laughter and applause), Burjanadze was careful to reiterate her appreciation for the $1 billion aid package offered by the United States, as well as the concern presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama have expressed. The situation, she said, is “a real bipartisan issue.”

In April, she surprised her country by announcing she would not seek re-election. Yet Burjanadze said she “can’t exclude” the possibility that she would form a political party to contest future presidential elections.

Meanwhile, Burjanadze said she represents “civil society,” particularly through the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development, a nonpartisan think tank she launched to promote democracy in Georgia. But once she re-enters the political fray, Burjanadze said she will have to give up the “luxury” of avoiding people she disagrees with.

“We should try to find a common language,” she said. “This is what the 21st century is about. This is what democracy is about. And this is what normal and civil relations between people in countries are about.”

lien.hoang@columbiaspectator.com