The Gospel According to St. Levan

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A new gospel is in town.

The gospel, according to Saint Levan Gachechiladze, is that Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili is responsible for the country’s recent woes.

At an on-the-record meeting at the Hudson Institute on September 30, the opposition leader accused Saakashvili of provoking Russia into invading Georgia by using “undiplomatic rhetoric.”

“Saakashvili is responsible for the war we have had with Russia. He miscalculated the situation, and then proceeded to manipulate the West,” he said, adding that an unstable Georgia could be vulnerable to Russian domination and a possible take-over.

Saakashvili lives on propaganda, he said, arguing that the country’s leader gives “priority to appearing on CNN and the BBC” than solving Georgia’s problems.

“For instance, Georgians think they won the recent war against Russia. The reality, however, is different,” he said.

He also accused him of suppressing human rights, limiting democratic space and fostering breakdown in the rule of law, in addition to limiting property rights.

“Oligarchs now control our economy. Saakashvili continues to privatize our strategic national assets to the Russian state capital,” he said.

Saakashvili, he said, had destroyed democratic national institutions, media freedom, and created an environment in which corruption thrives. He argued Georgia needs major media, legal and electoral reforms.

The public broadcaster should be independent, he asserted, political talk shows should be restored and the identities of media owners made known.

Georgia, he also argued, needs legal and constitutional reforms to facilitate a functioning parliamentary democracy, checks-and-balances, and a robust impeachment process to limit an imperial presidency. He also said that Georgia needs electoral reforms to allow for electronic voting and live video monitoring of the entire process.

The one-time Saakashvili supporter argued that the West needs to keep an eye on the situation within Georgia, even as he challenged the president to a live debate on issues facing the country.

Jesse Masai is an intern at the American Journalism Center, a training program run by Accuracy in Media and Accuracy in Academia.