VZCZCXRO7315
OO RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHNP RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHSI #0999/01 1521205
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 011205Z JUN 09 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY TBILISI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1642
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TBILISI 000999 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/01/2019 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL GG
SUBJECT: GEORGIA: WEEKEND PROTESTS QUIET - CELLS REMOVED AS 
OPPOSITION CONSIDERS NEW TACTICS 
 
REF: TBILISI 979 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOHN F. TEFFT.  REASONS:  1.4 (B) AND (D). 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Summary:  A small crowd of 1500 rallied on May 29 
the day after scuffles along Rustaveli Avenue turned violent 
injuring 14, including eight policemen.  A similarly small 
crowd rallied May 30; only a crowd of about 400-500 rallied 
May 31.  Cells were cleared from Freedom Square overnight May 
31 allowing traffic to move freely through it for the first 
time in over a month.  Rustaveli Avenue remains blocked by 
cells in front of the parliament, but many other cells in 
front of the Marriott Hotel and between Parliament and 
Freedom Square were being removed June 1.  The 
non-parliamentary opposition said that it would picket the 
Mayor's office again on June 1 and Parliament on June 2. 
Irakli Alasania (Alliance) made an announcement May 29 
stating his willingness to engage in dialogue, indicating 
that early local elections could be a positive outcome.  Eka 
Beselia (United Georgia) and Nino Burjanadze (Democratic 
Movement - United Georgia) stopped short of directly 
criticizing Alasania, but said he did not represent their 
views.  Levan Gachechiladze called May 29 on western 
diplomats to give up their "indifferent" stance and stop 
simply repeating calls for dialogue.  Former Minister of 
Reintegration Goga Khaindrava lambasted the Ambassador in an 
interview accusing him of sinister motives.  Speaker David 
Bakradze and Alasania continue to negotiate behind the 
scenes.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (C)  Comment:  The removal of cells from Freedom Square 
and along Rustaveli Avenue was a positive step but its larger 
significance, remains unclear.  Alasania went further in his 
statements for dialogue than he had previously and is 
continuing to distance himself from the rest of the 
non-parliamentary opposition.  While his comments infuriated 
Burjanadze and others, Alasania may have found some political 
wiggle room.  Those still fully committed to protests value 
the facade of unity above all else, and have been measured in 
their public criticism of his recent moves.  The incident 
with the police on May 28 failed to galvanize the public as 
some non-parliamentary leaders undoubtedly had hoped.  The 
small, uneventful weekend rallies indicate that the while the 
non-parliamentary opposition can bring 40-50,000 to the 
streets for a holiday rally, daily support continues to 
dwindle.  The quiet Alasania-Bakradze talks seem to be making 
some modest headway which is encouraging.  We will continue 
to support and encourage this and any wider opportunity at 
dialogue.  End Comment. 
 
Rallies Small - Cells Removed 
 
¶3.  (C)  Only 1500 rallied May 29 to hear Levan Gachechiladze 
condemn western diplomats for indifference.  He called on 
diplomats to make concrete statements about the crisis in 
Georgia instead of repeating only one word - dialogue. 
Gachechiladze went on to say that protests actions in front 
of western embassies were being discussed.  May 30 saw an 
equally small crowd; no major statements nor notable events 
occurred.  Embassy observers reported 400-500 protesters 
milling around the afternoon of May 31 with intermittent 
speeches being delivered.  Cells were removed late May 
31/early June 1 in Freedom Square and placed on a large 
truck.  Protest leaders had earlier indicated that the cells 
would be placed in front of Parliament but instead, moved 
them to an unknown location.  Traffic on Freedom Square is 
Qthem to an unknown location.  Traffic on Freedom Square is 
moving, and much of Rustaveli Avenue has also been cleared, 
but cells remain in front of an around Parliament.  The 
non-parliamentary opposition announced its intention to 
picket the Mayor's office June 1, and to picket Parliament on 
June 2 to purportedly disrupt a planned plenary session. 
(Embassy Comment:  Per Speaker Bakradze there is no such 
planned session.  The non-parliamentary opposition apparently 
started this rumor to subsequently declare some sort of 
victory in blocking this non-event.  End Comment.)    The 
non-parliamentary opposition also issued a joint statement 
blaming the GoG for "provocation" and initiating violence on 
May 28.  The non-parliamentary opposition called for all 
police to be uniformed and said that the "Saakashvili regime 
was purposefully leading the country towards chaos and 
bloodshed." 
 
Alasania Moves Further Away 
 
¶4.  (C)  Alasania made an announcement May 30 that his 
soon-to-be-formed political party would not participate in 
the ongoing rallies, but would protest on occasion for 
specific reasons or events.  Alasania dismissed critics of 
engaging in dialogue by explaining that the negotiations and 
protests were complementary of one another.  Alasania said 
 
TBILISI 00000999  002 OF 002 
 
 
that early elections should be the goal of the negotiations, 
but demurred when asked whether he meant presidential or 
parliamentary.  He said he was open to discuss advanced local 
elections as the GoG had proposed, but said he did not think 
it should take more than a few months to create the proper 
environment for elections in whatever form they would take. 
Beselia criticized the move saying that negotiations should 
only take place on the issue of Saakashvili's resignation, 
but that Alasania was free to pursue negotiations "without 
having the mandate of my party".  Burjanadze reiterated that 
negotiations with the GoG were pointless. 
 
Khaindrava Unloads on the Ambassador 
 
¶5.  (C)  Former minister Goga Khaindrava sharply criticized 
the Ambassador saying that "(s)ponsors of this government, 
like the U.S. Ambassador, have to reconsider who they are 
siding with .. the U.S. Ambassador plays an extremely 
negative role.  He tarnishes the image of America.  Time will 
come when his deeds will become a topic of scrutiny.  The 
U.S. Ambassador knows that there are criminals in the 
government.  He knows that Vano (Merabishvili, Minister of 
the Interior) is a criminal, that there's corruption at the 
highest levels of the Georgian government and that Misha is a 
lunatic.  Despite all this, the U.S. Ambassador tries to keep 
this madman in power.  This shows that he (Ambassador Tefft) 
has no interest whatsoever in the democratic development of 
Georgia.  Instead he has very sinister and incomprehensible 
interests.  Those interests may yield extremely negative 
results for Georgia's statehood.  The reason I have so many 
criticisms of America is that the U.S. has always been the 
cornerstone of democracy and the greatest hope for all who 
fight authoritarianism all over the world.  But I doubt it is 
the case anymore.  I know that Russia is the empire of evil, 
but the current position of the U.S. Ambassador raises many 
question marks for me." 
 
Bakradze - Alasania Talking 
 
¶6.  (C)  Speaker of Parliament David Bakradze told the 
Ambassador June 1 that private talks were ongoing with 
Alasania.  He said that Alasania's statement was welcome, but 
expressed some confusion as to why members of Alasania's team 
were still attending protests.  Bakradze indicated that the 
GoG was working on harmonizing their five point proposal with 
the non-parliamentary opposition's six point proposal to move 
negotiations forward.  Bakradze said that he would like to 
see a set date to begin negotiations, but also stressed that 
the GoG was prepared to be patient and had no plans to remove 
the "cells" or break up the protests.  Bakradze detailed to 
the Ambassador that strong disagreements were emerging among 
the non-parliamentary opposition in their private 
discussions.  Bakradze mentioned that a significant point of 
debate was still whether to escalate or moderate the protests 
and that the group was still having trouble potentially 
choosing a single leader to represent the group. 
TEFFT