Word: gamsakhurdia
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...Georgian Military Council vowed to turn over power "in the very near future" to a provisional civilian government led by former Prime Minister Tengiz Sigua, a onetime Gamsakhurdia ally who was pushed out of office in a political squabble. But Military Council member Dzhaba Ioseliani, head of the anti-Gamsakhurdia Mkhedrioni, or White Horsemen, paramilitary squads, suggested that the timetable would depend on how quickly life in the republic returned to normal. "Power is now in our hands," he said. "Until things calm down and until democratic institutions take root, we will keep power...
There was widespread skepticism about Ioseliani's claim. Said a senior British diplomat: "The new leaders barely control the center of Tbilisi, let alone the republic. The place is in the throes of anarchy." As word of Gamsakhurdia's downfall spread, thousands of the ousted leader's supporters gathered at the capital's train station for a march through the city. For the second time since the conflict began, gunmen tossed smoke bombs and opened fire on the crowd, scattering the demonstrators. Ioseliani defended the use of terror to enforce a state of emergency in Tbilisi...
From a safe haven across the Armenian border in the town of Idzhevan, Gamsakhurdia wasted no time in lashing out against the Military Council, blaming criminals, bandits and a communist "Mafia" for his defeat. The Armenians have not offered Gamsakhurdia political asylum, but they also have not pressured him to leave the republic. It is clearly a ticklish diplomatic problem. If Gamsakhurdia attempts to go abroad, Georgia's current leaders say they will press for his extradition to stand trial on criminal charges. But as long as the deposed President remains so close to home, he will continue...
...noted human-rights activist and scion of one of Georgia's most respected writers, Gamsakhurdia seemed to have perfect credentials for his job. But he was too haunted by his own past persecution by the KGB and by the need to settle old scores to be a truly democratic leader. Obsessed with conspiracies involving "agents of the Kremlin," the President closed down liberal newspapers and barred critics from television. During a wave of protest against his authoritarian rule last autumn, police loyal to him fired on demonstrators, and he jailed opposition leaders. He was intent on extending his power into...
With his special brand of mystical nationalism, Gamsakhurdia had become such a commanding figure on the Georgian political stage that it is hard to see how any of the current leaders could aspire to replace him. Fault lines have already begun to show in the loosely united anti-Gamsakhurdia alliance, especially between the politicians and the paramilitary men. "The council's only uniting factor has been opposition to Gamsakhurdia," said a British diplomat. "Now that he is gone, they are falling out among themselves." Not all its members are equally committed to parliamentary democracy and presidential rule. Georgi Chanturia...