Word: saakashvili
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...also, perhaps, some truth to the statement by Dmitry Rogozin, the Russian envoy to NATO, that NATO would be wiser to hold the exercises “in some psychiatric hospital” than in Georgia, given the current state of affairs. Protests calling for Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to resign have rocked Tbilisi, for the past month, and the ranks of the protestors have grown to encompass members of the government. One of these, a former parliamentary speaker, even declared to a crowd of protestors that Georgia “is not a democratic country...
...memory of the government’s violent suppression of protests in 2007 remains a mark on Saakashvili’s record as a democratic leader. And early last week, a tank division mutinied against the government. Whether or not Russia was behind the plot—as Saakashvili has implied—it is a clear indicator that Georgia does not have full control over its military forces...
...Russians seem to have a point: Georgia has grown increasingly tense in recent weeks as opponents of Saakashvili's handling of last year's confrontation with Moscow and the deepening economic crisis have taken to the streets, holding mass demonstrations and blocking roads in the capital. And it was those demonstrations that appear to have prompted the Mukhrovani soldiers' rebellion, at a base where soldiers had previously mutinied over pay and conditions in 2001 and 2004. "One cannot calmly watch the collapse of the country and watch the continuing political confrontation. But there won't be any aggressive action from...
...Some in the opposition believe Saakashvili may use the mutiny as an excuse to mobilize the military against demonstrators. "It is possible the authorities might use the incident with the military unit in Mukhrovani to quell the rallies in Tbilisi," said Mamuka Katsitadze, an opposition leader, although the Georgian leadership may be wary of igniting Western opposition given its precarious position...
...Whatever the state of his relations with NATO allies and with Moscow, however, Saakashvili's problems at home are unlikely to end with the suppression of the mutiny - opposition leaders made clear on Tuesday that their supporters plan to return to the streets to demand the President's ouster...