Event Summary
The government and opposition in Georgia remain locked in political stalemate. The opposition continues to hold rallies and to call for President Saakashvili to step down, and the opposition and government thus far have found no common basis for moving forward. All this plays out against a backdrop of lingering tensions in relations between Georgia and Russia in the aftermath of the August 2008 conflict.
Event Information
When
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
4:15 PM to 5:30 PM
Where
Saul/Zilkha Rooms
The Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, DC
Map
On June 17, the Center on the United States and Europe (CUSE) at Brookings hosted Irakli Alasania, former Georgian permanent representative to the United Nations and currently the head of the Alliance for Georgia opposition group, for a discussion on the political crisis in Georgia and the prospects for resolution. After a decade of important positions in the Georgian government, Ambassador Alasania resigned from his position at the United Nations in December 2008 and has since been actively involved in the Georgian opposition. Brookings senior fellow Carlos Pascual introduced Ambassador Alasania and moderated the discussion.
Transcript
IRAKLI ALASANSIA: We believe -- at the beginning I want to make sure that everybody understands -- that no matter we have some very fundamental differences, with the government and inside society, who is the best political force to lead my country, we don't have any disagreements, internally, about where Georgia belongs. We truly believe that Georgia has to be a part of the European security architecture. I believe the foreign policy that was dedicated to integrate Georgia more closely to the Euro-Atlantic community, has to be adhered, has to be followed, and certainly we all do agree that the existing threat, especially from the occupied forces in Georgia has to be viewed in a prism that the only way we can deal with this is through the unified society.
So we don't have any questions, internally, about Georgia's future as a viable democratic and independent state. But, of course, there are a lot of discussions and debates internally now in Georgia about why we ended up in such a political crisis. What can be done to bridge the differences that we have with the government and inside the polarized society about how we proceed from here?
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Participants
Featured Speaker
Irakli Alasania
Head, Alliance for Georgia