
Natelashvili Slams Saakashvili, his Former Allies
Shalva Natelashvili, a leader of opposition Labor Party, said President Saakashvili was “a political corpse;” while the President’s former allies, who have defected to opposition, as politicians “selected by the United States” to potentially replace Saakashvili.
“A political corpse was speaking yesterday [before the parliamentary chamber],” Natelashvili told the Imedi TV and radio program on February 13. “Saakashvili is considering running away, but can’t do that because he is afraid of his own inner circle.”
When asked what he thought of Nino Burjanadze, a former parliamentary chairperson and Irakli Alasania, Georgia’s former UN envoy, Natelashvili responded that it was unacceptable for him when “a foreign country selects, packs [like a gift] and then sends an individual or a political group” back to Georgia for coming into power.
He also claimed that Irakli Alasania was “a relative” of President Saakashvili’s uncle, Temur Alasania, who, he said, was “a KGB agent” with close links to the Kremlin, who was now trying to secure Moscow’s backing in promoting Irakli Alasania on the presidential post. Irakli Alasania said recently he was not a relative of the President’s family.
While speaking about Burjanadze, Natelashvili said that ex-parliamentary speaker was criticizing Saakashvili only “lightly.” He said that Burjanadze’s signature on the opposition parities’ memorandum calling for the President’s resignation was one of the reasons behind the Labor Party’s refusal to join the document.
He spoke mainly positively about Irakli Okruashvili, the ex-defense minister, who now leaves in Paris, where he has been granted political asylum. Natelashvili, who was visiting Paris just recently, said Okruashvili, unlike other former allies of the President, spoke tough about Saakashvili in 2007, “whose statements in fact triggered mass protest rallies” in November, 2007.
On foreign policy, Natelashvili reiterated his party’s stance against NATO and said: “Shouting NATO, NATO – led us to losing of territories.” In October, 2007, Shalva Natelashvili, signed a joint declaration of ten opposition parties saying that they “are expressing the will of the majority of the Georgian population” and supporting Georgia’s accession to NATO.
While speaking about Russia, Natelashvili said: “Balanced policy; friendly relations with Russia and policy of appeasement towards Russia is needed.”
“Saakashvili’s policy has been totally anti-Russian,” he said. “This anti-Russian policy and anti-Russian rhetoric made the Russian political elite to negatively dispense towards us.”
He said that Georgia would not be able for restore its territorial integrity in at least next 10-15 years.
“Not a single new president – no matter who will be this new president – will able to reunite Georgia, neither in first or second [five-year] term,” he said. “The maximum what the new president can do is to stop further disintegration of Georgia.”
Natelashvili said that while visiting Vienna just recently, he met there with Alexandr Dugin, a Russian political pundit advocating expansionism and a founder of far-right group Eurasian Movement. Natelashvili said that Dugin told him Mikheil Saakashvili was “in Russia’s interests, as it will be easier to disintegrate Georgia” under the Saakashvili’s presidency.
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