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Eduard Shevardnadze: Hard to say whether Saakashvili will be elected president or not

26 December 2007 10:07 (UTC +04:00)

â€œThe pre-election situation is tense in Georgia due to the November happenings. The president should have been with the people on the first or the second day of the rallies in order to prevent this tension,â€ ex-president of Georgia Eduard Shevardnadze told APA exclusively. He said those who gathered outside the parliament were unemployed and poor people.
â€œThe president trusted by the people should be with them. Tens of thousands of people were injured when the government used force. Suspension of Imedi TV channelâ€™s broadcasting exasperated people,â€ he said.
Eduard Shevardnadze said Mikhail Saakashviliâ€™s scheduling the early elections was a wrong step.
â€œPeople are not ready for these elections. The governmentâ€™s steps show that they are not ready to hold these elections either,â€ he said.
He said Mikhail Saakashvili does not consult with him on any problem.
â€œHe does not consult with me. Deceased Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania used to come to me. Though Zhvania was in opposition at that time, he used to consult with me on various problems,â€ he said.
Eduard Shevardnadze did not agree to the claims that Mikhail Saakashvili managed to thwart corruption.
â€œThere should be laws to thwart corruption. I intended to spend the last two years of my presidency on preparing these laws. No country could have ever solved the problem of corruption completely. Saakashvili tried to thwart it by increasing the salaries of the ministers by GEL 2500 ($1700). Saakashvili considered that increasing the salaries of ministers will thwart corruption. But the problem of unemployment of the lower class remained unsolved,â€ he said.
Eduard Shevardnadze said he will not publicize whom he will support in the elections.
â€œSaakashvili has good prospects, but hard to say whether he will be again elected president or not. According to the surveys, he will win, but the elections are ahead. The opposition also has decent, experienced and well-educated candidates. For example, Levan Gachechiladze has prestige among people. David Gamgrelidze is not a bad candidate either. Badri Patarkatsishvili, is one of the best candidates. He is both rich and clever. I am familiar with the program of Patarkatsishvili. He promises to give GEL300 to every jobless man. Demographic situation in Georgia is very tense. Taking into account this, Patarkatsishvili stated that it will be given 600 lari to every baby till he is 18-year-old .Number of Georgians living all over the world is 5 million. Number of Georgians will decrease till 2004.If Patarkatsishvili manages the demographic increase of population; he will leave indelible trace in Georgian history.
Gamgrelidze has not money; he tries to hold pre- election campaign according to his little business. Gachechiladze is a clever man, but he has not money. Patarkatsishvili is clever and has got amount of money,â€ he said. Former President stressed that talks about his support of Fazil Aliyevâ€™s candidacy in the elections are groundless.
â€œTo tell lie is not guilty. But he should not take back his candidacy. Over 400,000 Azerbaijanis live in Georgia. Mr. Fazil could collect good voice,â€ he said. Integration of Azerbaijanis living in Georgia into Georgian society have been started successfully during Heydar Aliyevâ€™s tenure expire.
â€œWe often met Heydar Aliyev and talked about this theme. Official language is Georgian language in Georgia. Azerbaijanis living in Georgia do not know this language on high stage. They understand Georgian language, but it is not enough to provide them with work. It is impossible to solve this problem a day,â€ he said. There has not been any progress in the solution to ethnic conflicts in the country since Eduar Sheverdnadze resigned.
â€œYou know, there should be good relations between Presidents to solve the conflicts. Then you can present and discuss your arguments. Putin is a very strong President; only language should be found to negotiate with him. Medvedev was officially nominated as presidential candidate, but Putin has got a lot of respect and authority among the people,â€ he said. Sheverdnadze stated that several Russians officials â€˜recognizing independence of Abkhazia is nonsense.
â€œIf anybody wants to recognize the independence of Abkhazia, it will be not easy. Armed conflict is inevitable. This will be a bad example for Russia. Tatarstan, Chechnya and Dagestan include into Russian Republic and they expect any chance. If Abkhazia is recognized they will also demand independence. Russia has not been a country composed by only the Slavonic. There are only 42 % of the Slavonic in Russia. Recognition of Abkhaziaâ€™s independence may be a dangerous step for Russia,â€ he said. As to question do you want to be President again he answered that I will be never President. /APA/