Georgia moves towards independence
USSR tions.
Georgia had been the negative example of the inability of the various nationaldemocratic forces to unite in a common front to achieve self-government, in contrast to the positive examples of unity in the Baltic republics. They were fragmented into a large number of parties, most of
IN ELECTIONS to the republic's Supreme Soviet on October
28, Georgia became the fourth republic, after the three Baltic ones, to install a national-democratic government pledged to achieving total independence from Moscow. The Round-Table bloc, headed by Zviad Gamsakhurdia, won 54% of the vote and 114 seats in the Supreme Soviet, while the Communist party got about 30% and 61 seats.
In 56 districts, candidates ran as individuals and not representatives of parties. In these, members or supporters of the Round Table took 34 seats, while CP members or supporters took 16. Four seats were taken by independents, and one each by the Popular Front of Georgia and the
Democratic Georgia bloc. The elections were conducted on a mixed proportional and first-past-the-post system. The electoral law excluded parties not running on a republic-wide basis, hence minority nationalist groups. There was a high rate of abstention in the autonomous republic of Abkhazia and the Southern Ossetian autonomous region.
GERRY FOLEY
ROM THE START of its first
F session, the new
Georgian
Supreme Soviet began taking radical steps in the direction of asserting state sovereignty. On
November 14 it adopted a declaration of a
"transitional period" in Georgia, which asserted that the country's incorporation into the Soviet Union illegal was an annexation, and that the main goal of the national-liberation movement achieve "real bases for full state independence of Georgia."
The name "Soviet Socialist Republic"
was dropped, and references to socialism, communism and the constitution of the
USSR were removed from the Georgian constitution. The flag and crest of the republic were changed. The "Transitional
Period" declaration was adopted unanimously. Thus, the Communist Party deputies also voted for it, indicating that the
Georgian CP is now breaking its back in order to avoid being tarred as a Unionist party.
On November 15, the Supreme Soviet suspended the USSR conscription law on the republic's territory. This resolution also called for forming a local force under the Georgian Ministry of the Interior made up of men liable to the draft. On
November 25, at the initiative of a group of reserve officers, a corps of officers was set up to help the new government form a national army.
On November 22, the Georgian
Supreme Soviet adopted a statement on the question of the new Treaty of Union proposed by Gorbachev. It noted the declarations of principle regarding the status
"Transitional Period" resolution, and went on to state: Soviet of the Republic of Georgia cannot sign a new Treaty of Union and assume any obligations. Only when the Republic of Georgia achieves real independence, when it becomes the real master of its fate in state and economic life and a full subject of international law, can Georgia sign any treaty of collaboration with the people of another country.
Collaboration with other countries
"Such an approach does not mean, however, rejecting collaboration in economic, scientific-technical, cultural and other fields with other countries, with most of which Georgia has centuries-long ties and today also maintains fruitful collaboration. In the new political conditions, this collaboration undoubtedly must be based on a qualitatively new basis, presupposng full equality and mutual benefit.
The Georgian national-democrats gaining control of the republic Supreme Soviet does not represent a sudden upsurge but rather a politicalorganizational advance on the part of the Georgian national-democratic organizawhich had a line of boycotting all Soviet
The Round-Table emerged from a split in late April from the National Forum of organizations. The majority of the latter organization adopted a line of alternative elections, aiming to elect a Georgian National Congress at the end of September. A similar division of principle exists in Latvia and most of all in Estonia, but there it has not led to a practical division. The advocates of an Estonian Congress also participated in the Soviet, and the forces in favor of working within Soviet institutions, the People's Front (Rahvarinne), also participate in the
Mutual accusations of KGB connections
In Georgia, however, this division has taken the form of a total confrontation, with the leaders of the two camps Gamsakhurdia and Giorgi Chanturia of the National Forum - accusing each other of being KGB agents.
As a result of this confrontation, only slightly more than 50% of Georgian voters cast ballots in the alternative elections held on September 29, whereas nearly all ethnically Estonian voters participated in the elections to the Estonian Congress. According to the Georgian electoral law, the vote in the alternative elections was just enough to give them legitimacy. But even in Estonia, who dominate the Congress have not been able to assert its authority against the official bodies. They have not really tried. Past experience, however, indicates that the Georgian radicals may not be so obliging.
It also remains to be seen how the Abkhazian and Ossetian movements will react to a Georgian parliament, in particular whether a Moldavian-type development is possible. The two peoples represent quite different problems. The Abkhazians are a very small people, artificially regrouped in their present territory, where they form only 17% of the population. The abstention rate there was 60%, and thus obviously involved other parts of the population, for reasons still unclear. The Ossetians, on the other hand, are a larger people, artificially divided between the Russian Federation and Georgia. But in both cases, the Georgian government cannot solve these problems by repression or undemocratic 11 laws. *
Did she fall or was
International Viewpoint #196 • December 10, 1990
PAKISTAN
Hindu dominated India, so they should have their own state. Pakistan was created with two parts — East and West, separated by 1000 miles of Indian territory. In
1971, when the Eastern part broke away she pushed?
SOON after the President of