The true leader of the new Georgian opposition is well-known businessman, president of the businessmen’s union of Georgia and president of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Georgia Badri Patarkatsishvili. This was the announcement made by ideologist of the “National Movement” party and vice-president of the committee on legal issues of the National Assembly of Georgia Giga Bokeria. One of the pro-president MPs made an attack after the speech made by Patarkatsishvili’s speech at the federation’s second session criticizing the Georgian authorities.
In general, Patarkatsishvili was not saying anything new to the people. There have been long talks on the existence of some funds adjacent to the powerful structures. Paying the funds is more like volunteer/obligatory thing. The opposition remembers this from time to time. However, it’s one thing to have the opposition talk, which criticizes the authorities for no reason at times, but another when the largest businessman who, is considered as an individual with extraordinary intuition, talk about the issue. But he is very careful so as not to say the wrong thing.
Patarkatsishvili’s speech was on Wednesday night. His speech can be remembered in Georgian history as the start of a new era in Georgia. After greeting the guests, president of the businessmen’s union of Georgia Badri Patarkatsishvili immediately announced that all Georgian businessmen have problems with making payments to the governmental funds. That kind of fund actually exists next to the prosecutor’s office. According to Patarkatsishvili, he paid 89 million dollars alone for that.
“In the documents, I found many well-known last names and found out how they collect the money. As to what they do with it later, nobody knows,” he said. According to president of the NOC, those payments don’t solve the problems facing businessmen.
“The authorities are really pressuring me for the content on my show called “Imed”. The pressure got worse when, for the first time ever, Georgian television actually gave out correct information-one of the bank workers Sandro Girgviliani had died,” said Patarkatsishvili.
Girgviliani’s death has been in the center of attention of the people for the past two months and “168 Hours” has already touched upon it. Feeling devastated from the murder, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia Vano Merabishvili fired his pres secretary who was connected to the murder. Some ministry officials are under arrest and, as a matter of fact, the place where they stay doesn’t look anything like a jailhouse and even “Imedi” had shown that. The relatives of the deceased, as well as the oppositionist forces, demand castigating the people who wished to see Girgviliani dead, and not only the assassinators. They also demand firing Merabishvili, whose workers are already suspected of taking advantage of their positions.
“I wish to inform everyone that I am not obsessed with money. I am simply using my potential through the means of business. Without that, anyone would just keep going to America to earn money or stay at the level of a worker in Hong Kong,” said Patarkatsishvili and added that he is the next big investor in Georgia after his investments in “British Petroleum”. Among many of his problems, he mentioned the construction of the oil pipeline in Kuliyev.
“For nine months, the Georgian government can’t decide whether or not to construct a railway there. However, 150 million dollars is already invested.”
He called on everyone not to consider his announcement as a battle call and not to make an enemy out of him, but rather to consider the criticism as the beginning of a dialogue between the authorities and businessmen for the well being of Georgia.
“I love my country just like every Georgian. I suggest the government start the cooperation between the authorities and businessmen because we are the ones who can help the government in any issue if, of course, they take our opinions into consideration,” said Patarkatsishvili.
The authorities got frustrated after hearing Patarkatsishvili talk about starting a constructive dialogue. They simply referred to him as an oppositionist leader. Bokeria recalled that he is being persecuted by Interpol upon request of Russia and said that Patarkatsishvili is making these announcements due to the fact that he didn’t get the same privileges that his competitors did and didn’t become the don Karleone Georgian businessman known all over the world.
“It turns out that Patarkatsishvili still remembers his past; he remembers how he and his colleagues used to control the government and business in Russia. But Georgia is neither under the control of Yeltsin or Putin, where they purge political oppositionists and shut down television networks. Patarkatsishvili can take part in the political processes, but he can’t threaten the Georgian authorities by shutting down his television program or with his influence,” said Bokeria and promised a victory to the oppositionists.
But the struggle is just beginning and it’s hard to say who will win. The authorities are not surrendering and don’t want to face the fact that most of the people have gone against them in such a short period of time; they claim that they are not thieves or oligarchs. The public meetings organized by the united opposition gather more and more people each time. One of the leaders of the Georgian conservative party Koba Davitashvili called on Georgian businessmen to consider things carefully and take action to help get out of this situation.
“We ask financial aid from the businessmen so that we can establish a fair and democratic country where the businessmen will not be forgotten,” said Davitashvili.