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NATIONAL FORUM URGES REDISCOVERY OF NATIONHOOD FOR MARCH ON DAY OF REMEMBRANCE
The Messenger
Sept 15 2011
Georgia
The opposition party the National Forum (NF), plans to hold a rally
straightforwardly called "The March of the Georgians" on September 27.
So far this is the first demonstration planned by the opposition
for the autumn. The leader of the NF, Gubaz Sanikidze, stated that
the march will be a form of protest and an attempt to find the right
rallying cry to consolidate Georgian society and confront the governing
administration.
September 27 is one of the most tragic days in modern Georgian
history. It marks the fall of Sokhumi and has been commemorated since
1993. The date is usually commemorated in different ways and this year
remembrance will be combined with what the National Forum hopes will
be a revival of Georgian independence and sovereignty. According to
Sanikidze, this revival should aim at establishing a just, democratic
form of governance in the country. As well as this high ideal, any
nationwide movement should protect the country from the threats that
have grown under the current leadership. The NF highlights three major
aspects: the first is the security of the country, the second is the
status of the Georgian language and the third is the current state
of property ownership in Georgia. The NF's views on these issues are
worth exploring one by one.
Firstly, according to the NF, Georgia does not have any viable
guarantees for its security. This was confirmed by the August war of
2008. Georgia has bad relations with Russia but there is a possibility
that relations with other neighboring countries could deteriorate as
well. National borders are determined with Turkey but not with Armenia
or Azerbaijan, states Sanikidze. Secondly, the NF also argues that
the Georgian language has lost its status as the state language. They
point to attempts to establish the English language as a second state
language and open declarations by state officials that anybody who does
not speak English will not find work in the public sector. For the
NF, this is tantamount to establishing English as the state language
albeit unofficially. The NF sees a future Georgia in which Georgians
and the ethnic Armenians of Javakheti or the Azerbaijanis of Marneuli
are forced to communicate in English with each other.
Thirdly, the NF highlights the issue of property ownership. According
to the NF, too much property is owned by foreigners or members of the
ruling party. Often owners of the property are registered abroad in
obscure places disguising who owns what in Georgia. Sanikidze says
that Georgians are no longer hosts or guests in their own country.
Instead, Georgians are like lodgers - always ready to ship off
somewhere else.
For these reasons Sanikidze and the NF accuse the current government
as undermining the Georgian nation and going against Georgian values.
In articulating its grievances and goals, the NF has attempted to
formulate the main contours of a renewed sense of modern Georgian
nationhood that they hope will strike a chord with the Georgian people.
September 27 will pilot this project. On that day of remembering the
past, the future will also be in the balance. A lot will depend of
course on how many people come out into the streets. Obviously this
march will be openly and fervently against the ruling government. A
strong showing on the march will be seen as a sign of growing Georgian
nationalism of an anti-western bent, given that the current authorities
enjoy so much support from the West. A weak showing on the march will
be seen as confirmation of the fact that there is still plenty of
mileage left in the government's orientation toward the global markets
that the NF see as looming over an embattled Georgian nation-state.
From: Baghdasarian
The Messenger
Sept 15 2011
Georgia
The opposition party the National Forum (NF), plans to hold a rally
straightforwardly called "The March of the Georgians" on September 27.
So far this is the first demonstration planned by the opposition
for the autumn. The leader of the NF, Gubaz Sanikidze, stated that
the march will be a form of protest and an attempt to find the right
rallying cry to consolidate Georgian society and confront the governing
administration.
September 27 is one of the most tragic days in modern Georgian
history. It marks the fall of Sokhumi and has been commemorated since
1993. The date is usually commemorated in different ways and this year
remembrance will be combined with what the National Forum hopes will
be a revival of Georgian independence and sovereignty. According to
Sanikidze, this revival should aim at establishing a just, democratic
form of governance in the country. As well as this high ideal, any
nationwide movement should protect the country from the threats that
have grown under the current leadership. The NF highlights three major
aspects: the first is the security of the country, the second is the
status of the Georgian language and the third is the current state
of property ownership in Georgia. The NF's views on these issues are
worth exploring one by one.
Firstly, according to the NF, Georgia does not have any viable
guarantees for its security. This was confirmed by the August war of
2008. Georgia has bad relations with Russia but there is a possibility
that relations with other neighboring countries could deteriorate as
well. National borders are determined with Turkey but not with Armenia
or Azerbaijan, states Sanikidze. Secondly, the NF also argues that
the Georgian language has lost its status as the state language. They
point to attempts to establish the English language as a second state
language and open declarations by state officials that anybody who does
not speak English will not find work in the public sector. For the
NF, this is tantamount to establishing English as the state language
albeit unofficially. The NF sees a future Georgia in which Georgians
and the ethnic Armenians of Javakheti or the Azerbaijanis of Marneuli
are forced to communicate in English with each other.
Thirdly, the NF highlights the issue of property ownership. According
to the NF, too much property is owned by foreigners or members of the
ruling party. Often owners of the property are registered abroad in
obscure places disguising who owns what in Georgia. Sanikidze says
that Georgians are no longer hosts or guests in their own country.
Instead, Georgians are like lodgers - always ready to ship off
somewhere else.
For these reasons Sanikidze and the NF accuse the current government
as undermining the Georgian nation and going against Georgian values.
In articulating its grievances and goals, the NF has attempted to
formulate the main contours of a renewed sense of modern Georgian
nationhood that they hope will strike a chord with the Georgian people.
September 27 will pilot this project. On that day of remembering the
past, the future will also be in the balance. A lot will depend of
course on how many people come out into the streets. Obviously this
march will be openly and fervently against the ruling government. A
strong showing on the march will be seen as a sign of growing Georgian
nationalism of an anti-western bent, given that the current authorities
enjoy so much support from the West. A weak showing on the march will
be seen as confirmation of the fact that there is still plenty of
mileage left in the government's orientation toward the global markets
that the NF see as looming over an embattled Georgian nation-state.
From: Baghdasarian