Security concept revisited
By Messenger Staff
Friday, October 30
Georgia’s state security concept does not exist. The one which existed before August 2008 has proven to be inadequate, wrongly designed and a failure. Ever since the administration has promised to elaborate a new state security doctrine which would take the real situation we face into account but so far there is none. The country is moving forward, or rather running on the spot, like a blind man without a stick.
This situation has seemingly encouraged Nino Burjanadze, the former Parliament Chair who is now one of the leaders of the non-Parliamentary, so-called ‘radical’ opposition, to offer her party’s vision of what the country’s security concept should be. She has used some time in criticising the authorities for not creating a document which objectively evaluates the current situation, highlighting threats and identifying ways of dealing with them, elaborates a new strategic vision and approach to neutralising them and then outlining how to implement this.
A couple of days ago Nino Burjanadze’s party, the Democratic Movement –United Georgia, organised a presentation of its own security concept. Representatives of the foreign diplomatic corps, journalists, political analysts and politicians attended this. Burjanadze highlighted that the authorities often state that opposition parties only criticise and don’t suggest any positive programmes, but the new security concept presented by her party proves that the opposition is constructive, creative and efficient. She suggested an open discussion of her vision so that everyone would be able to submit remarks, notes and questions in order that a viable document would eventually be elaborated collectively.
The document stressed the different threats Georgia is facing currently, external and internal. Burjanadze said that slowly the country is losing its influence in the region and the major threat to the country is internal, i.e. the current leadership, which puts its personal interests above the national interest. Burjanadze highlighted that to restore the sovereignty and integrity of the country it should be further strengthened by introducing genuine democratic values, with genuine reforms not facades being carried out. Burjanadze said that now anti-democratic tendencies have begun to dominate in the administration. She noted that there is a direct connection between the level of democracy in a country and its security. She repudiated the idea that first territorial integrity should be restored and then democracy would come.
Most likely the security concept suggested by the Democratic Movement – United Georgia will stimulate other parties to submit their own visions and possibly there will be more such presentations in the near future. How having several competing security concepts, the cornerstones of the policies of competing parties, will ensure Georgia’s security is another question.
This situation has seemingly encouraged Nino Burjanadze, the former Parliament Chair who is now one of the leaders of the non-Parliamentary, so-called ‘radical’ opposition, to offer her party’s vision of what the country’s security concept should be. She has used some time in criticising the authorities for not creating a document which objectively evaluates the current situation, highlighting threats and identifying ways of dealing with them, elaborates a new strategic vision and approach to neutralising them and then outlining how to implement this.
A couple of days ago Nino Burjanadze’s party, the Democratic Movement –United Georgia, organised a presentation of its own security concept. Representatives of the foreign diplomatic corps, journalists, political analysts and politicians attended this. Burjanadze highlighted that the authorities often state that opposition parties only criticise and don’t suggest any positive programmes, but the new security concept presented by her party proves that the opposition is constructive, creative and efficient. She suggested an open discussion of her vision so that everyone would be able to submit remarks, notes and questions in order that a viable document would eventually be elaborated collectively.
The document stressed the different threats Georgia is facing currently, external and internal. Burjanadze said that slowly the country is losing its influence in the region and the major threat to the country is internal, i.e. the current leadership, which puts its personal interests above the national interest. Burjanadze highlighted that to restore the sovereignty and integrity of the country it should be further strengthened by introducing genuine democratic values, with genuine reforms not facades being carried out. Burjanadze said that now anti-democratic tendencies have begun to dominate in the administration. She noted that there is a direct connection between the level of democracy in a country and its security. She repudiated the idea that first territorial integrity should be restored and then democracy would come.
Most likely the security concept suggested by the Democratic Movement – United Georgia will stimulate other parties to submit their own visions and possibly there will be more such presentations in the near future. How having several competing security concepts, the cornerstones of the policies of competing parties, will ensure Georgia’s security is another question.