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Aslan Abashidze | |
|---|---|
ასლან აბაშიძე | |
_(cropped).jpg) Abashidze in 2002 | |
| 1stChairman of the Government of Adjara | |
| In office 18 August 1991 – 5 May 2004 | |
| President | Eduard Shevardnadze Mikheil Saakashvili |
| Preceded by | Position Established |
| Succeeded by | Levan Varshalomidze |
| Chairman ofSupreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara | |
| In office 15 March 1991 – 2001 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Antaz Kikava |
| Chairman ofDemocratic Union for Revival | |
| In office 1992–2004 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Deputy Chairman ofParliament of Georgia | |
| In office 1990–1995 | |
| Member OfParliament of Georgia | |
| In office 1990–2004 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1938-07-20)20 July 1938 (age 86) Batumi,Adjar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic,Georgian SSR,Soviet Union |
| Nationality | Soviet (1938–1991) Georgian (1991–) |
| Political party | Round Table—Free Georgia (1990–1992) Democratic Union for Revival (1992–2004) |
| Height | 167 cm (5 ft 6 in)[1] |
| Relations | Memed Abashidze(grandfather) |
| Signature | .svg) |
Aslan Abashidze (Georgian:ასლან აბაშიძე; born 20 July 1938) is the former leader of theAjarian Autonomous Republic in westernGeorgia. He served in this capacity from 18 August[citation needed] 1991 to 5 May 2004. He resigned under the pressure of the central Georgian government and mass opposition rallies during the2004 Adjara crisis, and has since lived inMoscow,Russia. On 22 January 2007, the Batumi city court found him guilty of misuse of office and embezzlement ofGEL 98.2 million in state funds, and sentenced him to 15 years' imprisonmentin absentia. He also faces a charge of murder of his former deputy, Nodar Imnadze, in 1991.[2]
Abashidze was born into a renownedMuslimAjarian family, a branch of theAbashidze princely house. His grandfatherMemed Abashidze was a famous writer and member of the Parliament of theDemocratic Republic of Georgia between 1918 and 1921, but was shot onJoseph Stalin's orders in 1937. His father was sent to theGulag for ten years but survived. Despite a difficult childhood, during the 1950s Abashidze was able to obtain degrees in history and philosophy at Batumi University and in economics atTbilisi State University. He worked as a teacher and economist for a period before joining Georgia's regional public service. He was the director of several technical service institutes before being named a regional minister in Batumi, the capital of Ajaria, where he served as Minister of Community Service. He was later appointed the national First Deputy Minister of Community Service and moved to Tbilisi. This was, however, a relatively minor government post.
In spite of his descent from a renowned Muslim family that played a pivotal role in strengthening Georgian and Islamic identities among the Muslims of Ajaria, Aslan Abashidze converted toChristianity.[3]
Abashidze is close toGrigory Luchansky [ru;uk;de], the owner of theVienna, Austria based Nordex.[4]
When Georgia regained its independence on 9 April 1991, Abashidze secured his appointment as Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Ajaria. He was also appointed Deputy Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia, a post that he retained in 1990–1992 and 1992–1995. He built an independent power base in Ajaria by steering a course between the Tbilisi government and the opposition. He established his own army as a counterweight to the armed factions that supported and opposed PresidentZviad Gamsakhurdia. When civil war broke out between pro- and anti-Gamsakhurdia forces in the winter of 1991–92 and again in the autumn of 1993, he kept both sides out of Ajaria, ensuring that the fighting did not spread to the republic.
However, unlike the rulers ofAbkhazia andSouth Ossetia, he did not attempt to seek independence for Ajaria and pursued what can best be described as a policy of "armed autonomy" after thefall of Gamsakhurdia. He effectively turned Ajaria into a "free economic zone" with few restrictions on trade but with the customs duties and revenues going to his government rather than to Tbilisi.
Abashidze attracted some criticism for his heavy-handed rule, which was often described as feudal. He established his own political party in 1992, known variously as theUnion of Democratic Revival or the Union for Georgia's Rebirth. In 1998, he was elected President of Ajaria with 93% of the vote in what Russian observers regarded as a generally free and fair election.
He preferred to exercise influence from a distance, rather than attempting to bid for national power, and consistently adopted a policy of backing whoever seemed to offer the best deal for maintaining his rule over Ajaria. He reached an accommodation with PresidentEduard Shevardnadze, who appeared to have preferred to live with a semi-independent Ajaria rather than risk another civil war. His relations with Shevardnadze grew frosty at the end of the 1990s, as he and the government traded accusations of corruption and treason.
The forced resignation of Shevardnadze in November 2003 – widely dubbed the "Rose Revolution" – created a political crisis between Abashidze and the new government inTbilisi. The Georgian opposition had strongly criticised Shevardnadze for failing to resolve the problem of separatism in the country, including what they saw as the lack of control which Tbilisi had over Ajaria. Not surprisingly, Abashidze saw this as a threat to his position and the continued semi-independence of Ajaria, and denounced the downfall of Shevardnadze as a "coup". He declared a state of emergency in Ajaria and sought Russian support in the event of an open conflict. However, he failed to attract much support from Russia and came under intense pressure from theUnited States to compromise. On 25 January 2004, Abashidze met the newly elected PresidentMikhail Saakashvili in Batumi and declared his intention to work with Saakashvili.
This relationship soon foundered after Saakashvili vowed to restore central authority over Georgia's separatist regions. In mid-March 2004, a motorcade carrying Saakashvili to planned political events in Ajaria ahead of the 28 March Georgian legislative elections was turned back by Ajarian border guards. Abashidze accused Saakashvili of leading a military convoy into the republic with the aim of overthrowing him, and declared a state of emergency in Ajaria and a mobilization of armed formations. In response, Saakashvili issued a one-day ultimatum to Abashidze to accept central authority and disband the Ajarian paramilitary forces. The government also closed transit routes into and out of Ajaria.
Amid high tension and widespread public demonstrations, foreign governments and international organisations appealed to both sides to exercise restraint and resolve their differences peacefully. Abashidze resigned as leader of Ajaria on 5 May 2004, when Special Forces entered the region and Adjarian paramilitary forces began to swap sides and disarm. The next day, after being granted assurances that he would not be extradited, Abashidze left forMoscow, without a shot being fired in the region.
Abashidze's property in Georgia, as well as that of his close relatives, was frozen by the Georgian courts and eventually transferred to the state's ownership. According toThe New York Times, as of December 2012, Abashidze was living inBarvikhavillage inOdintsovsky District ofMoscow Oblast.[5]
In August 2016, the Batumi City Court sentenced Abashidze to a 15-year imprisonment in absentia for multiple charges, including misuse of office, embezzlement, organization of terrorist attacks in 2004 and the murder of his former deputy, Nodar Imnadze, on 30 April 1991.[6]
Aslan Abashidze is a widower, having been married to Maguli Gogitidze, a musician, with whom he had two children: a son and daughter.
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