An asylum seeker WTF … let him eat cake and apply once gain to seek exile in the United States, his CIA alma mater. And Sandra Roelofs is his estranged wife who was a darling of the Rose Revolution in Georgia.
Dutch to accept Saakashvili if he arrives – minister | UNIAN / Dutch News |
The Netherlands will accept former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili if he decides to leave Ukraine, the Dutch foreign minister said Friday after reports the firebrand politician may move to the country.
Dutch minister Halbe Zijlstra’s comments come after several reports, including by the NOS public broadcaster, said Saakashvili has applied to travel to The Netherlands and that his request has been approved.
More below the fold …
Due to Html problems I’ve posted the full diary @EuroTrib.
“He is married to a Dutch woman Sandra Roelofs and if he applies for a passport it is possible under Dutch law,” Zijlstra told journalists in The Hague, where he attended a meeting with visiting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
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Dutch officials told AFP that “the lawyer of Mr Saakashvili has asked the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) about the possibility of a family reunification with his Dutch wife… in The Netherlands.”The IND “has determined that an MVV (provisional residence permit) can be issued to Mr Saakashvili,” Dutch justice ministry spokeswoman Karin Donk added, but declined to answer further questions as it “concerned an individual case”.
Saakashvili was arrested earlier this month in Kiev, accused of trying to stage a Russia-sponsored coup, but a court released him for the duration of the probe.
Georgia: Sliding Towards Authoritarianism? | International Crisis Group – Dec. 2007 | [pdf]
The government’s repressive and disproportionate response to peaceful protests in November 2007 shocked Western capitals, which had viewed Georgia as a beacon of democracy in a region of illiberal regimes. Since the Rose Revolution, however, President Mikheil Saakashvili’s administration has become increasingly intolerant of dissent as it has sought to reform inefficient post-Soviet institutions, stimulate a deeply dysfunctional economy, regain the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and deal with its meddling Russian neighbour. In an attempt to restore his democratic credentials, Saakashvili has called an early presidential election for 5 January 2008, which he is expected to win, but a free and fair election will not be enough to repair the damage. The West should press the government to abandon its increasingly authoritarian behaviour, engage in a genuine dialogue with political opponents and make the ongoing reform process transparent and accountable.
Georgia’s young and dynamic leadership came to power in 2003 with great Western goodwill and some tangible support. Having inherited a failing state, the government committed itself to democratic governance and liberal reforms, and actively pursued membership in the European Union (EU) and NATO. It has had significant success in rebuilding moribund institutions and implementing sweeping reforms that have transformed the economy.
Saakashvili’s administration quickly found itself dealing with a resurgent Russian neighbour flush with oil money. The Putin government reacted with increasing hostility to Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic orientation, particularly its NATO membership aspirations. It has sought to bludgeon Georgia into submission through economic embargoes and supported Abkhaz and South Ossetian secession ambitions. Saakashvili has responded with confrontational nationalistic rhetoric, while seeking to rally Western backing. Many of Tbilisi’s repeated accusations of Russian meddling are warranted, particularly with regard to the conflict regions, but claims of Russian involvement in domestic politics, which have been used to justify some of the infringements of civil liberties, are less credible.
Further reading about the former Bush ally and President of Georgia, now convicted in absentia for abuse of power …
○ Georgian Attack Killed 1,600 S Ossetians
○ Heated Cold War Exchange at UNSC (Aug. 2008)
○ Israel’s Mercenaries in Georgia
○ Fugitive Georgian Ex-President Appointed Governor of Odessa Region
○ Obama’s Militaristic Policy of Regime Change and Propaganda
