Soros Downplays Role in Georgia Revolution
NewsMax.com Wires
Wednesday, June 1, 2005
TBILISI, Georgia -- U.S. billionaire George Soros on Tuesday praised Georgia's "Rose Revolution," which catapulted opposition leaders to power 16 months ago, but played down the role of organizations that received funding from his foundation.
During his three-day visit to the Caucasus Mountain nation, Soros has been met with protests by Georgian nationalists who allege he is the power behind the pro-Western government of President Mikhail Saakashvili.
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Soros told a news conference that critics have exaggerated the role played by organizations who received funding from his Open Society Institute, which was holding its 10th anniversary commemoration in Georgia.
"I'm very pleased and proud of the work of the foundation in preparing Georgian society for what became a Rose Revolution, but the role of the foundation and my personal has been greatly exaggerated," Soros said in response to questions by reporters. "I think you here must know more than anybody else that the Rose Revolution was entirely the work of Georgian society."
Protests against election fraud snowballed into demonstrations that came to be known as the Rose Revolution. The demonstrations toppled the corruption-tainted regime of Eduard Shevardnadze and catapulted Saakashvili to power.
Soros, who met with Saakashvili on Monday, cited the subsequent popular uprisings in Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan that threw out entrenched leadership in those two former Soviet republics and brought some opposition leaders to power.
"And I think that there is an inspiration throughout the region to build freedom and less oppressive and less corrupt governments. But the foundation is not engaged in preparing revolutions - that is not the mission of the foundation," Soros said.
Some Georgian politicians have alleged that Soros had personally appointed seven Georgian ministers to their jobs and was paying their salaries.
Up to this year, some government salaries were, in fact, paid by international organizations, but as of 2005 the state budget has been covering them.
"Neither I nor the foundation exerted any influence about the selection of the people who were entitled to these supplemented salaries," he said.
The billionaire also said opposition protests during his visit were a sign of Georgia's democratic process.
© 2005 The Associated Press
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