My comments are regarding Mr. Beck's recent interview with Georgian President Saakashvili, on the March 18th 2008 show. I won't say too much about Mr. Beck's butchering of the President's name because it is a difficult name to pronounce for us English speakers (although if you are going to interview someone as prominent as a president, or anyone for that matter, you should at least make an attempt to get the correct pronunciation before going on the air). My main problem with Mr. Beck’s interview was how he placed President Saakashvili on a pedestal, showering him with praise as a man who understands democracy and freedom better than our own presidential candidates. President Saakashvili undoubtedly has done a lot for the Georgian people and his rise to power in the 2003 Rose Revolution was certainly an inspiring event. However, has Mr. Beck been following Georgian news? Was he even aware of the tumultuous events that occurred in Georgia in the beginning of last November?
Let me bring him up to date: President Saakashvili, the epitome of democracy and freedom according to Mr. Beck, declared a state of emergency in November and called troops on its own people who were peacefully protesting against the President and his government. Georgian troops forcefully used rubber bullets, tear gas and water hoses, injuring hundreds, to disperse the peaceful opposition (in a somewhat reminiscent manner of the infamous police brutality used in the American South in the 1950s and 60s). The President also ordered the blackout of all TV and radio stations, with the exception, of course, of the government-controlled station. The police even completely destroyed the equipment of one of the most popular Georgian TV stations, Imedi. There was also evidence of the use of government issued wire-taps on the opposition leaders’ phone lines. These actions can hardly be considered either democratic or free and Mr. Beck only embarrassed himself when he repeatedly showered the President with praise, even stating that Saakashvili should be running for the US presidency. President Saakashvili also completely glossed over these hard facts when he gave himself praise for the police reforms.
Let’s also not forget what is currently going on in Georgia as we speak. The opposition is holding a hunger strike in protest to the elections that took place in January because there are disputes over the validity of the results. Whether the results were valid or not, Saakashvili still only received 52% of the vote, which was a far cry from his 96% support he had in the Rose elections. Despite the many good things the President really has done for the country, the bottom line is that people are disheartened by the lack of progress on many the his promises he made in 2003, particularly the issue of poverty. Instead Saakashvili has reverted back to the rhetoric of his predecessors when he cries of Russian interference in order to divert attention away from his own misjudgments and mistakes.
Mr. Beck completely skipped all of these facts and never asked any of the tough or real questions that he is famously known to do with his other guests. But I guess I don’t really blame Mr. Beck for not knowing about these recent events because he would have to read news sources other than CNN.com and watch news programs other than his own in order to know and fully understand the current crisis in Georgia. Mr. Beck, you were completely right when you said you were honored to have President Saakashvili as a guest, and you blew it. What a missed opportunity to inform your viewers on an already misunderstood and relatively unknown part of the world.