[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 12 (Tuesday, February 8, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S1144]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
COMMEMORATING THE LIFE OF THE LATE ZURAB ZHVANIA OF THE REPUBLIC OF
GEORGIA
Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 46, which was submitted earlier
today.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will state the resolution by title.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 46) commemorating the life of the
late Zurab Zhvania, former Prime Minister of the Republic of
Georgia.
This being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
resolution.
Mr. LUGAR. Mr. President, today I offer a resolution commemorating
the life of the late Zurab Zhvania, former Prime Minister of the
Republic of Georgia.
At the request of President Bush, I was honored to lead a delegation
last weekend to represent the United States at Prime Minister Zhvania's
funeral. Also representing the United States was Paul Applegarth,
Millennium Challenge Corporation CEO; and Lorne Craner, President of
the International Republican Institute.
Prime Minister Zhvania was a prominent leader in Georgia's Rose
Revolution. He was a true reformer, lauded for his intellectual acuity,
and a friend of America. I was fortunate to meet with Zhvania last
December. We had an extensive discussion about Georgia's promising
future and vigorous agenda to transform it into a regional model of
political and economic progress.
The U.S.-Georgia relationship is strong. I am grateful to Georgia's
recent decision to increase its troop level in Iraq. I am also grateful
for its partnership in the War on Terror, including its troop
commitment in Afghanistan and to the peacekeeping mission in Kosovo. I
am hopeful that our strategic relationship with Georgia will continue
to grow as we face the new threats of the 21st century.
The death of Prime Minister Zhvania is a loss for Georgia, for the
United States, and for the community of democratic nations. I ask my
colleagues for their support of this resolution.
Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, on a personal note, I knew Zurab
Zhvania. I worked with him quite a bit. He was one of the original
democracy advocates inside Georgia, a country that came out of the
former Soviet Union, a wonderful man, with a great heart. He started
out as an environmentalist. That is how he got active in the political
system. He and Mr. Shevardnaze formed an alliance and moved the country
toward democracy through a tumultuous time period. He was one of the
lead architects of the Rose Revolution and democracy coming forward in
Georgia.
I cannot let this pass without noting what an incredible loss he is
to Georgia. He would have been one of at least the top one to three
people who make that country move to where it is today. They are
suspicious circumstances under which he died--gas inhalation in an
apartment. It appears to be natural causes, but there has been a lot of
difficult political activity going on in Georgia--kidnappings and
deaths that have taken place. I hope that was not the case.
I have my own personal thoughts of him, and my sympathy goes out to
his family--his wife and young children. He was 41 years old. He was a
wonderful guy and he will be sorely missed in Georgia and around the
world. I know his family will miss him dearly.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed
to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid
upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The resolution (S. Res. 46) was agreed to.
The preamble was agreed to.
The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:
S. Res. 46
Whereas on the night of February 3, 2005, the Prime
Minister of the Republic of Georgia, Zurab Zhvania, died,
apparently due to carbon monoxide poisoning caused by a
malfunctioning heater;
Whereas the death of Prime Minister Zhvania at the age of
41 is a tragic loss for the Republic of Georgia;
Whereas Zurab Zhvania was a dedicated reformer whose
visionary leadership inspired a new generation of political
leaders in the Republic of Georgia;
Whereas Zurab Zhvania founded the Citizen's Union Party,
which won elections in 1995, making him the Speaker of the
Georgian Parliament;
Whereas under the leadership of Speaker Zhvania, the
Georgian Parliament was transformed into an effective and
transparent legislative institution;
Whereas in November 2001, Speaker Zhvania resigned his
position in protest when government authorities attempted to
suppress the leading independent television station in the
Republic of Georgia;
Whereas Zurab Zhvania formed the United Democrats, a party
that blossomed into one of the major forces that brought
about the Rose Revolution in the Republic of Georgia in
November 2003;
Whereas in the most dangerous hours of the Rose Revolution,
when it appeared that armed force could be used against the
peaceful protestors, Zurab Zhvania dismissed his bodyguards
and led a march to Parliament accompanied only by his young
children;
Whereas Zurab Zhvania was named Prime Minister of the
Republic of Georgia in November 2003, and led governmental
efforts to develop and implement far-reaching economic,
judicial, military, and social reforms thereby turning the
promise of the Rose Revolution into real results that have
dramatically improved life in the Republic of Georgia;
Whereas the strong commitment of Zurab Zhvania to the
peaceful restoration of the territorial integrity of Georgia
was most recently displayed in the central role he played in
the development of the unprecedented and generous proposal of
the Republic of Georgia for resolving the status of South
Ossetia peacefully and justly; and
Whereas Zurab Zhvania's vision of the historical destiny of
Georgia was eloquently expressed before the Council of Europe
on April 27, 1999, when he said, ``I am Georgian and
therefore, I am European'':
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) expresses its deepest condolences to the family of
Zurab Zhvania for their tragic loss of a son, husband, and
father;
(2) commends the courage, energy, political imagination,
and leadership of Zurab Zhvania that were so critical to the
development of a democratic Republic of Georgia; and
(3) recognizes that the integration of the Republic of
Georgia into Euro-Atlantic institutions will be the
completion of the vision of Zurab Zhvania and his most
lasting legacy.
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