Gorbachev: conclusions remain to be drawn on August 1991 events

     Russia has yet to draw the final conclusions  from  the  failed Soviet coup of August 1991, former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev told Interfax  by phone from Greece, where he is currently vacationing.
     "A  repeat  of  those  events is impossible today - society and the structures  responsible  for  security  have  learnt all the appropriate lessons from what happened," he said.
     "People  for whom democracy proved a hard nut to crack then and who did not  want  to part with what they received from Communism decided to embark on this venture, which generally was a coup," Gorbachev said.
     "The  development of our country has shown that not all conclusions have been drawn yet," he added.
     "Instead  of  an  investigation into the shelling of the parliament building,  the  persons  involved  in  it  were  effectively amnestied," Gorbachev  said,  referring  to  an  incident  during  the  anti-Yeltsin parliamentary revolt of October 1993.
     "A large number of people who sided with the GKChP are currently in power and have received awards," the former Soviet president said, using the Russian  acronym  for the State Emergency Situation Committee, which staged the 1991 coup attempt.
     Not  all conclusions have been drawn yet regarding what path Russia should follow, he said.
     "Even today, a lot of people seek to hold on to power by any means. But they  don't want to do it through honest and open elections in which the voters make the decision," Gorbachev said.
     "It  is  high  time  to  understand that only democracy, freedom of speech, a responsible social policy and a transparent market economy can help improve people's lives and make the state stronger," he said.
     On  August  19,  1991, several high-ranking Soviet officials formed the State  Emergency  Situation  Committee and announced the transfer of the president's  powers  to Vice President Gennady Yanayev, referring to Gorbachev's  alleged inability to perform his duties for health reasons.
A nationwide  state  of  emergency was declared. However, the public did not support  the  GKChP's moves. Gorbachev returned to Moscow. The GKChP members were sent to prison, but they were subsequently amnestied.

Interfax, 18.08.2006