GEORGIAN PRESIDENT WARNS OF “FIERCE BATTLE”, “SACRIFICE” AT PARTY CONGRESS
Imedi TV, Tbilisi
22 Nov 04
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has said that Georgia is not
yet liberated and is facing a “very fierce battle”. In an impassioned
speech at the ruling National Movement’s party congress in Tbilisi
on 22 November, Saakashvili said that, while the 300,000 Georgians
killed in World War II were “very worthy people”, the country “will
sacrifice whatever it takes” to gain freedom. He said that Georgia
would only be truly free when not a single foreign soldier was left on
its soil against its will. Saakashvili also launched a scathing attack
on former President Eduard Shevardnadze and current opponents, accusing
them of fighting reforms. The following is an excerpt from the address
broadcast live by Imedi TV; subheadings have been inserted editorially:
Welcome, my comrades-in-arms, my sisters and brothers, my closest
friends. On your behalf I also welcome those who have not been able
to get into this hall, hundreds of thousands of them, our members,
our comrades-in-arms, our supporters, our staunch fellow citizens. I
welcome the 2,000 or so delegates who are here from Georgia’s various
regions. I welcome our guests who have come here from many other
countries and all over our own country.
Georgia’s “true heroes”
Today is, of course, an important day for us. I would like to say to
you that I saw the video at the beginning (of the conference) and I was
rudely awakened many times by the repeated mentions of my name. That
was because the true heroes of what happened in Georgia one year ago,
what has been happening in recent months and what happened in Batumi
on the St George’s Day in May (Georgia also celebrates St George’s Day
on 23 November), are not party leaders. True heroes are Zaza Damenia
(soldier killed in South Ossetia) and his mother, who addressed you
all here today.
Trues heroes are Shorena (a young teacher who addressed the conference
earlier) and hundreds of other young idealists like her, remarkable
people for whom their homeland is more than simply empty words and
drum-beating, or some general flag waving or preservation of rituals,
although the preservation of rituals is very important when talking
about the state. This is her daily work. Shorena did not tell
you that every morning – when I met her, I specifically asked her
about it – she gets up at six o’clock and takes four different buses
to go from Tbilisi to Sadakhlo (a place with a large ethnic Azeri
population). She spends more than half her salary on these buses, so
that she can teach not just the Georgian language, but also Georgian
national consciousness. These are the kind of people who are building
the new Georgia.
No-one thought that it would be possible to create a society with
a completely different mentality so suddenly. For example, Nino
(Burjanadze, parliament speaker) said to me that when she arrived in
Chiatura to deliver her condolences to the family of a man killed
in Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) during an antismuggling operation,
a mourner cried out to her and asked who did this child die for? His
mother was there, a Siberian lady. She raised her head and said, don’t
you ever dare ask that again in my presence. This was my only child,
but if I had another, I would unquestioningly let him die for the
country, she said. Those are the kinds of mothers we have in Georgia.
Therefore, the rose revolution was not just a flash in the pan. The
rose revolution was a magnificent manifestation of our dream. The
rose revolution was a dream for a strong, proud, free and happy
Georgia. With the revolution we unleashed our desire for freedom. The
most precious thing in our national anthem is this: freedom is ours
today, now, forever, eternally, historically Georgia’s freedom and
Georgia’s salvation. The rose revolution waved our flag in front
of the whole world, on television screens. The whole world saw it
as a symbol of democracy and freedom. It was a banner for all those
fighting for democracy, with their own flags now flies the Georgian
five-cross flag. I am very proud of that. Today our flag, for them,
and more importantly for ourselves, is a symbol of our future victory.
Thirty years of Shevardnadze
Until we appeared, the National Movement, the Burjanadze-Democrats,
all the other party and non-party people appeared – our groups do not
consist entirely of party people – what was politics? Politics was what
(former President Eduard) Shevardnadze and his predecessors made it to
be. Shevardnadze was doing it for 30 years – I was five when he became
first secretary of the Georgian Communist Party Central Committee –
and his predecessors in previous decades. Politics is the art of the
possible but what was possible in this country? Intrigue, filth,
back-stabbing, speculation, shady deals, everything that is worst
about human nature.
We showed that the Georgian people also have the ability to create
what Vaclav Havel, leader of the Czechoslovak and European democratic
movement, called the art of the impossible. The art of the impossible
is for politics to improve itself and the whole world, the world around
us and our region. This art, the art of the impossible, in the past
year has been perfectly demonstrated in the region, specifically,
by our people and our state.
Where were we one year ago? We were in a world in which for the past
30 years we had been taught to think about doing one thing but do
the opposite. We were taught that promises meant nothing. You could
promise whatever you wanted and no-one would hold you to it. We were
taught that honesty did not exist and everyone that said they were
honest was merely playing at it. It was impossible for such a person
not to have some ulterior motives.
He told us that national ideals, a national mentality, meant
nothing. These were even labelled negative phenomena in the
70s. However, those eighty years (of Soviet rule) could not destroy
what our nation had been building for thousands of years. That is what
saved us – an intolerance of injustice, fighting spirit, bravery and
standing by each other.
You remember what they were saying to us last year. I remember very
well that in summer last year everyone was telling us that, whatever
we did, people would not want to come out on to the streets. That is
what Shevardnadze, (former regional governor Levan) Mamaladze and
other discredited political parties which are talking a lot today
were saying. But we proved them to be very wrong.
When the election took place they did everything possible to put
people off politics. They admitted that they were are bad but said
that others were no better. They are trouble makers, crazy, deranged,
untrustworthy, they said. They said it would be better if we kept out
of politics. What are young people doing getting mixed up in politics,
they said. We won’t allow the politicization of young people, they
said, young people shouldn’t be interested in their future. They
thought that people would not turn out for the election. We showed
that they were gravely mistaken and we turned out for the election.
Then they said, as Zurab (Zhvania, prime minister) mentioned, that our
union would quickly fragment and that we could not hold an election. We
held three elections – regional, parliamentary and presidential,
all of which the whole world judged to be free and democratic. The
one and only country in the CIS where, in the last 15 years, or,
rather 13 years, that this organization has existed, elections have
been judged to have been free and democratic, is Georgia.
We had made promises and so the time came to keep these promises. We
promised people that we would return to them the property that these
bandits had stolen and bring them to justice. We will get our hands
on those who managed to escape. We have dealt with the rest as the
law requires and their property has been confiscated. Those who have
not had it confiscated yet will have it done by court procedures and
it will be returned to those to whom it belongs – the Georgian people.
We promised that we would pay arrears, the prime minister spoke
about this. We have almost completely resolved this problem.
Medieval king – model for Georgia today
What is our model? Naturally, our model is (12th-century Georgian
king) Davit Aghmashenebeli’s Georgia. We have promised that, just as
Davit Aghmashenebeli excelled at putting an end to the rule of feudal
lords in Georgia, so will we. What happened in Ajaria on St George’s
Day last year (as heard) is as important as the day when Ajaria again
became part of Georgia. This year we managed to reincorporate Ajaria
into Georgia. We should never forget it, so that we do not have to
do it again (sentence as heard). (Applause)
We promised to double pensions. However, while managing to increase
pensions somewhat, we had to spend money to clear old debts. But
I confirm that we must always keep our word because I put my word,
our word, above personal interest and above my own life. That is why,
as of 1 January, the minimum pension in Georgia will double to and
equal 28 lari, just as we promised the public. No-one in the state
sector will be paid more than 115 lari next year, and we will fulfil
this promise too. (Applause, laughter) I meant less than 115 lari.
What are our main tasks today? We are a party that has a special
responsibility. The worst thing would be – Nino (Burjanadze),
Zurab (Zhvania) and others spoke about it earlier – for us to start
saying that the budget is now three times the size it used to be,
figures are good, power supplies have improved and there will be
round-the-clock electricity in Tbilisi, and allow ourselves to rest on
our laurels. That would be the biggest mistake we could make. As long
as there is poverty in Georgia, and there still is a lot of poverty in
Georgia, as long as there is even a single home without electricity,
and we must understand that the majority of Georgia’s regions still
do not have electricity most of the time, as long as Georgia is not
united, which is the main thing we lack, it would be wrong and even
amoral for us to speak of any achievements, and especially to flaunt
our achievements. That is not something that could help us achieve
our goal. (Passage omitted)
There are people who have closed ranks around the mafia. There are
mafiosos in prison who use mobile phones, have millions in bank
accounts, control certain sections of the press and some political
groups and are busy fighting the new Georgian state round the
clock. But these people do not know that we will not back down. They
do not know that we cannot be blackmailed. They do not realize that
it is impossible to talk to us in this tone because the public is not
suffering from amnesia and knows full well what these people are worth.
People who are currently fighting reforms under certain slogans,
claiming that they are protecting national values and the ideology of
Ilia (Chavchavadze, 19-20th-century Georgian writer and public figure)
– (changes tack) That is quite outrageous because there has been no
greater reformer in Georgian history than Ilia Chavchavadze. If Ilia
Chavchavadze had ever met Guram Sharadze (former MP and Shevardnadze
supporter), he would have torn him apart. Now these old KGB agents,
the filthiest people in Georgia, the most loyal servants of the
empire we have destroyed, people who have done their utmost to stop
us winning – today they have the nerve to wave nationalist flags in
the streets in front of the Georgian people. Leading a life of lies
is what Shevardnadze taught them. Shevardnadze’s loyal servants are
still around and we must fight them with our ideology, truth, courage
and example to make sure that they never return to power in Georgia.
People who pretend to be defending the Georgian church today, are
they not the same people who insulted the Georgian (Orthodox Church)
patriarch in the worst possible way at a time when the patriarch was
fighting for Georgian independence, when the patriarch refused to
attend the parliament session they convened? Now these people pretend
to be defending our church from us, people who are its loyal sons
and followers.
That is why there is a limit to how much they can be allowed to
lie. Our task today, as never before, is to establish the supremacy of
the law. Only a government that respects the law will be strong. It
must itself respect the law. We should not be a government that
just writes laws and tells others to respect them. MPs, ministers,
deputy ministers, customs chiefs and police chiefs who break the
law are the main threat to the Georgian state. That is why our main
task is to establish order, which we have started doing. Order in
Georgia should be based on the supremacy of the law and the legal
accountability of every person.
Another important issue is civil consciousness. We have conducted a
poll and found out that 90-95 per cent of our people trust and are
proud of the new police patrol force. However, 60 per cent of them say
that they would not cooperate with the police. That is the result of
the thieving mentality which Shevardnadze imposed on us. Police patrol
officers arrested eight pickpockets and robbers on the metro the other
day. In all eight cases, the victims refused to give a statement to the
police because they thought it was no longer their business. They do
not see it as their problem if these people are freed and attack other
members of the public tomorrow. Unless we put an end to this, we will
not get another opportunity to change people’s mentality in Georgia.
A third important issue is the involvement of representatives of
all ethnic groups in Georgia’s political life. There are just two
criteria for someone to be promoted in Georgia – professionalism and
loyalty to Georgia. Since these two criteria exist, ethnic origin
is absolutely irrelevant. There are fewer than four million of us,
Georgians. But if we add the Georgians, Azeris and Armenians who left
Georgia and are now scattered around the world, there will be more
than six million of us. Six million people who are united are much
harder to defeat than four million.
That is why we see modern Georgian history as a continuation of
what Davit Aghmashenebeli began. Davit used to visit mosques,
synagogues and churches. Davit brought foreigners to Georgia to
serve the country. There is no need for us to look for such people
because for centuries these people, Armenians, Azeris, Ossetians,
Abkhaz – (changes tack) By the way, our history, including our modern
history, in particular the war in Abkhazia, is full of examples of
self-sacrifice by these people. That is how it was in the past and
that is how it should be in the future. (Passage omitted)
We are bringing Georgia back. However, this is a lengthy process. We
still have many things to do. Poverty is possibly one of the biggest
misfortunes facing Georgia. We are implementing reforms and lowering
taxes in order to have more people pay taxes. That is to say, we hope
that every Georgian will take part in this.
The main thing for all of us is to understand that neither Saakashvili
nor Nino (Burjanadze), nor Zurab (Zhvania), nor even the nucleus of
our party activists, should be credited with what has been done. This
is a job for every person, every individual. If every businessman
realizes that he is building a Georgian economy and that the state
can set low taxes for him, if every person realizes that he is one
who creates laws, if he refuses to give bribes, if he provides us
with information about the people who humiliate him and if he refuses
to be humiliated, – the front line passes through every place where
there are relations of this sort – our bureaucracy will be different.
“Injustice in the regions”
We know that there still is great injustice (in Georgia), particularly
in the regions. We know that there still is serious corruption
in offices of heads of local administration. We know that while
the Georgian government has been cleaned, the rats have moved the
battleground there (to the regions) and intend to return to the
Georgian government from there. This will not happen. We are in office
and we will do everything in our power to explain to every police
officer, every local administration employee, every employee of the
social services, every builder, every official that either they will
learn to live by the new laws of the Georgian state and realize that
they are the people’s servants, not their lords, or they will leave
government jobs once and for all. We are building holiday places
(prisons) in Kutaisi, Tbilisi, Rustavi and a few more places for
people of this sort. (Applause)
Therefore, an uncompromising, relentless fight against injustice
remains the main task of the National Movement, our united party,
which includes the United Democrats and the National Movement and
is therefore called the United National Movement. Our main task is
to defeat it. The main thing is to give Georgia a sense of justice,
purity and honesty once and for all. (Passage omitted)
I cannot but pay tribute to our reservists. While part of the political
spectrum, those who are always busy trying to sow cynicism in Georgia,
says that nothing will come out of this, that everything will fail,
that there will be a conflict, that everything will go wrong, that the
Georgians are worthy of nothing – (changes tack) That is to say, even
those who said that they did not like Shevardnadze have turned out to
be his most loyal disciples because Shevardnadze’s case is alive as
long as cynicism and indifference exist in Georgia. These people
are trying to bring back this ideology. They have said that the
setting up of a reserve force is a show. If it is a show, let them
flatten their bellies and go there and run 10 km every morning for a
month. (Applause) Let them wash their faces with rainwater. Let them
learn something. Let them put out forest fires like our parliament
members and reservists did.
Parliament members did not go there to show off. They went there
to express solidarity with our society and demonstrate once again
that parliament members, the president, the president’s family, the
parliament speaker’s family and the prime minister are united. We
are a small country and we cannot afford to keep distance from each
other. We will be well only if we are absolutely equal and united.
In the past, even a distant relative of a parliament member would not
have joined the army. Today parliament members, the best of them,
do military service, while the worst of them go to jail. This is
the way it should be in a normal society. We have principles. Some
people were offended when I said that reservists are the best part of
our society. Are our parliament members, our scientists, our actors,
our film directors not the best part of our society, they asked. Of
course, they are. I mean not just those who took up arms and put
on military uniforms but also those who said that they had to think
not about what they could gain from a better Georgia, but, rather,
what was best for Georgia, what they could do for Georgia. That is
the way these people think.
There are many reservists in this hall. I want to thank you again
because, just like you, I am a soldier for our homeland. We all should
be soldiers for our homeland if Georgia is to be saved.
We should understand that we want to have good relations with
every country. We do not need enemies and we are not trying to
make enemies in the world. We want to have very good relations with
all our neighbours, including, first and foremost, Russia, Turkey,
Azerbaijan and Armenia.
However, everyone should know that good relations cannot come at the
expense of Georgia’s independence. We are ready to make all kinds of
concessions but we will not make any concessions at the expense of
Georgia’s freedom and independence. I want everyone to know this.
Sacrifices necessary to make Georgia free
Georgia has not been completely liberated yet. We are in a battle. This
will be a very fierce battle. I do not want to lie to you. This
battle will be associated with great difficulties and a great loss
for our society. We should realize that while the fight against
fascism was very important, Georgia was not independent then. Many
of those who fought (in World War II) were very worthy people. Many
of those who died were worthy people. Some 300,000 Georgians died in
that war, 300,000 Georgians. However, their death did not lead to
Georgia’s independence, freedom and territorial integrity. Today,
in an independent Georgia, we can win territorial integrity and
free Georgia once again, we can bring back Davit Aghmashenebeli’s
Georgia. It is certainly worth making sacrifices for this. Georgia’s
sons have fought in the Soviet Union, India, Iran, Turkey, and today
they can fight for Georgia. There cannot be a greater honour than this.
I want everyone to know that Georgia is not completely free
today. Georgia will be completely free when there is no poverty in
Georgia and when no-one will say: what good does Georgia’s independence
do to me?
We are declaring war on destitution and poverty, and we will certainly
win this war. Georgia will only be completely free when there is no
longer a single foreign soldier on its ancient, beautiful land against
its will. We will certainly achieve this when we are united. (Applause)
Strength lies in unity. Those who preach discord, those who preach
intrigues do not understand the main thing, which is that a fragmented
and disrupted Georgia, even a country divided on just one issue,
means that the chance to unite Georgia will be lost forever, that
the chance to liberate Georgia will be lost forever.
We should argue. Democracy is about arguing, voting, not agreeing
with each other on some issues and agreeing on others. However, there
should be no doubt that Abkhazia must be regained and that Georgia’s
territorial integrity must be restored. Georgia will be completely free
only when the most beautiful flag in the world, the five-star flag,
flies at the Roki tunnel (linking Georgia’s breakaway South Ossetia
with Russia) and on the Psou (river on the border between breakaway
Abkhazia and Russia).
Everyone must understand and everyone must know that we will endure any
kind of hardship, we will learn to endure more than we ever endured
before, we will learn to endure the kind of hardship we have never
had before, we will sacrifice whatever it takes to make Georgia free
and win because victory is about having a lot of courageous, brave,
heroic people. We will be courageous and we will be brave. We will
fear nothing and we will win.
Thank you very much. (Applause)