April 29, Rustavi

We have always been in favor of resolving all the issues at the negotiating table. People elected lawmakers last year, but they [part of the opposition] did not take their seats in the Parliament and it was very regrettable, because there is and have been all the possibilities for resolving many issues through dialogue and debates [in the Parliament].

Of course what is now happening in the Tbilisi center, unfortunately, is not a classical democratic model. Things like this would not have occurred actually in any country.  

Our reaction to these events is not weakness and inaction – no one should have an illusion that the Georgian government and relevant state structures are weak and I think no one has this illusion – this is a position of strength. This is the position of strength, on the one hand because it gives an opportunity to all the small groups to express fully everything they want to say; and on the other hand [it gives an opportunity] to the society to see what kind of forces they have to deal with and to fully understand what is the balance of power and what the views of various groups are and also in general to clean the political process.

I think that now in general a very useful process of cleaning the political processes is underway, the process of putting everything on its place and I think that those who are capable to move to the next level of the Georgian politics and achieve success, they will use this [chance].

And those who prefer to stay in the situation of chaos and disorders of late [19]80s and early [19]90s – this situation will no longer be created in Georgia. Georgia is now a state. That [old] situation was fit to the one, wherein there were no state institutions and wherein state structures were not functional; in that situation the chaos, disorders and various elements promoting this [chaos] were replacing them [the state institutions]. It’s no longer possible in Georgia.

I want to tell you that there is calmness and peace in entire Georgia - some might be upset about it.

I travel everywhere [in Georgia] and everyone is speaking about hardship and economic problems, but it will be wrong if I say that people are talking with words of politicians from the Tbilisi center; people are not thinking this way [like ‘politicians from the Tbilisi center’], people are thinking about the issues which are source of concern for them and these are those issues on which we should be speaking about.

I will repeat once again that what is now happening is cleaning of everything and clarifying of everything; if someone has an ability to see something – of course our society has this ability, people are wise and they see everything very well – I hope everything what has been seen by our society in recent days will be maintained in their memory for a long time in order to have a long-term stability for building of the state institutions.

That’s what Georgia needs now as never before, because the global [economic] crisis is raging, which hits each Georgian family and this is exactly what the Georgian people are thinking about and not about political intrigues, when the politicians are only thinking about themselves.

I think that those politicians who think not only about themselves, but about the people will find a common language with other politicians.