Parliamentary Chairperson, Davit Bakradze, said part of the opposition had, what he called, “a mentality of kamikaze” posing threat to the country.
Without referring to any party in particular with the name, Bakradze said: “It is very bad when there is the opposition in the country, which has the Kamikaze mentality.”
“There is a group of politicians, which believes that it has nothing to lose and can blow up itself just because to blow up the target – whether it is the system or the president. Such Kamikaze-opposition is very bad and dangerous for any country,” he said at a meeting with a group of Georgian sportsman on March 17 – three weeks before the part of the opposition plans to launch street protest rallies to demand President Saakashvili’s resignation.
“There are some people, who do not love us. A part of these people may go out in the street [for protest rallies] and demand either the government change or resolving of problems – and this is a signal for us that something should be changed in the country,” Bakradze said.
He said that “internal disorder” in Georgia was in the interests of “very concrete forces outside the country.”
“Therefore, all politicians should be aware of their own responsibilities in order not to contribute, wittingly or unwittingly, to the implementation of interests of these unfriendly forces,” he said.
Bakradze also said that the political process should no way develop in direction of civil confrontation – the one, he said, Georgia had already experienced in early 90s.
“If there is no dialogue among the political forces, the country will be split and we have already experienced the divided country during the civil war [of early 90s]. The process should not go in this direction; instead, it should go towards dialogue… We should not fall in the same swamp again,” Bakradze added.
He said that the best way to avoid such a scenario was to create a political system, wherein everyone – “radicals, non-radicals, moderates, non-moderates – has its own place.”
Bakradze then spoke about the authorities moves aimed at “increasing the rights of parliamentary opposition.”
“We did that not because we like or love the parliamentary opposition or because they are collaborating with us. We are doing it because more rights increases level of responsibility,” he continued. “The responsible opposition is necessary for the country. We need strong opposition, which has many rights, which has many levers. We are not afraid of the responsible opposition. The irresponsible opposition is dangerous for the country.”
Meanwhile, President Saakashvili reiterated on March 17 in a live televised meeting with the government members that tackling economic difficulties and unemployment was the only priority for the authorities right now. He also said that the government “should not relax” and work hard to attract foreign investments.
