President Speaks of Equal Opportunities for Ethnic Minorities

President Saakashvili said on May 2 that Georgia will give ?equal opportunities? to all citizens, regardless of their ethnic background.

Saakashvili was speaking at the School of Public Administration in Kutaisi. The School, named in honor of late Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania, mainly focuses on training representatives of the country’s ethnic minorities.
 
?We put no separating line between you: Azerbaijanis, Armenians, Ossetians, Abkhazians, Jews, Russians, Ukrainians. All those people, who live in Georgia, who like Georgia, and who are ready to fight for this country are especially valuable and important people for us… We will give equal opportunities to all people who live in Georgia. We will give them the opportunity to learn the Georgian language under conditions wherein they can also preserve their culture, their national, ethnic traditions,? the President said.
 
He said that the Georgian authorities are actively working over the development of the Javakheti region, which is predominately populated by ethnic Armenians.  
 
?We are also developing those regions where the ethnic Azerbaijani population lives [Kvemo Kartli region]. We also want ethnic Greeks to return to the Tsalka region [in southern Georgia], because this is our wealth and a sign of our diversity and multi-culture,? Saakashvili added.

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