Saakashvili Slams Russia in ‘Harvest Speech’

President Saakashvili said on September 8 that “certain forces in Russia” have tried to undermine Georgia’s development through economic embargo, international information propaganda against Georgia and through their “collaborators” inside the country.

President Saakashvili’s speech, shown live on Georgian television, was delivered while visiting Gurgaani in the Kakheti region of eastern Georgia. Standing before 200 new tractors donated by the government to the peasants of Kakheti, Saakashvili said in his speech that “this year’s harvest is a huge challenge” for the country.

“This year’s harvest is a challenge for us because certain forces in Russia think that this is last autumn, when they can stop the process of Georgia’s reunification and strengthening once and for all,” Saakashvili said.

His speech was along the same lines as his August 31 statement, also made in Kakheti, when he called on businessmen to help wine-growers in Kakheti though purchasing their grapes.

“There are three seperate plans to [undermine Georgia]. The first one is an economic embargo. They [certain forces in Russia] thought that Georgia would have been devastated after closing down Russian markets to Georgian products. They have failed… The second method is a smear campaign against Georgia through international propaganda with the aim to inform [the world], through international media, that there are only clashes and dissatisfied people in Georgia. They have failed in this as well… The third method and their third hope were local collaborators… but this scenario also failed the day before yesterday [on September 6, when allies of Moscow-based Igor Giorgadze were arrested throughout Georgia].” Saakashvili said.

President Saakashvili also spoke about a September 8 clash that left three South Ossetian militiamen and one Georgian officer dead and two others injured.

“Today there was a clash with bandits in the Tskhinvali Region and Malkhaz Komakhidze, who was an internally displaced person [from Abkhazia], died while destroying three bandits. Unfortunately, he failed to return to Sokhumi [Abkhazia]. I have just given an order to grant his family a house in Tbilisi and I promise his family that they will have a house in Sokhumi as well very soon,” Saakashvili said.

He said that Georgia’s major goal is now “not to yield to any kind of provocations.”

“Of course we should stand firm and respond appropriately, like we did in Kodori, but we should no way yield to a large-scale provocation. Time works in Georgia’s favor,” Saakashvili said.

The President also warned that “certain forces in Russia” should not be allowed to see that Georgia is suffering from Russia’s ban on Georgian wine.

“This year a frontline is here, in these vineyards. We are now all in a battle. And these people [referring to his cabinet members] are the members of wartime headquarters,” Saakashvili said.

Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili, Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili, Agriculture Minister Mikheil Svimonishvili, Prosecutor General Zurab Adeishvili and Governor of Kakheti region Petre Tsiskarishvili were on the site. Saakashvili said that each of them will be in charge of overseeing harvests in different districts of Kakheti.

“We should all work together. The major goal this year is to save our harvest. If we overcome the problem this year, next year I assure that there will be no problem with selling grapes,” Saakashvili said.

He said that 2 000 tons of grapes will be purchased by businessmen, following his request, and 4 000 tones will be bought by the Tbilisi Municipality.

“In addition, our servicemen need calories so several thousand tons of grapes will go the Georgian armed forces, whose number has increased recently,” Saakashvili said, adding that through these measures a total of 10 000 tons of grape will be sold.

Reportedly, 85 thousand tons of grapes are expected in this year’s harvest, while wine producing companies will only be able to buy a projected 30 thousand tons.

He also criticized Agriculture Minister Mikhail Svimonishvili for a failure to fight against falsified Georgian wines aboard. “We should carry out a very aggressive marketing campaign everywhere,” Saakashvili said.

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