President Zurabishvili: “There is No Force in This Country That can Override the Will of the People”
On September 2 President of Georgia hosted a reception for the participants of the 8th Tbilisi International Conference taking place in Tbilisi on September 2-3. Addressing them at the Orbeliani Palace, she said that the 2024 Conference was taking place at a “decisive” and “existential” moment for Georgia, and stressed the importance of the October 26 elections. “The Georgian Dream has ceased to be a dream and has turned into a nightmare, taking Georgia far from its long-standing goal,” she said.
She stressed that Georgia’s return to Europe has been its goal for centuries, noting that the country “has always looked to Europe” and “has always seen itself as European. She said that “Georgia has always longed to be independent of empires, especially that of its northern neighbor,” and called the current situation “a tragedy for Georgia.”
She said it’s a tragedy that “some” call Georgia’s partners a “war party” while remaining silent about the neighbor that has occupied 20% of Georgia’s territory. She noted that Georgia has always known how to defend its independence and cultural values, including those of tolerance and diversity. She said that Georgia as it is presented today is not a Georgian country and “is something else”: it’s a country that would be ready to obey the occupier, make concessions to the occupier, will be ready to turn its back on those who have supported Georgia and the Georgian state all these years… We see the country where almost all institutions have been emptied of their essence and independence,” the President said.
She condemned the rhetoric of GD Honorary Chairman Bidzina Ivanishvili, who not only “declared war on our partners and called them a [global] war party, but also declared war on his own people.” She condempend the GD announcement of intent to ban political parties, and GD statements about receiving the constitutional majority. She also condemned the attempts of the Constitutional Court “to claim that the Russian law does not deprive Georgia of its European future”.
Salome Zurabishvili said that all of this is “unacceptable” and that the Georgian people have said “very clearly” that they “do not accept this new image of Georgia and that they are not ready to submit to this new authoritarian regime and power.”
She said that the next step for the Georgian nation and youth will be to say the same thing through the elections, calling this “the way to stability.” She stated: “I’m not one of those people who say: “Well, let’s see what happens at the polls and the next day we’ll see what happens in the streets. No, what happens will happen at the polls, at the ballot box. There is no power in this country that can override the will of the people. No. There is a possibility of rigging the elections to the point of going against the massive expression of the will of the Georgian people.”
Addressing the invited guests, the President thanked the Georgian partners for their support throughout the years, be it in building state institutions or providing opportunities for young people to travel and study in Europe.
The President then said that she trusts the Georgian people and trusts what Georgians will vote for in the elections, and called on Georgia’s international partners to be present and vigilant observing the election process.
She noted that she has been working with various pro-European political parties on the Georgian Charter, which is in fact the way for Georgia to meet EU recommendations and open negotiations with the EU, similar to Ukraine and Moldova.
Calling the Charter “the key to the door that should be opened for Georgia” Salome Zurabishvili said that “as soon as the Georgian people openly give their support both the Charter and this path” she will be “the ambassador of this Charter to our European and American friends.”
She stressed that EU should then start negotiations with Georgia as soon as possible, adding “we must quickly implement what is written in the Charter, which is very detailed.”
She added that “our American friends should implement the positive part of the “MEGAOBARI” .
President Zurabishvili said: “After the Georgian people have done what they have to do, we will need your support”. She added: “More than ever, for the next stage of our development, we need to do it in a stable environment, and you need a Georgia that will firmly return to its democratic path, a Georgia that is a stable partner, a Georgia that you can trust”.
She concluded by saying that the future of the free world depends largely on what happens in Ukraine and emphasized the importance of a free, secure and cooperative Black Sea for the future of the Western world, for Europe and the United States.
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)
