Saakashvili Speaks of Progress after Rose Revolution

The International Herald Tribune published an article on November 30 by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili in which the Georgian President discusses the developments in Georgia one year after the Rose Revolution.

In the article Saakashvili outlines the country?s top priorities, saying that ?we must now fulfill Georgia’s potential.?

?We will continue the fight against corruption. We will secure Georgia’s borders. And, we will create the conditions for economic prosperity and pursue our goal of integrating into Euro-Atlantic institutions,? the Georgian President writes.

?But difficult days lie ahead,? he adds.

?In South Ossetia and Abkhazia, we are working hard to achieve reunification through peaceful means. We have asked international organizations to do more. Our autonomy offer to South Ossetia is unprecedented and we will work with the international community for a resolution. Abkhazia remains a more difficult task. But we are working assiduously – with those in the region and our neighbor Russia – and I am confident we will peacefully heal the wounds of the Georgian nation.?

Saakashvili also emphasized the government?s economic policy. ?We have initiated a privatization effort… selling everything the government had no business owning in the first place,? he says.

The President writes that the message of Georgia?s Rose Revolution ?is widely spreading in the region.?

??democracy is universal and can be successful in post-Soviet states,? Saakashvili says, adding that Georgia is ?carefully watching similar events in Ukraine.?