President Saakashvili said on April 17 that despite the opposition parties’ “incompetence and weakness” the authorities “want to hold a very intensive dialogue” with them.
Saakashvili was speaking during a meeting with lawmakers from the ruling National Movement party, which was broadcasted live by the Georgian television stations. During the speech Saakashvili also spoke about the forthcoming local elections, a new initiative about the judicial reforms, the wine row with Russia, anticipated “huge investments,” the struggle against organized crime and Georgia’s NATO aspirations.
Dialogue with the Opposition
President Saakashvili said that the criticism of the authorities by the opposition in various fields is acceptable and not insulting.
“It is very important that the opposition acts as a critic of the authorities. But I think that the fact that the opposition fails to act as a critic is the problem of the authorities themselves. Such authorities face the risk of being relaxed… Such a tendency may ruin the authorities. It is undisputable that opposition is very important and necessary for the development of society. It is very important that we observe the rules of the game and have an opposition which is ready to slam everything we do; however, it should be noted that very often their criticism is unfair, but this is also a great achievement of democracy,” Saakashvili said.
“The opposition should argue with us on absolutely every issue… But when there are [accusations] that someone is bad, someone is a killer, someone is unintelligent… they [the opposition parties] can speak about it with each other and insult each other. We are ready to accept the harshest criticism on political issues… All the rest is a sign of incompetence and weakness,” Saakashvili said.
The opposition lawmakers have been boycotting parliamentary sessions since March 31 and are demanding the resignation of Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili; transparent voter lists; the creation of new election administrations; direct elections of city mayors; and improvement of the business climate.
Parliamentary Chairperson Nino Burjanadze also called on the opposition to hold a dialogue on April 17. But influential parliamentarian from the ruling National Movement party Giga Bokeria said that the opposition’s demands related to the resignation of the Interior Minister, the direct election of city mayors, and a new election of administrations can not be discussed.
Local Elections
The Georgian President denied rumors about a possible postponement of the local self-governance elections and reiterated that polls will take place this autumn "in or around November."
“Some people disseminated rumors that the authorities do not plan to hold local elections. It is not true. We plan to hold local elections, because the development of local self-governance is one of the cornerstones of our policy… We want transparent, open and democratic elections in order to prove the irreversibility of our people’s choice,” Saakashvili said.
He said that accurate voter lists are of crucial importance. “We do not want any questions in this regard. The procedures and transparency [of this process] are of vital importance for us,” Saakashvili said.
He also said that the authorities “are not afraid” of elections because “we are strong and we are democrats.”
Judicial Reform
Speaking with the parliamentary majority President Saakashvili also noted that a governmental commission will be set up to foster judicial reforms. He said that representatives of civil society organizations and political parties will be invited to join the commission. He also called on international experts to participate in the activities of the commission.
Saakashvili said that PM Zurab Nogaideli will chair this new governmental commission.
“We should jointly consider how to reform this system so as to create a really independent, really effective judiciary which will have the confidence of the public,” he said.
“I have appealed the EU to be involved in this group and help us,” Saakashvili added.
He said the “separation of the General Prosecutor from the Justice Council would be the first step” in the judiciary system reforms.
“Today, against the background of implementing reforms at the prosecutor’s office, police and defense sector, the Georgian judiciary remains the most problematic sector… Our main task is to increase the independence and quality of the courts; on the other hand, this is a long and very difficult road,” Saakashvili said.
NATO Integration
The President said that Georgia has achieved a lot on its way to integrating into NATO. He said that Georgia “has passed a test” when the Georgian Foreign, Defense and State Ministers visited Brussels on April 13.
“Implementation of the Individual Partnership Action Plan [IPAP] was hailed. It was said [at NATO headquarters on April 13, where IPAP implementation was assessed] that Georgia has achieved tremendous success in the defense sphere within six months and now we are moving into the next stage of integrating into this organization. This stage is the launch of the irreversibility of our NATO membership,” the President said, adding that NATO membership is not directed against anyone.
“This is a strategic and peaceful step towards strengthening Georgia and resolving conflicts,” he added.
Wine Row
Saakashvili said that Russia’s decision to ban the import of Georgian wine was “a political decision; however it marked the launch of a new stage for strengthening the political and economic spheres in Georgia.”
He said that the Georgian authorities are ready to hold a constructive dialogue with Russia to settle the wine problem. “We are ready to send the Prime Minister [to Russia] and settle this issue,” Saakashvili said.
PM Zurab Nogaideli planned to visit Moscow on April 12-13, but said that Russia postponed this visit.
“Each member of the government, [every] parliamentarian, who travels abroad is a representatives of our country on any issue, not only on political issues, but also on the issues of wine export and gaining access to new markets,” the Georgian President stated.
In a surprise move, President Saakashvili announced on April 12 that he has tasked Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili to promote Georgian wine on new markets. During his address to the parliamentary majority he did not comment on this decision, which triggered an ironic response from the opposition.
‘Huge Investments’
Saakashvili said that “even against the background of economic embargos” and an increase of gas prices in the country, Georgia managed to achieve a 10% growth rate.
“We expect huge investments in Georgia. We stand on the verge of great privatization, we plan to build new hydro power plants, we plan to develop our ports,” he said, adding that “serious companies” have already submitted privatization bids in these fields.
Fighting Organized/Petty Crime
Saakashvili said that in the post Soviet space Georgia is among those countries which are “free from corruption and various clannish interests.”
“Georgia’s main capital is that, unlike Romania, Bulgaria, and other eastern European or post Soviet states, we have destroyed organized crime… The representatives of criminal structures do not control Georgian business any more because we did not let them gain power and we did not let them in the government,” he said.
But he also noted that “human rights standards should be increased, because our society needs more humanity and more protection of human rights.”
“At the same time we should adopt a law, and we have already brought it to its final stage, which will envisage zero tolerance towards petty crime. We no longer have organized gangs but we still have lots of petty criminals. Their place is in [prison] cells,” Saakashvili said.
The President said that the authorities hold “constant dialogue” with the business sector “to ensure that business is free and protected.”
He also said that all these efforts are directed towards one major goal – restoration of the country’s territorial integrity. He said that destination of the “Georgian train, which has departed from Tbilisi, is Sokhumi, Gagra and Leselidze [all in Abkhazia].”