President Saakashvili said that last November events were result of misinterpretation of the authorities’ policies directed towards establishing rule of law, as well as a result of “misuse of society’s hardships.”
Addressing his ruling party’s congress in Tbilisi on May 3, Saakashvili also said that Russia’s recent moves towards Abkhazia had confirmed that his administration was right, when it was against of holding parliamentary elections in spring, 2008.
“What was the reason of those developments that broke out last November?” he asked and continued: “The society’s hardships were misused last year. We said that the rule of life would have completely changed in Georgia and this has become a subject of dispute. Bribe-taking is not a Georgian tradition. Feudalism was Georgia’s greatest enemy, but David the Builder [the Georgian King who united Georgia in the twelfth century] eradicated the tradition of misusing power by feudalists. Neither corruption, nor enmity is the Georgian tradition. Just external forces are establishing such a rule of life in our country, which is based on the principle – split and reign. One thing was important for us – nobody should have taken a bribe. We said that those who did not observe traffic rules – regardless of whether they were driving Jeeps or Mercedes – patrol police will stop and fine them. Some described this fact as violence.”
“We also said that drug dealers would be arrested, and no telephone calls [by influential figures]… would have saved them, because, they actually are killers of thousands of their compatriots. A guilty will be held responsible before the law as strictly as possible. Some describe arrest of such people as violence.”
“We said that thieves of hens are also thieves, because those hens and cows, which have been stolen from a peasant, can be the only source of keeping a family for them. You deprive many families of this source of existence and make them die with hunger. Mostly those Tbilisites are against arresting thieves of hens, who have five or ten thousands of incomes and it is very easy for them to say it.”
“It is also said that there is violence in Georgia. In reality the rate of violent crime has decreased threefold in last three years. We have achieved it jointly. We will completely root out gangsters and bandits. There is a great difference between us and some other people – we are arresting criminals, while they say that they will release everybody.”
“I also receive letters with this content: release this or that person from jail and we will give the votes of our village to you. Principles are not sold for money. We are the state and we will not change our security for anything… We have never made similar compromises and we will still pursue this policy in future as well.”
In his speech Saakashvili also recalled debates that were underway last year about the timing of the parliamentary elections. Holding of the polls in spring, 2008 – as it was envisaged before the controversial constitutional amendments in December, 2006 which postponed polls from spring to late 2008 – was one of the major demands of the opposition during the last year’s protest rallies. The authorities were against citing that they did not want elections to coincide with the presidential elections in Russia in March, as well as with the decision on Kosovo status, predicting that tensions were expected in Georgia’s conflict zones by spring. Eventually the timing of the polls was decided at a plebiscite that was held simultaneously with the January 5 presidential elections, when majority of voters said they wanted parliamentary elections in spring, instead of late 2008.
“I ask you, who were right – those, who said that we should create a [political] crisis because of that [timing of the parliamentary elections], or we, who warned that all these would turn against Georgia?” Saakashvili said on May 3. “This is exactly the case when time is a major judger.”
Saakashvili also made it clear that Georgia would hold election as it was decided by the people and also added: “We will win the elections in spring.”