Georgian president addresses interior ministry staff
Imedi TV, Tbilisi
16 Dec 04
Mikheil Saakashvili has said that the new police and public order
ministry will be a well-funded and well equipped, European-style
agency. In an address to the staff of the merging State Security and
Interior ministries, broadcast by Georgian Imedi TV on 16 December,
Saakashvili said that the new agency, together with the Defence
Ministry, should discourage those who humiliated and trampled on
Georgia in Abkhazia in the beginning of 1990s. Saakashvili said that
the personnel quality in regional police units and the army was not
adequate and called on talented but unemployed people to join the
police force and the armed forces. The following is an excerpt from
report by Imedi TV; subheadings have been inserted editorially:
[Presenter] The Georgian president introduced minister-designate Vano
Merabishvili to the staff of the newly established police and public
security ministry [also described as police and public order ministry]
a short while ago.
Speaking at the new agency, [Mikheil] Saakashvili once again, for
a second time today, stressed the importance of strengthening the
state’s security and combat readiness. Georgia should be strong enough
to defend itself against foreign aggression.
As regards the police, reforms should speed up and, more importantly,
the public should realize that cooperation with law enforcers is the
main guarantor of their security.
Commenting on personnel issues in the merging State Security and
Interior ministries, the president said that professionals would not
be made redundant.
Speaking about the new minister, Saakashvili said that Merabishvili
lived up to expectations as state security minister and would surely
do well in the new job as well.
Restoration of territorial integrity political process
[Saakashvili, addressing staff, with Merabishvili and Defence
Minister-designate Irakli Okruashvili by his sides] I would like to
welcome you all on this very important day. Today we are not only
introducing the new minister to you but also announcing the setting
up of practically a new ministry.
For the second time since gaining independence [as heard] – this
time in a more serious fashion – we are transforming [an existing
agency] into a European-style body. The State Security Ministry
is being transformed into counter-intelligence and [foreign]
intelligence units. I want to stress that this will be a very
strong counter-intelligence unit. It will be much better funded,
equipped and trained. It will be a European-style body, operating
within the constitutional framework. The State Security Ministry’s
anti-crime department will be merged with the Interior Ministry’s
anti-crime department. Both agencies have traditionally had very good
professionals in this area.
After introducing Irakli [Okruashvili] as minister-designate at
the Defence Ministry yesterday, I spoke about the restoration of
territorial integrity. Some people interpreted my statement as an
order to Irakli Okruashvili and the Defence Ministry to restore
[Georgia’s] territorial integrity. I want to say categorically that
the strengthening of Georgia and the restoration of its territorial
integrity is not a military process and should not be done by the
Defence Ministry alone. The restoration of Georgia’s territorial
integrity is a political process.
Aggressors to be met by Okruashvili
Current events in the world, including the events that have taken
place in Ukraine and other countries and the events taking place
throughout the post-Soviet space, are significantly limiting the area
of application of imperialist and aggressive policies and increasing
opportunities for Georgia and the people of Georgia to resolve their
problems peacefully.
We do not intend to use any military force to settle domestic issues.
However, we will build a modern army so that those forces which
incited a conflict in Abkhazia at the time, taking advantage of a weak
Georgia, know full well that if there is another large-scale aggression
against Georgia they will be met by Okruashvili and much more modern,
European-style, combat-ready and civilized Georgian armed forces,
built according to NATO standards.
This will not, under any circumstances, apply to the people of Georgia.
Stability inside the country and the solving of political issues is
a task for the whole of society and the entire government to work
on. Every Georgian citizen, every ethnic Azerbaijani, Armenian, as
well people of other ethnic backgrounds, should know that we should
work day and night to at last put Georgia back on its feet.
Former junior officials should no longer fear arrest
We have done many things at the Interior Ministry from this point of
view. The public like the patrol force. Today over 70 per cent of
the people trust the police, compared to just 6 per cent one year
ago. People like the patrol force and so do we. Therefore, their
minimum wage will be 450 lari, not 400 lari as it has been this
year. Salaries will gradually increase in other departments as well
because those who work well will be paid better. [Passage omitted]
We often hear people saying that arrests should end, that revolution
should end. We do not want this any more, stop arresting people,
they say. By the way, I think that we should not go after former
petty officials because the bigwigs are already either wanted or
under investigation, or in jail, with courts considering their
cases. I do not think that we will go after every single former
customs department official who did something wrong three years ago,
every single former deputy head of a local administration, every former
petty official. This time has passed. We should fight corruption today,
among the present-day officials, in the present-day customs department,
in the present-day prosecutor’s office.
When we are told to end arrests, I say that theft and bribe-taking
should end first. If this happens, arrests will end as well. If there
is theft and corruption, there will be arrests, because Georgian
law, just as every proper state’s law, requires this. In short,
arbitrariness will never return to Georgia. Let every one of us
realize this.
We will set up a very effective agency here. We will equip it very
well. Its financing will improve significantly next year and will be
at an even higher level in the subsequent years. The most important
thing is that the people should feel that you work for them. People
should feel that they can trust you. [Passage omitted]
Public must cooperate with police
I want to say directly that because the human rights situation in
Tbilisi has improved significantly and because society does not
cooperate as much as it should with the police, street crime has
also increased sharply. We will never allow you to extract evidence
by beating up a person or planting narcotics on him. This will not
happen in Georgia again. However, I want to ask society to help us
in eradicating crime in their neighbourhoods, in their surroundings
and among their acquaintances. Please, cooperate with the police when
a crime has been committed so that it is solved. Please, cooperate
with our law-enforcement agency.
New ministries should deter aggressors
It is a fact that those forces who are fed up with us have stepped
up intelligence operations against Georgia. Articles about us are
published every day; programmes about us are broadcast every day. They
meddle in our internal affairs, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, every
day. These forces have stepped up their work inside Georgia. We have
to work against these forces in a different way. They should know
that this no longer is a Bantustan where everyone can be recruited,
everyone can be paid and bought. Everyone must know that cooperation
with the enemies of Georgia is treason and is severely punished under
the law. We will find these people.
Everyone should know that we are ready to cooperate with everyone in
the fight against terrorism, with the Russians, Americans, Europeans,
but we will not allow anyone to create disorder inside Georgia or
muddy the waters as in the 1990s. Did they not smack us on the head
in 1992 and 1993? Did they not humiliate and trample us into the mud
and kick us around? Did they not tell us that we were nobody, that
they could come back whenever they pleased and smack us on the head
again? You and us, the Defence Ministry and others, should behave so
that no scum of the earth, no international opportunist, no matter
how strong they are, how much money they have and how strong their
army is, ever again has a desire and capability to do this.
There is no such thing as a small nation. There are nations who have
a desire to fight for their independence, pride and dignity, and there
are nations who do not have this capability. We are building a nation
which has the capability to defend itself, to defend itself against
intelligence operations, defend itself against foreign aggression,
if it happens, – may God spare us from such a thing – defend itself
against domestic crime and defend itself against people who do not
care about the interests of society.
Trusts his ministers
I count on our police, I count on our counter-intelligence
[department], I count on our small but effective intelligence
department, which is also being set up, and I very much hope that
under the very competent new minister we will be able to improve
the situation.
You know that Okruashvili was a good prosecutor-general. He was a
much better interior minister. He will do even better as defence
minister. This man [Merabishvili] was a very good secretary of the
National Security Council, but he was a much better state security
minister. Now he will be an even better police and public order
minister, or [police and] public security [ministry], whatever
parliament decides to call it.
Until these ministries have merged, we will put them together at the
Interior Ministry. They will be formally merged later as parliament
has to approve constitutional changes. However, this does not stand
in our way and we can start work. It will be called the Ministry of
Internal Affairs for the next month, or a month and a half, whatever
it is. Vano Merabishvili will be the minister. In reality, however,
two ministries will be merged. Then parliament will change the name.
I want you to know one thing, that not a single professional will leave
the system. We will do everything to keep these professionals. We do
not have extra people. Whoever had to be sacked, has been sacked. Now
we need to train these people, facilitate their work, provide them
with equipment, bring in new people and find new people.
Patrol force, army need better personnel
For example, the quality of patrol force in the regions is low. I have
told Batoni [polite form or referring to a man] Irakli [Okruashvili]
to go to universities in Kutaisi, Zugdidi, Gori and speak to the
young people, explain the importance of these institutions so that
the best people go to the police. This is not the police force they
knew. This is a police force serving the people.
The same is true about the army. We are recruiting people under the
train and equip programme, but the people do not know about it and
are not enlisting. We are telling them to demonstrate to the people
that this is a different army, with different barracks, different
conditions, different duties and different responsibilities towards
the country. We need people there as well. Of course, people are
going to the army but the quality of the personnel often is not as
good as we need. We have many unemployed but talented people who have
opportunities to serve their country and people.
I want to call on these people again. I repeat that we are moving
towards modern, European-style agencies. This does not mean that
we do not value professionals. A professional is a professional in
every system. We have idealists and we have new people. I want to
ask everyone to work in a new way.
Thank you very much for your attention.
You can ask questions later, when we are outside.