NO SEPARATIST SENTIMENTS IN JAVAKHETI – SAAKASHVILI

Civil Georgia, Georgia
Dec 24 2007

/ Civil Georgia, Tbilisi / 2007-12-24 21:05:03
Separatist sentiments have disappeared in predominantly ethnic Armenian
populated Javakheti region in recent four years, presidential candidate
Mikheil Saakashvili.

He was speaking with journalists during his re-election campaign
trail in the region on December 24.

"Four years ago, when I became the Georgian President, everyone
in Javakheti was speaking about separatism," he said, "ever the
president was not able to arrive in this region; our officials,
policemen were not able to enter into Javakheti. Today there is
not even slight [stance of] separatism here; today Javakheti is
an integral part of Georgia and we have done it so calmly, without
any anxiety thanks to everyday work. This people are building the
Georgian state together with us. The Georgian state symbols have been
rooted in Javakheti. Today in Javakheti more people speak Georgian
than four years ago. I am proud of it. This is a huge step forward
of the Georgian state," Saakashvili said.