SAAKASHVILI PLEDGES TO HELP MINORITIES
By Etuna Tsotniashvili

The Messenger
Dec 24 2008
Georgia

"Every ethnic group in Georgia should feel that they are
representatives of the country," President Saakashvili stated at a
meeting with the staff of news programme National Moambe, which is
broadcast in various languages, on December 22.

The President said the Georgian Government should take additional
measures to help ethnic minority groups to learn the Georgian language
better, something which would make it easier for them to integrate
with Georgian society. "We should improve the process of learning
the Georgian language for ethnic minorities, or rather, I would say
‘so-called ethnic minorities’ because I don’t accept such a term. I
don’t think they are either minorities or should be separated out
by ethnicity, but the learning of the Georgian language should be
enhanced in Javakheti, Kvemo Kartli and other regions of Georgia
where other ethnic group representatives live," he said.

Saakashvili talked about those teachers who work in areas populated
by minority ethnic groups and stated that after consultation with the
Education Minister the decision was made to increase the salaries of
teachers to GEL 1,000. "This will enable us to attract professionals
to teach there," he said.

Saakashvili said that the Ministry of Education made a very serious
mistake in expecting minority ethnic students to pass national entry
exams of the same standard as those for native Georgian speakers and
promised that this mistake will be rectified soon. "We should give
them special privileges to help them pass entry exams. Several hundred
representatives of minority ethnic groups should study at Georgian
higher educational institutions under the simplified programmes,"
he said, adding that the Government should create some incentives
for ethnic minorities so that they will stay in Georgia and continue
studying in local universities and institutions rather than going to
Baku or Yerevan.

At the end of his speech Saakashvili stated that Georgia’s
de-occupation will come soon and the unity previously created with
various ethnic groups will be decisive. The enemy called us everything
they could, but did not call us chauvinists or nationalists or accuse
us of pursuing ethnically discriminatory policies. "They failed
because such a position is totally unacceptable for the present
Georgian authorities, me personally, our nation and our multi-ethnic
society," Saakashvili said. "Our multi-ethnicity is not our weakness;
it is Georgia’s greatest wealth and strength," he added.