PanARMENIAN.Net
Saakashvili greater threat than Russia?
28.03.2009 18:42 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Irakli Okruashvili, former defense minister, said
Georgia was in a situation wherein removal of President Saakashvili
from power `is justified with any humanely method,’ as he posed
`greater threat’ to the country than Russia. Okruashvili, whose party
Movement for United Georgia is part of group of 13 opposition parties
planning to launch street protest rallies from April 9 to demand the
President’s resignation, said in a televised interview that he
personally had no presidential ambitions.
The interview, which was recorded in Paris on March 24, was aired by
late on March 27 by the Tbilisi-based Maestro TV, which covers mainly
the capital city. Okruashvili, who has received political asylum in
France, was sentenced to 11-year prison term in Georgia in absentia
last year.
`After [the August] war politicians should give up manipulating with
the issue of restoration of the territorial integrity, especially
during the election campaign, because that is an issue, which will be
impossible to resolve in next ten or fifteen years in the best case,
if not in the next twenty or twenty five years,’ he said.
Okruashvili said that after the August `military adventure’
Saakashvili had `no legitimate right to stay in power.’ `I know that
the remarks, which I will say now will trigger lots of sharp comments,
but I have to say it anyway ` this is the case when removal of
Saakashvili from power is justifiable with any humanely method. He is
today the number one threat for the country and the greater threat
than Russia,’ Okruashvili said.
He said he did not believe that Russia was interested in removal of
Georgia’s current leadership and said such rhetoric was part of the
authorities’ `propaganda.’
`A weak figure [in the Georgian leadership] like Saakashvili is more
acceptable for Russia,’ Okruashvili said. `Saakashvili, who has almost
no western support and no one in the west is even saying hello to him,
is more acceptable for Russia. New leader in Georgia means new
hope¦ One thing is clear: Saakashvili is a headache for both the
Georgian people and for the international community.’
`If in 2003 [the Rose Revolution] was called the democratic
revolution, than today too the same right exists to repeat it; is
there enough resources or not for that purpose, that’s another issue,’
he continued. `It is up to the Georgian people, it is our duty to
maximally painlessly remove Saakashvili from power. How that will be
achieved? No one has the answer on that today¦ A right vision, a
joint action plan on where we are moving is required here, instead of
changing plans every day. If there is a clear vision and joint plan
[by the opposition] it will be achieved.’
`Removal of Saakashvili will be a painful process and it won’t be able
to achieve in a day; it won’t happen on April 9,’ he said.
Okruashvili said that unity of the opposition was the only `medicine
that will help to removal Saakashvili.’
`We [the opposition leaders] should forget all the personal regrets
and mutual confrontation that we might had in the past,’ Civil Georgia
cited Okruashvili as saying.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress