Civil Georgia, Georgia
May 26 2007
Saakashvili Speaks of Unity in Independence Day Speech
/ Civil Georgia, Tbilisi / 2007-05-26 13:01:07
President Saakashvili said Georgia can overcome challenges and
fulfill its major tasks if only the country `stands united as one.’
Saakashvili was speaking to 15,000 servicemen who paraded in downtown
Tbilisi on May 26 to mark the Independence Day.
`Today is the day of our unity. Our strength is in our unity… The
only thing our enemy is dreaming of is to split us… There is nothing
capable of defeating us if we stand united as one… We maintained our
economy and become number one reformer last year – when there were
attempts to destroy our economy – because we managed to maintain
unity,’ Saakashvili said.
`Today we face huge challenges; but sometimes I have an impression
that some of our citizens do not understand these challenges and
tasks we face, although 99% of [population] understands it very well…
We will overcome every challenge if stand united as one.’
`We should know that our major strength is not only in this army and
not only in the weapons we have and not only in the economic
development… and not only in investments – we will have over USD 2
billion of direct foreign investment this year – our major strength
is in our motivation and in our unity,’ he added.
In his address Saakashvili stressed that Georgia is `a multi-ethnic
state;’ but there is only one nation – Georgia.
`And this nation consists of Georgian Azerbaijanis, Georgian
Abkhazians, Georgian Ossetians, Georgian Armenians etc,’ he said.
`It is our responsibility to maintain Georgia, which is multi-ethnic
and multi-confessional which has been left to us by our ancestors,
because multi-ethnicity is a wealth, multi-confession is a wealth,’
Saakashvili added.
He said that currently Georgia has a responsibility to maintain
Georgia in the borders `in which our ancestors left it for us’ and a
responsibility towards `our 500,000 compatriots who have been
expelled from Abkhazia.’
`Not only ethnic Georgians; these are ethnic Ukrainians, ethnic
Estonians, ethnic Jews, ethnic Armenians, ethnic Greeks and ethnic
Abkhazians. We have responsibility to return all of them back to
their homes [in Abkhazia],’ Saakashvili said,
He also addressed residents of breakaway South Ossetian and told them
in the Ossetian language: `We love you.’
`I want to salute our population in Tskhinvali, Java, Znauri,
Akhalgori, in Didi and Patara Liakhvi gorges [in South Ossetia] and I
want to tell them: Ossetians have not only been part of our history,
but they have always been a heroic and important part of our history…
They have been, they are and they will be part of our history in the
future as well,’ Saakashvili said.
He said that Georgia has many `allies and partners’ throughout the
world.
`And I want to express my special solidarity towards Ukrainian
people… And I want to express special solidarity towards Estonian
people, who were under a huge political pressure in recent weeks and
months and who have resisted this pressure,’ Saakashvili said.