Former President Giorgi Margvelashvili Joins the Protestors
The protests in front of the Parliament building continue. Today, on its 6th day, the protest had former President of Georgia, Giorgi Margvelashvili as one of the speakers. The large crowd greeted the fourth President of the country with loud cheers and applause.
“You are making history by standing here, now,” said Margvelashvili, “It’s painful that this history had to be written in blood. There’s this quote that quite frankly used to scare me – ‘the tree of freedom needs to be watered with the blood of patriots from time to time’. And that blood has been spilled here. That blood is a guarantee that you will be united, fearlessly,” he told the crowd, going on to compare today’s events with the night of April 9, 1989 – a crucial date in Georgian history and a turning point of Georgian nationalism.
Margvelashvili said that the ruling party Georgian Dream has limited, almost no, power against people.
“I believe that the future will be bright and pure. Those people who unfortunately stand against you today have limited power and useless tools. Their ways won’t work because here on Rustaveli Avenue you stand for truth: here is the real power – the moving force of the future of Georgia.”
The former President praised the protestors on their organization skills and persistence, saying that “My generation made mistakes at similar protests. We kept changing our demands because we were confused or unorganized, but today your demands are persistent and clear. You know you have a right to ask for a change and you demand it loud and clear! That is why this will end in total victory.”
Before passing the microphone to the next speaker, the fourth President of Georgia addressed the protestors on a lighter note;
“Now to address you with a little humor, Kobakhidze that is one (‘eto raz’), Gakharia that is two (‘eto dva’).”
By Nini Dakhundaridze