PM: Democratization in Georgia Cannot be Threatened by Anything
"The functional independence of each and every one of our citizens with disabilities, in order for them to be able to fully participate in our daily lives, is the great objective of every government and every citizen and I think this center will have an international dimension as well - at the very least, a regional one, which is tremendous," Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia stated while talking about the Ken Walker University Clinic for Medical Rehabilitation.
The head of the government noted that the center is capable of working on the rehabilitation of 200 children and 250 adults at the same time.
"This is the first international-level medical rehabilitation center, which was built and developed as a project with the assistance of USAID, a private investor, and in collaboration with Tbilisi State Medical University. This truly is tremendous. Imagine - this center is capable of working on the rehabilitation of 200 children and 250 adults at the same time. Its purpose is to ensure that each and every citizen, be it an adult or an adolescent, is functionally independent. Functional independence is extremely important in order for our citizens with disabilities to be able to participate fully in the daily life of our country. The center has no greater goal than this today. Of course, it will fulfill an educational function also," he said.
Giorgi Gakharia answered the journalists' question on the Defense Authorization Act that was approved by the Senate, noting that the cooperation between the United States - Georgia's strategic partner - and Georgia is deepening more and more. Such important areas of cooperation as defense, security, democratization, trade, and the economy are being discussed.
The head of the government stressed that individual friends of Georgia from the United States, be it congressmen or senators, may have some question marks and they, as friends of Georgia, have the right to ask these questions.
"Of course, our individual friends from the United States, be it congressmen or senators, may have certain question marks and they, as friends of Georgia, have the right to ask these questions, just as we have the right to answer those questions. You can see that over time, these questions are slowly being resolved. The bad thing is that given the political process, some people are trying to make this strategic partnership a part of the political processes without taking the interests of the country into consideration, which they will not be able to achieve because the strategic partnership between Georgia and the United States is above all political or partisan interests. Everyone understands this well. While I am also certain that such efforts will continue, these efforts will receive an appropriate and adequate response from both Georgia and the United States," Giorgi Gakharia stated.
The prime minister responded to the report of the US secretary of state, stating that democratization in Georgia, ranging from freedom of expression, media pluralism, and the development of institutions to the electoral system, cannot be threatened by anything.
"We are pleased that the secretary of state will assess the process of democratization in Georgia. On the contrary, this is in our interest because no one, including us, has any doubts with regard to these processes. We are comfortable with the question marks that exist because democratization in Georgia, ranging from freedom of expression, media pluralism, and the development of institutions to the electoral system, cannot be threatened by anything for the simple reason that the Georgian citizen has felt the value of freedom and justice very well; he feels the value of the freedom and pluralism of the media as well and now, he will understand how an electoral system that is closer to the proportional one will change the Georgian political culture for the better, and no one can turn this back. The more assessments there will be from Georgia's strategic partners in the process of consolidating Georgia's democracy, the more we will welcome them," he noted.
The prime minister also answered the journalists' question regarding the opposition raising the issue of the resignation of Internal Affairs Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri, noting that "talking about this because some political figures demanded it is non-serious."
"Do you think talking about this because some political figures demanded it is serious? Of course, it is not. The task of the minister of internal affairs is to see investigations through and to conclude them. There are no question marks with regard to this issue. I am certain that both cases will be fully investigated and brought to an end. Do you think talking about this because some political figures demanded it is serious?! Of course, it is non-serious," he stressed.
The PM responded to a question about ongoing investigations of recent cases and stated that some political forces are using the tragedies of specific families for political purposes, which is why more information must be proactively provided to both the media and our citizens.
"With regard to the investigation, I said exactly what I was saying when I was minister of internal affairs. Our justice system requires certain reforms, I said this and I will repeat it again, and I did so in the Ministry of Internal Affairs as well. The systemic renewal that took place was precisely the direction of reform that must continue and, as you know, the epidemiological crisis, the global economic crisis - everything coincided. All of this needs to continue. Of course, the separation of the function of investigation is necessary in order to improve the quality of investigation and much remains to be done in the justice system. We know this very well, we have plans for this, legislative amendments have been prepared and all this will be implemented. I said something else and we must not change the interpretations here. I said that communication, at a time when we are in a tense political process and unfortunately, just as some political forces are using our relations with strategic partners against the country, in this case they are also using the tragedies of specific families for the political process and in order not to give them room for various interpretations (which is also the right of the media, and no one is forbidding this) I said that no room [for interpretation] can remain and we must proactively provide as much information as possible to both the media and our citizens in order to leave no room for interpretation, especially at a time when the investigation in underway and the investigation process is not yet complete. This is what I said, and I will repeat it again," the head of the government stated.
He also answered the journalists' question regarding the information disseminated by an Azerbaijani publication concerning the delivery of military hardware to Armenia via Georgia, stating that this is merely unverified information disseminated by the media, and it will constitute noteworthy information when it is the subject of discussion between the two countries.
"Georgia, of course, will not have a political problem because we are fulfilling our obligations in full compliance with international law. This information is merely unverified information disseminated by the media. It will become noteworthy when it becomes the subject of discussion between our two countries. Nothing threatens the strategic partnership and fraternity between Azerbaijan and Georgia. It is impossible for anything to threaten these relations, which are of the highest quality. If you have seen this photograph, it depicts an ordinary truck," Giorgi Gakharia stated.
The prime minister also responded to the issue of Frontera, noting that today, the country's investment climate is extremely important and no one should be given the opportunity to call this investment environment and the country's business climate into question, even by disseminating wrong information.
"Georgia has won an arbitration dispute with Frontera. Georgia, the government, reclaimed 99 percent of the assets, of the territory as a result of this arbitration dispute. Georgia refused to initiate the formal, legal process through which it could have returned the [remaining] one percent, and I will easily explain why - because today, the country's investment climate, the country's business environment is of extreme importance to us and we must not give anyone the opportunity to call this investment environment and the country's business climate into question, even by disseminating wrong information; this is of paramount importance. We must not give anyone the opportunity to use the strategic partnership for some targeted purposes in this case as well, and one more issue - of course, there are Georgian people who were employed in this company and the interests of these people must also be protected," he stated.
By Ana Dumbadze