Georgia’s ex-Foreign Minister criticizes British Ambassador for her statements

British Ambassador Alexandra Hall Hall’s statements over positive and negative tendencies in Georgia, at an international conference in Tbilisi, on September 8 has caused some controversial assessments.

“I am more optimistic than others, as Georgia develops very successfully,” Alexandra Hall Hall said and stressed that Georgia was a leading country in the region.

The three challenges named by the British Ambassador were democratic values, accountability and civil responsibility.

“In the first case, I refer not only to the form of democracy but also to its contents and basic values. For example, personal supervision, accusations, questions and attacks on rival political forces. When such attacks are carried out against former or present PMs or presidents, it disgraces these people as well as the institutions they represent.

“The second challenge is accountability – last year many bad incidents happened in political parties as well as between political persons. We should be more cautious.

“The third challenge is civil responsibility in a very wide sense. Georgia’s citizens should feel their own civil responsibility. For example, many foreigners comment negatively on your driving manner and on how Georgians litter everywhere… this is not only the business of the elite. It should show more respect towards one another and society,” she said.

Georgia’s former Foreign Minister Salome Zourabichvili has stated in response to the speech that the Ambassador “did not know her place and that she exceeded her power.”

“My 35 year-experience enables me to make such a comment,” Zourabichvili said.

“The ambassador does not know how to act or worse, she believes that she has a right to speak everything as she is in a small country.

“None of the foreign ambassadors have a right to judge us. I have always hated such a neo- colonization form. I hated it when I represented the French Embassy in Africa, I hated it in the Soviet Union time I hate it from the current European leaders who think that if we want to become the part of Europe, we should do everything they want,” Zourabichvili said.

The former Minister stressed that many European countries, England among them, do not meet European principles.

“In particular, England has refused to give a shelter for migrants and after a serious pressure it accepted the entry for only the insignificant number .

“The main principle of international relations is : Each state is equal, each state is worth respecting” Zourabichvili added.

It should be noted that Georgians have one, very popular saying that can be translated like that: Tell the truth to your loved ones directly and enemies behind their backs.

Thus, even a very strong criticism to out shortcomings voiced by an individual who really cares about our country’s fate should not be taken negatively.

Moreover, we should listen to such remarks carefully and think about them.

If we do not think on our faults and if our friends only speak about our positive sides, we will never be able to advance and achieve improvements.