Press Scanner
Complied by Liana Bezhanishvili
Tuesday, December 1
Levan Gachechiladze: Saakashvili’s Government must be finished by this final wave of protest
Kviris Palitra writes that opposition leader Levan Gachechiladze has said: "Our regime is authoritarian and marching towards dictatorship with very big steps. Can we talk about free elections in these conditions? How can we think that Saakashvili is ready to compromise? It is time to give everything its proper name. We should not allow Saakashvili to falsify the elections, we should not allow him to use violence and we should not allow him to violate human rights either.
The years of struggle have shown me that the majority of our citizens are more interested in having enough to live on than whether the country exists or not, but today the social situation is so bad that I think Georgia is ready for the beginning of the third and final protest wave and for the removal of this Government. If this does not happen now the Government will not change in 2013 either.
"I have been having intensive meetings with radicals (such as Nino Burjanadze) and with election supporters. We have two ways to fight. The radical way needs a big protest wave and motive behind it to become successful. The motives were there, the falsified elections, the Tagliavini Commission's conclusion, the insult to the Patriarch, but these did not hold the protestors together. Both the opposition and public also need to be united. The people were united on 9 April and 26 May, and great unity proceeds from small unity. If Irakli Alasania, Nino Burjanadze, I and others can unite the people will be convinced that they can unite too. There is no other way to save the country," stated Levan Gachechiladze.
"I do not know where, how or by whom it will be done but Saakashvili’s Government must be finished by this final wave of protest. If the spring elections are falsified this could provide the springboard. I am sure if the people want to protest the opposition will win these elections but Saakashvili will not accept this and will write the result he wants. It would be very good if the opposition took the capital in an election and then the whole of Georgia but it will not happen, Saakashvili would not allow it. He knows that this is the final and decisive fight.
As a rule regimes are changed in two ways: either a charismatic leader creates a revolution or the people unite against the regime. My main task is to negotiate with the supporters of different camps,” Gachechiladze concluded.
Erosi Kitsmarishvili: Grigol Vashadze will have serious problems for making his comments
In an interview with Kviris Palitra the Director of Maestro TV Erosi Kitsmarishvili has stated: "I have read an English text in which Grigol Vashadze says "Without the State’s support the media cannot develop". I really do not know what he meant by this. If the Minister was talking about the State financing the television stations this would be highly illegal and we are talking about the corruption. It is a scandal that a Foreign Minister of Georgia said such a thing.
"I can state with confidence that Rustavi 2, Imedi, Alania, Sakartvelo and Adjara TV are examples of how the Government diverts State income to private legal persons illegally. It is another issue how the Government’s representatives uses the media for their own purposes. This is a form of corruption and introduces unjust and unhealthy competition into the media," Kitsmarishvili said.
Asked why he thought Vashadze had made a statement about financial support for television stations, he answered: "I cannot say, but I believe Grigol Vashadze will have serious problems because of this. Soon you will see him resign for some other reason. Who knows better than I that Saakashvili and his staff do not forgive those who tell even unintentional truths?”
Kviris Palitra writes that opposition leader Levan Gachechiladze has said: "Our regime is authoritarian and marching towards dictatorship with very big steps. Can we talk about free elections in these conditions? How can we think that Saakashvili is ready to compromise? It is time to give everything its proper name. We should not allow Saakashvili to falsify the elections, we should not allow him to use violence and we should not allow him to violate human rights either.
The years of struggle have shown me that the majority of our citizens are more interested in having enough to live on than whether the country exists or not, but today the social situation is so bad that I think Georgia is ready for the beginning of the third and final protest wave and for the removal of this Government. If this does not happen now the Government will not change in 2013 either.
"I have been having intensive meetings with radicals (such as Nino Burjanadze) and with election supporters. We have two ways to fight. The radical way needs a big protest wave and motive behind it to become successful. The motives were there, the falsified elections, the Tagliavini Commission's conclusion, the insult to the Patriarch, but these did not hold the protestors together. Both the opposition and public also need to be united. The people were united on 9 April and 26 May, and great unity proceeds from small unity. If Irakli Alasania, Nino Burjanadze, I and others can unite the people will be convinced that they can unite too. There is no other way to save the country," stated Levan Gachechiladze.
"I do not know where, how or by whom it will be done but Saakashvili’s Government must be finished by this final wave of protest. If the spring elections are falsified this could provide the springboard. I am sure if the people want to protest the opposition will win these elections but Saakashvili will not accept this and will write the result he wants. It would be very good if the opposition took the capital in an election and then the whole of Georgia but it will not happen, Saakashvili would not allow it. He knows that this is the final and decisive fight.
As a rule regimes are changed in two ways: either a charismatic leader creates a revolution or the people unite against the regime. My main task is to negotiate with the supporters of different camps,” Gachechiladze concluded.
Erosi Kitsmarishvili: Grigol Vashadze will have serious problems for making his comments
In an interview with Kviris Palitra the Director of Maestro TV Erosi Kitsmarishvili has stated: "I have read an English text in which Grigol Vashadze says "Without the State’s support the media cannot develop". I really do not know what he meant by this. If the Minister was talking about the State financing the television stations this would be highly illegal and we are talking about the corruption. It is a scandal that a Foreign Minister of Georgia said such a thing.
"I can state with confidence that Rustavi 2, Imedi, Alania, Sakartvelo and Adjara TV are examples of how the Government diverts State income to private legal persons illegally. It is another issue how the Government’s representatives uses the media for their own purposes. This is a form of corruption and introduces unjust and unhealthy competition into the media," Kitsmarishvili said.
Asked why he thought Vashadze had made a statement about financial support for television stations, he answered: "I cannot say, but I believe Grigol Vashadze will have serious problems because of this. Soon you will see him resign for some other reason. Who knows better than I that Saakashvili and his staff do not forgive those who tell even unintentional truths?”