Merabishvili encourages Georgians to attend April rally
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Tuesday, March 12
General Secretary of the United National Movement, Vano Merabishvili, again appealed to Georgians to take part in the rally planned by the opposition on April 19. Merabishvili emphasized that the large-scale rally would represent a sign of Georgia's pro-Western orientation.
"We ask all Georgians despite their political beliefs to come to the rally," Merabishvili stated.
Merabishvili shifted attention on the letter sent by certain members of the European Parliament to Georgia.
“The content of the letter is alarming. It was the first time that members of the European Parliament expressed worry concerning Georgia’s European course,” Merabishvili stated.
The General Secretary stressed that the rally will be peaceful and that the former Minister of Justice Zurab Adeishvili will not attend it.
“Adeishvili is not going to be in Georgia in the next several months. I frequently speak with him on the telephone and the current government knows it. All our talks are being recorded and listened to,” Merabishvili said.
Chair of the Parliament’s Defense and Security Committee, Irakli Sesiashvili, responded to the letter sent by the members of the European Parliament concerning Georgia’s foreign orientation. According to Sesiashvili, the letter was “politically motivated and lacked genuine information,” regarding the process ongoing inside the country.
“The letter was sent by 33 members of the European Parliament when there are 756 deputies there,” Sesiashvili stated, adding that the lobbyist groups of the former government are still actively involved in misleading the foreign community.
“It is regrettable when the deputies write a letter without having real information on the situation. The parliament has just adopted the resolution on Georgia’s foreign course,” Sesiashvili stated. He explained that the new government of Georgia has already proved that it is pro-Western and the visit of the Euro-Atlantic Council in Georgia in the near future is evidence of this.
Thomas de Waal, a British journalist and writer on the Caucasus, has stated that
“It is better to see disputes fought out in parliament or on television than on the streets.”
According to journalist and analyst Ia Antadze, the April 19 rally looks more like "propaganda", as the Parliament has already adopted the resolution on Georgia’s foreign course that should be easily mentioned by each educated individual.
“There is clearly written that Georgia must not have diplomatic, military-political or custom relations with the states recognizing the independence of the Russian occupied regions and that the main priorities of the country is the integration into Euro-Atlantic structures,” Antadze said.
