The President on correspondence with EPP
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Wednesday, March 20
President Mikheil Saakashvili delivered a special letter concerning the ongoing correspondence between the European People’s party ( EPP) and the Georgian government. Saakashvili underscored that the new government’s attitude towards the EPP is not correct.
The president emphasized that the EPP is a unifying party of the leading European political parties.
“They are the people who have always stood with us and have tried to assist us in times of need. It is very important how we speak with them, especially with the Vilnius Summit approaching. The summit is very important for us as it will specify whether we have a visa free regime and free trade with Europe or not,” Saakashvili said.
Saakashvili stated that it is wrong when the current government “abuses the representatives of the EPP” and alongside “kneels in front of Russian representatives.”
Saakashvili also stressed that content the letter concerning him that was sent to the EPP was a “lie”.
“There was written as if the date was not agreed for my speech to the parliament and that I am not on time for official meetings. This is a lie,” Saakashvili stated, appealing to the government members not to lie to Europeans, as Europeans are not Russians.
“In the case you lie to Europeans, they will not trust you for the second time. We are used to hearing lies within the Russian space,” Saakashvili said.
In the end, Saakashvili appealed to the government to work together to not damage Georgia’s domestic and foreign affairs.
Government members underscored that the EPP consists of more than 700 members and that the letters of certain members of the party were obscured and included unchecked information, presumably delievered by the United National Movement.
Prime Minister of Georgia, Bidzina Ivanishvili appealed to the members of the party to come to Georgia and watch the real situation.
“The president’s letter concerning the correspondence with the EPP was a sign of inadequateness,” coalition member Viktor Dolidze stated.
Head of the Elections and Political Research Centre, Kakha Kakhishvili, thinks that the Georgian government should act based on the publics’ interest and take Georgians’ demands into consideration first of all.
Fellow analyst Kakha Gogolashvili believes that by speaking with European parliamentarians in that tone, the Georgian government is behavior is a “bit risky.”
