Tsulukiani: President might be questioned
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Wednesday, April 10
Minister of Justice, Tea Tsulukiani, stated that the president and other former high-ranking officials might be questioned concerning the August War of 2008. A statement concerning the issue was made during the meeting with journalists on April 8.
According to Tsululkiani there many complaints at The Hague Court drafted by various individuals claiming that certain criminal actions were committed by some officials during the war.
“The complaints contain the names of various members of ethnic minorities and officials… crimes committed by them might be qualified as a war crime or as a crime against humanity,” Tsulukiani emphasized, adding that Georgia has a responsibility to the international community to investigate these crimes.
“It is my wish to the Georgian side to clear out everything regarding the war and I think that we will be able to do this. In case we fail, the wrongdoings will be discussed in the Hague,” Tsulukiani stated.
Tsulukiani also commented on current situation in courts. The minister stressed that she agrees with there being a jury during the trials.
“I welcome that the detainees will not be able to avoid a jury at the trials in most cases. The reason of this is that the situation in the courts is still very inadequate and the judges cannot ensure the equality of the sides or the discipline. In this situation it is acceptable verdicts to be made by jury,” Tsulukiani stated.
The minister highlighted that the court system requires “deep reforming”. According to her, the process has been launched and he hoped that the president would not veto the law on united courts adopted by the parliament several days ago.
“However, in the case that the president does, the parliament will manage to overcome the veto, as the process is very significant,” Tsulukiani stated.
The minister touched upon the ID cards as well. According to her, spirituals and people had the wrong information concerning the cards. She explained that she had studied the issue completely and intends to inform the public as well.
“I think after my steps, the Patriarchate will also make a decision and the problem will be solved for summer. The former government intended to link some other information with the card. However, they did not manage. The current IDs just contain a name, surname, address, private number and place and date of birth,” Tsulukiani suggested.
Statements concerning the president’s questioning regarding the August War were assessed as “delirium” and “anti state” by the parliamentary minority. According to them Tsulukiani’s statements serve Russian interests.
The parliamentary majority welcomed the statement and emphasized that all the questions concerning the war should be responded to. They also mentioned that the actions of the committee investigating the August War imposes bring up serious questions.
Political analyst, Gia Khukhashvili, thinks that the August War should be investigated. However, this should be done without harming state interests.
