First of all I would like to thank you all for coming!

This is a very important event for us since I have an honor to award state decorations to public figures today.

I must mention that we rarely award people, as I consider that the government should respect and take special care of state decorations. Only a miserable and untalented government gives lots of orders and medals. Today the number of people awarded are much less compared to the last years.

I consider that we have many worthy people in Georgia and it is a huge responsibility to choose the most worthy ones out of them.

You are very special people and a proof of how intelligent the Georgian people are and how interesting public figures live in Georgia.

This year was very important for us. In 2005 events of historic significance took place in Georgia. Withdrawal of Russian military bases from the Georgian territory started this year, however we put a lot of work into making this happen and have to work even more to finish this process.

Since we don't have a tradition of statehood we, the Georgians, don't know how to evaluate things appropriately. Visit of President Bush to Georgia is a great historic event because during this visit the most influential politician of the world in front of the eyes of the whole world said that the Georgians created the most powerful moment in modern history. The Georgians started what is known as a new wave of liberation in the rest part of Europe and Middle East.

I myself don't remember a single US president of the 20th century who gave such great compliments to any nation.

We must acknowledge that this is the result of our joint effort.

This year was an unprecedented one because the students for the first time entered the universities without any corruption.

Corruption was widespread in Georgian universities. It was one of the most shameful pages of our history and Georgia was notorious for that.

This year we proved that we can live otherwise.

Since independence, this is the first year when the Georgian regions have 24 hours electricity supply since October.

This is a great psychological revolution.

The whole generation grew up by candlelight. In percentage terms most of the students who entered the university this year were from Oni [Racha-Lechkhumi region]. These people had to study by candlelight because they did not have electricity for 13 years.

This is the first winter when this problem is fixed. But nobody notices it because people tend to forget things. When electricity is delivered nobody remembers the blackout. When a beautiful building is built in stead of an ugly one everybody forgets an old one and when driving on new roads nobody remembers potholes there.

If we don't be able to value good thing properly our future successes would be too difficult to achieve.

This year we stared rebuilding Georgia which will grow into a mass building process next year.

Next year we are starting building highways, dozens of hotels, building new plants and rebuilding old big ones.

In a word, Georgia is becoming a real state. It turned out to be too difficult to achieve.

I am proud that this year the Georgian film industry achieved a serious success in the whole world. The Georgian directors have always been celebrated and some of them are here in this hall.

This year we started improving not only an infrastructure, but face-lifting our regions. I have an ambition to make Tbilisi the most beautiful city in the post-Soviet space.

I also have an ambition to make Batumi the most beautiful city in the Black Sea cost. I promise that we would achieve it in one or two years.

Everybody viewed Georgia to be a failed state, however we have proved that we do exist and are able to achieve success. Of course all of you contribute to this process.

I would like to say that the public debates in Georgia are very hot and sometimes even very problematic.

In Georgia everyone can express their opinion on everything. It is possible to express any idea or criticism by means of any TV company or by other means. This is typical for the democratic society, however the second most important element of democracy is responsibility. One thing is when you can talk on everything and the second is to acknowledge that the Georgian people stand behind you and their future depends on you especially when you have good verbal and writing skills and the society watches you with interest.

Our country is divided into three pieces.

Unification of this country depends on each of us. When a person, who has an ambition to be a public figure, announces on the television that the Georgian government has decided to invade Abkhazia and South Ossetia, it means that we are having a serious problem. You may know this person well and even meet him every day. At this moment people are holding a demonstration in front of the Ministry of Internal Affairs against Georgian law on organized crime and racketeering.

I don't know why the opposition parties did not support this law. I think the public should express their opinion also.

At the same time the other public figure says on the television that the government created an institution of "reporting" which is very bad.

An actor, whom I respect a lot, said this phrase.

When the wife of this man is robbed in the street, his daughter is raped near his house and his son dies of drug overdose then I will see if this man would not cooperate with the police.

We must acknowledge that there are universal values and rules which are very essential for everyone.

Of course debate should take place; hot debates are typical for Georgia. It is characteristic for us to make noise, quarrel and even swear at each other.

I want a responsible government and a responsible constructive opposition to be in Georgia.

We do not need an opposition which will always agree with the government on everything - this is the totalitarian understanding of constructiveness.

For instance, if we say that the bottle is half full, the opposition should say that the bottle is half empty.

There should be a discussion and consensus, but when they say that the bottle is absolutely empty or it does not exist at all, it is very difficult to argue. Then it is followed by confrontation which is very bad for the development of the society.

It is very difficult for me to talk about it but generally speaking the society is very high-class and very strong in Georgia.

Despite the fact the TV companies mostly cover negative events, 75 per cent of the Georgian population, based on the survey made by the Americans, thinks that the country has chosen the right way. People see the problems but still consider that we are on a right way. This means that we have a very high-class society.

Educated, well-bred and sophisticated people live in our villages. This is our asset.

We were the most educated society and still are, despite the fact that many negative processes in our education system badly affected our development.

The whole Georgia knows the Georgian national anthem, written by the poet Davit Maghradze, by heart and sings it. This means that the Georgian society has a dignity.

We are the society which loves its own flag; we are the society which stands united in hardship; we are the society which can work honestly.

The so called elite, created by the communists, could not imagine it.

However, it turned out that it is possible to hold fare examinations, have incorrupt police and incorrupt government apparatus.

I am proud that we have started our cultural revival. I mentioned Georgian films. . .

Duta Skhirtladze, Otar Egadze and Guram Kartvelishvili staged chronicles of the Georgian history in the theatre, which fascinated everyone who saw the performance.

We must overcome the complex that there is not more unorganized, terrible and worse nation in the world.

Those groups of people, artificially created by that empire, kept saying this to us for the purpose to deprive us of our self-confidence and to make us think that we would perish without them and would never become a state.

Our former imperial government now develops with oil. Despite the fact that we do not have oil price on gas has increased our economic development indicator is twice more.

This is not the end; you should see what would happen next year.

We don't have natural resources, though we have our inner resources - human and organizational.

It turned out that we can be more organized and strong than those who keep criticizing us.

Thank you very much.

List of the people awarded.

People awarded with an order of honor:

Giorgi (Gogi) Ochiauri - professor of Tbilisi State Academy of Art, artist

Anzor Erkomaishvili - director of the Georgian State Academic Ensemble of Folk Songs and Dance "Rustavi"

Bachana Bregvadze - writer, Doctor of Philosophy

Konstantine Cholokashvili - leading scientist of the Georgian National Museum, doctor of historical science, professor, member of Tbilisi Sakrebulo (City Council)

Pridon Todua - vice president of the Georgian Academy, academician

Iulon Gagoshidze - archaeologist, senior scientist of Simon Janashia museum, doctor of historical science, member of Tbilisi Sakrebulo (City Council)

Gia Japaridze - sculptor

Gia Bughadze - artist, rector of Tbilisi State Academy of Art

Davit Maghradze - poet, president of the Georgian Pen-centre

Zurab Nizharadze - artist, professor, laureate of Shota Rustaveli prize

Giorgi Gachechiladze - professor of the Georgian Technical University

Nana Jorjadze - film director

Rusudan Petviashvili - artist, honored academician of the Academy of Art and Religion

Davit Ninidze - director general of the Georgian Cultural Heritage Foundation, doctor of historical science, professor

Giorgi (Gocha) Ingorokva - head of the Neurosurgical Chair of Tbilisi State Medical University

Davit Zurabashvili - director of the clinic of Mikheil Asatiani Psychiatric Institute

Temur Janjghava - chief specialist of the Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery

Anzor Melia - doctor of medical science, director of the clinic "Guli" (heart)

Ketevan Bezarashvili - senior scientists of Korneli Kekelidze Institute of Manuscripts, doctor of philological science

Levan Imnaishvili - professor of the Georgian Technical University, doctor of technical science

Levan Tutberidze - film director

Levan Korinteli - producer

People awarded with the medals of honor:

Levan Tsuladze - art director of Kote Marjanishvili State Academy

Dimitri (Duta) Skhirtladze - actor

Guram Kartvelishvili - writer, playwright

Otar Egadze - director

Giorgi Ushikishvili - director of the Georgian Centre of Folklore, head of the ensemble "Lashari"

Besik Tsilosani - founder of "Orion Technology"

Communications Office
of the President of Georgia