Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili today travelled to Mtskheta's Svetitskhoveli Cathedral to attend the funeral of independent Georgia's first president, Zviad Gamsakhurdia, and pay his respects to the late leader's family. Saakashvili said that Gamsakhurdia and fellow dissident and activist Merab Kostava headed the movement for Georgia's independence at a crucial time in the country's history. He added that it was Zviad Gamsakhurdia who took the first steps towards Georgia's independence and that the Georgian people would remember him accordingly. 
"At that point Georgia had very little experience being a state. We had no experience of political independence, which is one of the main reasons why our country went through so much turbulence and upheaval in those years. It is now time to think and deliberate. We must think about the fact that the main thing for us is Georgia's unity and realizing that our strength is in unity. Georgia pays its respects to those who fought for independence," Saakashvili said.

Press Office
of the President of Georgia