The President of Georgia met with the representatives of the Ministry of Defense and addressed them. As Mikheil Saakashvili noted during his address, he made this event specifically to coincide with the memorial of the heroes fallen on April 9^th, to once again emphasize the fighting spirit, bravery, and the love of freedom of the Georgian people. According to him, despite the hopeless situation, the Georgian people proved on April 9, that the idea of freedom is the most powerful ideal and it will always win; that this nation will never again live in slavery and will never again serve others. Mikheil Saakashvili recalled the examples proving the country’s statehood, culture, and protecting our nationality while focusing attention on the heroes, who have fallen in the fight for saving our statehood and independence. According to him, the current generation has assessed this sacrifice well and understood what a relentless cycle of success means.

The Commander in Chief of the Georgian Armed Forces also recalled the Russian aggression of August of 2008 during his speech. According to Mikheil Saakashvili’s statement, the bravery of Georgians was seen well during the time when the leader of our conquerors was going to bomb the rally in front of the Parliament of Georgia.

“This was a sign of people’s inspiration, a sign of the fact that we would not lie down in the face of a challenge or a threat” – noted he.

Despite several tragedies in contemporary history, Georgia has achieved the creation of a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-religious modern state. The enemies of our statehood could not imagine that it was possible to create a state in the Caucasus where the idea of equality and freedom would be most important. According to him, Georgia has ruined this myth and that is what our enemies are fighting.

Mikheil Saakashvili also touched on the issue of rebuilding Georgia. As he noted, the country is doing everything it can in order to become a developed and successful state.

The President of Georgia decorated 25 military and 4 civilian personnel, including the initiators and participants in the creation of the first Georgian military vehicles, for their contribution in the development of the Georgian Armed Forces, for kindly doing their work and for their high level of professionalism. The Commander in Chief personally gave them the awards.

After his address, the President of Georgia decorated the April 9 memorial with flowers. Mikheil Saakashvili arrived with his wife Sandra Elizabeth Roelofs and Minister of Defense Bacho Akhalaia at the memorial of the tragedy that took place 23 years ago.