The speech of the President of Georgia – Mikheil Saakashvili on “Patriots’ Forum”

9/16/2006

I am greeting to the representatives of Lagodekhi, Sagarejo, Bazaleti, Bakuriani, Vartsikhe, Khelvachauri camps and to the most junior patriot Nikusha Dzneladze.

I am greeting to our best youth, to our heroes - Zaza Pachulia, Sofo Khalvashi.

I am greeting the mayor of Tbilisi - Gigi Ugulava.

Georgia is a brave and beautiful country now.

Georgia is in orange and red colors. The dark, unpleasant and hopeless colors are in the past now

My dear people you are the best part of our society. Here in Georgia there are the people that do not believe in integrity of Georgia and in better future of it. We tell them that we believe and let us pass.

Georgia get tired to hear that it is a small country where live the people that know just to pour wine, make entertainments and to roast shashlik. Don't let anybody think like that.

We are the people that play the role of the flashlight of freedom for the whole world that are able to defend their honor, to be brave, to overcome everything, be hardworking and gifted.

We will keep this status with you.

This relay-race in the hand of the best part of Georgia.

Georgia has been changing - I don't remember the Sport Palace to be so crowed or the National Stadium that we repaired together with Gigi Ugulava.

For the first time in history of our country sixty thousand of Georgians sang the hymn of our country at the National Stadium with one accord.

Our enemy did not expect that Georgian people would be able to think as one, to dream one dream and for realization of this dream they will start their moving all together.

We are a small nation. The St. George was not the leader of a large army. He was fighting against the emperor of a great country that was personification of evil, unbelief, violence and everything that was against honor and spirituality. .

That only man because of his great spiritual force managed to mobilize his forces, rose against the emperor and beat the empire.

Georgia - is the St. George, spiritually strong that will be the winner at any price.

Three years ago we lived separately, the Megrelian people did not communicate with Kakhetians, the Kakheti with Guria, the Guria with Kartli. We all were closed in our houses.

Our enemy thought that Georgia would not rise again.

Once the leader of our neighbor country said about Georgia that Georgian people are very strange, for defending of the Russian Empire they moved out 250 thousand fighters in the First World War.

In the Second World War George lost the same number of people. But for defending of its independence Georgia moved only 9 thousand fighters.

In Abkhazia, when Sukhumi was bleeding there were just three-four thousand fighters but the others were in restaurants and nobody knew what there were celebrating.

Now Georgia is not divided into parts and we guarantee it. Such kind of Georgia became history.

Unity is the lifestyle for nowadays Georgia. Heroes are not born but to be brave is the choice of a free man. A brave man does not obey to other's commands; his braveness is the result of his hardworking.

We need brave generation. They try to frighten Georgia and they declared economic embargo. They thought that if they did that the Georgian people would oppose each other, became hopeless - but it did not appear like that.

In embargo conditions we have been assured that we have many friends. The young people like you were demonstrating in the streets of Lithuania and saying to everybody that the Georgian wine is blocked because they want freedom, the same kind of support we feel in Poland too.

The President of Poland tolled me that in 1921 when you could not defend your independence the Georgian officers saved Poland from the Russian conquerors. Poland, Europe and all civilized people are next to Georgia.

Only we cane save our future, nobody will do our business instead of us.

I spent the summer hot days with reservists in camps. I spent one night in Khelvachauri camp too.

In the next year 10-15 thousand people will be added to the patriot movement.

We will build nice permanent cottages and the tents we will give to Georgian military forces. The patriots will have comfortable camps.

The first speaker said that he was dreaming of the day when the patriot camps will be opened in Abkhazia. In some days we will start the first camp on the territory of Zemo Abkhazia that became free some days ago.

Next year on the first of January when the road building will be finished in the resort house "Mountain Gorge" will be opened the camp for thousand people that will be located in the picturesque Zemo Abkhazia.

Those people that declared blockade for us thought that they could destruct Georgia. But they couldn't manage that.

One old history comes to my mind now: in the Middle Ages the armed forces of Kizilbash round up the fortress suggested the Georgian to yield. During six months the Kizilbash fighters received food but the Georgian received nothing, In spite of that the Georgian people did not yield to them. It appeared that the Georgian people made a small tunnel and they were bringing the food products into the fortress trough that tunnel. After six months the Georgian people appeared on the walls of the fortress and all of them were strong, they looked down the Kizilbash fighters and showed them fresh fish. We came here to Rike in order to press the grapes together to show the modern Kizilbashes that even the Shah-Abbas could not extirpate the vine, the Kizilbashes could not conquer the fortress, and they could not abolish our Georgian language. But who are you? You don't like the Georgian wine and you do not give the chance to other to have it. What do you think? Will Georgia be thirsty? - Never.

The Jewish people were greeting each other with such words "In future in Jerusalem" for thousands of years.

And we, the Georgian patriots greet each other here in order the whole world can see us. And in future we hope to great each other in Sukhumi live in freedom, peace and unity. In future we will great each other in Sukhumi, Abkhazia, for our bright, peaceful and guaranteed future.

Long live Georgia!

The God blesses you.



Communications Office
of the President of Georgia