Garibashvili says Georgia is ready for changes

Georgia is preparing for a new phase of reform, the prime minister of the country, Irakli Garibashvili, declared at a press conference on the results of 2014.

"We have planned radical reforms in the most important areas ... As we have already stated, we are going to reform the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Prosecutor's Office and the Department of Corrections. After these reforms we'll obtain system changes, which is extremely important for the state and strengthening the role of our country," Garibashvili said.

He noted that institutional changes are planned, the implementation of which will be carried out by representatives of parliament, the government and the non-governmental sector.

Also there is a plan to allocate the security organs to the Interior Ministry.

"To carry out the reforms in an expedient manner is impossible," the prime minister stressed, adding that the new Georgian authorities have done everything for a new stage of reforms.

The head of the Georgian government reported that the country's general prosecutor's office has completed a review of all the claims against members of the previous government, which lasted two years.

"The prosecutor's office completed examination of all statements and claims received from citizens of Georgia in two years. We are talking about the illegal seizure of property, businesses and homes and about those repressed people – thousands of them – who claimed that they were sent to prison illegally, tortured and raped," Garibashvili said.

He promised that by February next year the Georgian government will present a plan of action to complete the "restorative justice process." "The Prosecutor's Office of Georgia will create a department or office in connection with the return of seized property, and by February we will present a plan of how the compensation will be carried out," News-Georgia quotes the prime minister.

Turning to foreign policy issues, Garibashvili once again congratulated the people of Georgia on the European Parliament’s ratification of the Association Agreement with the EU. "I want to congratulate the people of our country on the ratification of the Association Agreement with the European Union. It is very important for our country and another success of our people," the Minister said.

According to him, Georgia has to continue the whole process of rapprochement with Europe and to complete its EU accession. "This agreement is a program of action of our government, which brings us closer to Europe. And that’s our action plan for the modernization, Europeanization and development of our country," Garibashvili said, stressing the importance of completing the first phase of liberalization of the visa regime with the EU.

In addition, he expressed the opinion that a meeting of the top officials of Georgia with the president of Russia Vladimir Putin will take place, but it is necessary to prepare. "In general, we have a willingness – we have stated this repeatedly but, of course, this meeting should be planned and prepared very well," the prime minister concluded.

 

Finally, speaking about Bidzina Ivanishvili’s role in Georgian politics, the Prime Minister said if Ivanishvili’s "Georgian Dream" hadn't come to power and hadn’t shifted Saakashvili’s party, Georgia would already be at war."The only thing I can say with responsibility: if Mikheil Saakashvili was here today, I can assure you 101% that there would have been horror, war and terrible riots in our country, the situation would be worse than it is today in Ukraine," Garibashvili said.As was stated in an interview to Vestnik Kavkaza by the head of the Institute for Strategy Management, Peter Mamradze, and Ramaz Sakvarelide, the power structures of Georgia in need of reform.Peter Mamradze emphasized one aspect of the problem relating to the rule of law. "The fact is that there was no real reform under Saakashvili’s rule. A year ago, the experts who inspected the reform of the Interior Ministry said that it hasn’t even started, because this structure is not governed by laws, but fulfilled any orders of Saakashvili or Merabishvili. 'It turns out that your police could arrest, torture or do anything, if the boss ordered it.' Europeans said this to me personally," the expert said.The political scientist warmly welcomed the idea of new reform. "The purpose of the reform is for the police and the Interior Ministry to observe the law so that no one, not the minister or deputy minister, dare to break it. It’s a pity that for 2 years "Georgian Dream" has been using the power structures that ensured absolute power for Saakashvili. And if even now, under public pressure, a transformation of the monster that is the Ministry of Internal Affairs will begin, it would be great," he said.Mamradze said the main event of the year in Georgia was the awakening in society of a critical attitude toward the current government. "In the past year the most important thing is that the majority of our people understood that the "Georgian Dream" coalition are not people who are able to fulfill their promises, so we need to put pressure on the ruling elite and their activities. Now people understand that it is necessary to exercise supervision over the government every day, acting as a whip and watchdog," Mamradze said.And this work is paying off, he said. "The authorities have to retreat. Today Garibashvili said that we have cartels in the import of oil. So they all knew it and just left these monopolies to serve themselves. But now they had to admit it. All this is the result of the fact that our civil society intensified when it realized that it’s not the society hoped for," the analyst said.Mamradze pointed out that at the moment the signing of an association agreement with the EU is not that important. "Now it is purely symbolic. Such contracts have been signed by Syria, Turkey, more than 20 other countries, including in Africa and South America, but they are not one iota closer to any EU or European standards," he recalled.In his opinion, Georgia has to work primarily on building democracy to really become a full member of the EU. "We have a lot of work to be somehow closer to the EU to live in dignity, not because it is an end in itself. We need a real separation of powers, democratic control, rule of law, respect for human rights and, above all, property rights. I do not think that this agreement has brought us any great benefits, because we are not ready for this," Peter Mamradze concluded.

 

Finally, speaking about Bidzina Ivanishvili’s role in Georgian politics, the Prime Minister said if Ivanishvili’s "Georgian Dream" hadn't come to power and hadn’t shifted Saakashvili’s party, Georgia would already be at war.

"The only thing I can say with responsibility: if Mikheil Saakashvili was here today, I can assure you 101% that there would have been horror, war and terrible riots in our country, the situation would be worse than it is today in Ukraine," Garibashvili said.

As was stated in an interview to Vestnik Kavkaza by the head of the Institute for Strategy Management, Peter Mamradze, and Ramaz Sakvarelide, the power structures of Georgia in need of reform.

Peter Mamradze emphasized one aspect of the problem relating to the rule of law. "The fact is that there was no real reform under Saakashvili’s rule. A year ago, the experts who inspected the reform of the Interior Ministry said that it hasn’t even started, because this structure is not governed by laws, but fulfilled any orders of Saakashvili or Merabishvili. 'It turns out that your police could arrest, torture or do anything, if the boss ordered it.' Europeans said this to me personally," the expert said.

The political scientist warmly welcomed the idea of new reform. "The purpose of the reform is for the police and the Interior Ministry to observe the law so that no one, not the minister or deputy minister, dare to break it. It’s a pity that for 2 years "Georgian Dream" has been using the power structures that ensured absolute power for Saakashvili. And if even now, under public pressure, a transformation of the monster that is the Ministry of Internal Affairs will begin, it would be great," he said.

Mamradze said the main event of the year in Georgia was the awakening in society of a critical attitude toward the current government. "In the past year the most important thing is that the majority of our people understood that the "Georgian Dream" coalition are not people who are able to fulfill their promises, so we need to put pressure on the ruling elite and their activities. Now people understand that it is necessary to exercise supervision over the government every day, acting as a whip and watchdog," Mamradze said.

And this work is paying off, he said. "The authorities have to retreat. Today Garibashvili said that we have cartels in the import of oil. So they all knew it and just left these monopolies to serve themselves. But now they had to admit it. All this is the result of the fact that our civil society intensified when it realized that it’s not the society hoped for," the analyst said.

Mamradze pointed out that at the moment the signing of an association agreement with the EU is not that important. "Now it is purely symbolic. Such contracts have been signed by Syria, Turkey, more than 20 other countries, including in Africa and South America, but they are not one iota closer to any EU or European standards," he recalled.

In his opinion, Georgia has to work primarily on building democracy to really become a full member of the EU. "We have a lot of work to be somehow closer to the EU to live in dignity, not because it is an end in itself. We need a real separation of powers, democratic control, rule of law, respect for human rights and, above all, property rights. I do not think that this agreement has brought us any great benefits, because we are not ready for this," Peter Mamradze concluded.

 

But the expert called the agreement on EU accession the most important event of the year. "This year stands out among the others in that agreement. If I may say so, Georgia was never before so close to the European institutions. So perhaps this fact is harder to block than any other. Convergence with European structures is the most important fact this year," Ramaz Sakvarelidze said.

 

The political scientist also agreed with Garibashvili about Bidzina Ivanishvili’s role in the fate of the country. "The situation would obviously uncomfortable, since the Saakashvili regime confrontation went in several directions. One direction was toward Russia. But there was a confrontation with their own people. With the government, which holds first place in Europe in the number of convicts and people who lost their property because of the forceful pressure of the authorities, probably, the population would be unable to live in peace for a long time," he said.