Bidzina

Ivanishvili

Prime Minister of Georgia

Speech made to the Assembly

Tuesday, 23 April 2013

All speechesQuestions and answers

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, members of the Parliamentary Assembly, this is the first time I have had the honour as Prime Minister to speak before a European institution. It is therefore no coincidence that I should speak first before you, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, because you are the leading institution supporting and protecting true democracy in Europe. You, more than anyone, are aware that democracy is not established by announcements in fine words but painstakingly built by working together in constructive co-operation. It is before you that I have come to speak because I am well aware that you are the best architects of European democracy.

Here in Strasbourg, as a French citizen, of course I could not resist commencing my address to you in French, but now I would like to continue in Georgian, my mother tongue.

(The speaker continued in Georgian)

“The recently-begun dialogue between Tbilisi and Moscow should not create an impression that Georgia is dealing with this problem on its own and no longer needs the support of European partners”

You have embarked on the path of European values founded centuries ago, and we are conscious that transitional democracies have only recently joined you on this path. We carry a difficult past, and that is why this great body is especially important to our countries, which only now take steps towards full European integration. You are the living embodiment of Europe’s dream of peaceful co-operation. You not only project a vision; you work hard to make it happen.

Today 800 million people in the democracies of Europe are joined through the Council of Europe, the world’s oldest and largest body dedicated to the cause of democracy. For many of you this is an achievement which goes back many decades. The exhausted continent of 1949 has become the most prosperous region on earth – this was not an easy task, as more problems than solutions existed at that time. So we, the young countries of democracy, did our best to become members of the Council of Europe as quickly as possible. Georgia became the 41st member of the Council of Europe in 1999. For my country, it is a thrill to be here among you. We have come late to this club of freedom and we know that we have a long way to go. The election that brought my government to power in October 2012 represented the precedent for the democratic transfer of power in my country, which is why I feel a huge sense of responsibility in addressing you; I know that we are inexperienced in the practice of democracy. As we debate issues with our opponents at home, I can feel how hard it is for us sometimes to pull back from disputes and place our trust in the good will of the other side. Naturally, it would not be easy for you to relate to that.

Georgia’s history has been difficult and we live today in a difficult neighbourhood, with many challenges of a globalised world facing us. That is why we need your help. We need the support of many institutions of the Council of Europe to help guide us through this transition. While continuing on the path of the reforms the previous government instituted during its first years in power, which have been for the benefit of the country, we must replace the authoritarian structures of the later years with a modern civil society. In recent years: almost all fields were controlled by the ruling elite in Georgia; the basic law of the country’s constitution was abused, being practically tailored to serve one man’s ambitions; elite corruption gave no room whatsoever for business to develop; human rights were ignored, with pressure deployed upon not only those holding different views, but their families and acquaintances; and the media were mostly under control. We have begun a healing process which channels deep anger and restores a sense of self-respect to our citizens. That includes not only indicting some former officials for past crimes, but keeping the thousands of loyal civil servants who served the previous government.

That is why we work hard to ensure that our policies are fully transparent. We facilitate the work of western non-governmental organisations present in Georgia and hope for as many visits by parliamentary delegations as can be arranged. At my request, the European Union has appointed Thomas Hammarberg, the former Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, as a special adviser on legal and constitutional reforms and human rights in Georgia. Observers from the OSCE and other inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations will monitor all investigations, prosecutions and trials of former government officials to ensure that they comply with international norms. Our Justice Minister, Tea Tsulukiani, is a former judge of the European Court of Human Rights, and the list of Council of Europe bodies with which we co-operate is long. We are especially grateful to the Venice Commission, which is helping us with judicial reform. We appreciate the debate in the Parliamentary Assembly as an example for our own practices at home. We are working in many agencies and committees of the Council of Europe to ensure that we meet the standards of this Organisation. We are working, in particular, on issues of minority rights, which will help us to make the transition to a new stage in our ongoing relations with the Council of Europe.

That ongoing co-operation will be pursued with the greatest energy, but our democratic vision – our dream for Georgia – goes beyond those important details. I have read the history of the European movement carefully, and I understand that building a united Europe was, above all, a project of peace. Looking back over the past century, one can see how recurring warfare was especially disastrous for small countries caught up in conflicts not of their making. Europe was once a battlefield where small countries were fighting. The awarding of the 2012 Nobel peace prize to the European Union was in recognition of Europe’s historic achievement in building peace. As you all know, warfare has not been overcome completely; small countries, in particular, continue to suffer from aggression. A clear example of that has been seen in my home country, as 20% of our territory was occupied by Russia in 2008. Other conflicts endanger the peace in our region; the Caucasus is not yet a zone of peace.

A special challenge will be building the relations with our largest neighbour, Russia. With a new pragmatic approach, we started bilateral dialogue with Russia and we are returning Georgian products to the Russian market. I can assure you that our position in our relations with Russia will be correct and principled. The appointment of a special representative for relations with Russia clearly demonstrates that we are willing to turn the page and engage in dialogue. In 2010, Georgia unilaterally pledged the non-use of force in the conflict resolution process, and that pledge was endorsed by the parliamentary resolution on 8 March 2013.

In this challenging process, Georgia needs international engagement and support more than ever. The newly started dialogue between Tbilisi and Moscow should not create an impression that Georgia is dealing with the problem on its own and is no longer in need of the support of European partners. We will be realistic about Georgia’s possibilities, recognising that Georgia is a small regional power in a volatile neighbourhood. No sustainable future can be built by projecting military power but there can be no progress towards peace in the region if Georgia is expected to abandon its legitimate interests, especially its territorial integrity and the right of its citizens to return to their homelands. The regulation of these relations will benefit not only Georgia, but the Caucasus in general. Our intention is to use the tools of civil society to help build peace in our region. Above all, we will focus on democracy, as we believe that the security, unity and prosperity of Georgia largely depend on the quality of the democracy. I wish to emphasise that Georgia’s western aspirations – euro-Atlantic integration – represent our strategic choice, one with no alternative. The choice was made by the Georgian people long ago. Georgia’s decision to apply for membership of NATO represents, above all, a deep commitment among our people to live using the values of the west. That commitment was upheld in the resolution on the basic directions of Georgia’s foreign policy, which was unanimously adopted by the Georgian Parliament.

I wish to touch on current and planned developments in my country. The government is working actively on implementing employment policy. We are improving the labour code to meet European standards to the fullest extent possible. I believe that the State should play a decisive role in the development of business and provide development guarantees. Today, business is free from political pressure and soon we will see concrete positive results in investment growth. We have already established fair utility rates based on realistic calculations. Co-operation and negotiations with our partners continue in that regard. The Georgian Government is implementing large-scale agricultural reform, which is unprecedented for the country. Vital health care reform is also under way. The universal health care programme has already been launched. In the next stage of the programme, all citizens of Georgia will enjoy the benefits of the state’s universal medical insurance package, and the system will improve even further in the future.

Building a country on democratic values is impossible without free media. Journalists must be free to criticise the government and thereby provide society with objective information. Our government is absolutely open to media representatives, and their objective appraisal and criticism will benefit our work tremendously.

Reform of the judiciary is the cornerstone of our work to ensure genuine democratic processes in the country. That reform, which has been initiated, is based on the recommendations of local civil society organisations and reflects comments from the Venice Commission and its Georgian judicial branch. I believe that Georgia has a unique chance to establish a truly independent judicial system, free from the executive branch and free from political influence. The Government of Georgia aims not to miss this chance.

The government pays special attention to the integration of ethnic minorities in Georgian society so that they may feel at home in Georgia. We will remain a country where different confessions of faith have co-existed for centuries. The empowerment of social self-governance is one of the preconditions for integration in Georgian society. You will be aware of the high emotions of bodies grounded in local self-government following the October election. Over the years, the public have seen one political force dominate all levels of government, and to this day society finds it difficult to comprehend a new reality when different political forces have decision makers at different levels. The replacement at a national level of the formerly dominant political force installed a sense among the local population that a similar replacement of that force was inevitable in local self-government as well. There is also an unfortunate tradition that, in such situations, local officials in the regions change their party affiliation in favour of the ruling party. This time, events became chaotic and in some cases even exceeded legal boundaries.

The Georgian Government is committed to the constitutional principles of the separation of powers, including the independence of local self-government bodies. At the same time, as a ruling political team, we are obliged to address adequately violations of law. I emphasise that the government and law enforcement agencies will deploy legally stipulated measures to address all instances of use of force, pressure or intimidation should such instances occur.

As we enter our sixth month in office, the Georgian Dream coalition has already established a solid record of achievement. Our programme to build civil society is well under way, the economy is returning to a solid foundation, and recent polls show that the voters are increasingly supportive of their government. We are making steady progress towards Euro-Atlantic integration, and there have even been a few small steps towards negotiations with Russia. Perhaps most encouraging is the fact that, after a rough beginning, we are starting to apply lessons from the Council of Europe on how to build consensus with former adversaries. I am confident that Georgia has finally turned the corner. Our election victory in October was an important next step towards sustainable democracy. Success in that task will be of great importance to the Georgian people. I am certain that it will help us to make an important contribution to the project for peace which is the underlying foundation of the European ideal. Thank you for your attention.