“Everything will be fine, but not everything can be tolerated,” stated Georgia’s 5th president, Salome Zurabishvili, during a briefing on the fact of her being pelted with eggs on arrival at the airport, following a similar action involving Giorgi Gakharia.
She announced that she has filed a complaint with investigative authorities regarding the incident.
“Today I filed a complaint, demanding an investigation. We will see this through to the end. There was pre-organized violence, and subsequently, violence against the president that was justified by politicians, by the Georgian Dream. It doesn’t matter which president they recognize or don’t recognize, this is about the state, and it means they don’t respect the state. It’s not about me personally, in this case, I am not just an individual, I am the symbol of everything the Georgian Dream is fighting against – the Georgian state, traditions, Georgian courtesy which they have long forgotten, and Georgia’s image in the world.
“The reception I received in Munich, before that in America, or Paris – their response is the petty spite of petty men. This spite will achieve nothing. Society clearly sees what’s happening and why: they are failing. This is what I was explaining abroad, what they call treason – that Georgia is far more than this, Georgia is greater than this, and they cannot govern Georgia. They don’t even understand what governing a country entails anymore.
“The only thing they do, the only thing they can do, is resort to repressive measures and pelt eggs. How pathetic must you be to stoop to this when you are the government – but I dislike using the word ‘government’ in their case because they are no longer a government. They are a regime. What weakness does this regime display, acting this way towards an elderly woman whom they don’t recognize as president? Fine, don’t recognize me, it doesn’t matter – but to behave like this… If this isn’t a sign of weakness, I don’t know what is.
“Society is concerned, and understandably so, because there are things that no one should dare to do, but they dare to do everything. Therefore, first, I want to thank society for their expressed solidarity, as well as our foreign partners, who also supported me greatly.
“All this damages Georgia’s image. How can we say anything about tourism when security is no longer maintained at the airport? Neither the day before yesterday morning, when it concerned Giorgi Gakharia, Georgian Dream’s former prime minister, nor this morning were there police. It was spread on social media that it was my turn now. Some women were spreading this. If I knew, everyone knew. If police and security exist in this country, this probably means that some measures should have been taken to ensure security was maintained in the airport hall and exit.
“It wasn’t just I who bore witness – some foreign tourists stood in awe, shocked by the savagery that exists within this nation, and this is a state that has lost its way. A state exists when order is maintained; when security is protected for everyone – even those we may dislike because of their political views. It is this fundamental principle that they are systematically eroding, day by day, undermining our statehood.
“We, the people, stand firm, and I stand with them – in Georgia, and beyond. Let no one think that this means I will abandon them or abandon my voice. I will go wherever duty calls, and I will return whenever necessary – for it is my duty to be the voice and advocate for this people, and to ensure that their protest continues.
“As the entire society stands united on Rustaveli Avenue and indeed beyond, they are saying one thing: this will go on until they have reached their end, and until I, too, have done my part,” stated Salome Zurabishvili.
