Georgia, 2012

It is always a great

honour for me to address the General Assembly. The

Assembly gives us a unique opportunity to debate the

key challenges of our world and time, and to identify

and confront the problems that our nations are facing.

It is a moment of collective ref lection and it should be

a moment of truth.

Today, 20 months after the act of despair of a

young Tunisian citizen that strongly shook the world

and generated so many hopes around the globe, many

people have doubts.

Some are telling us that the images of liberation

and joy seen around the world have been replaced by

broken promises, despair and chaos, that the world

was better off when fewer people were free, and that

the international system was more stable when fewer

societies were open.

I have come here today to make the opposite

argument. I have come here today to make the case for

open societies.

After the horrible attack on the United States

consulate in Benghazi and the death of Ambassador

Chris Stevens, I called the American Ambassador in

Georgia to convey my condolences and to speak to him,

to share my sorrow and express my support for this

unique nation.

I was struck by what he told me. I was struck by

the fact that American diplomats, beyond their pain and

their anger, still believed so clearly that the liberation of

Libya was fundamentally a good thing. Just a few days

ago, the United States Ambassador in my country was

proved right by the demonstrations held by the citizens

of Benghazi, who went out to protest against extremist militias and to show their support for the achievement

of peace and prosperity in their own country.

I was also struck by the visit last week to the United

States by Aung San Suu Kyi, the joyous reception that

America gave her, and her desire to come and tell

her story with serenity and determination, a story of

progress towards freedom in the face of seemingly

impossible odds.

Twenty months after the act of despair and tragic

death of Mohamed Bouazizi, there are many who

doubt the cause to which Ambassador Stevens gave his

life, who doubt the vision of Aung San Suu Kyi, who

doubt freedom. I am totally certain that the skeptics

are wrong. A free society has never meant a society

without problems. On the contrary, an open society has

problems, exposes them, shows them, deals with them

and does not neglect them, because it keeps arguments

open and gives Government a chance to be accountable.

An open society is a place where improvements

are often reached through noisy, painful and chaotic

processes. Montesquieu wrote a long time ago that if

everyone agrees with the Government and everyone

agrees with one another, that is not a country; that is a

cemetery.

I speak from personal experience. My own country

confronted democracy’s challenges once again this past

week when evidence emerged of abuses in our prison

system. The facts were sickening, and our responsibility

was clear. Our reaction was swift, and we did what

democracies must do. We identified those responsible,

and they were all arrested. Two Government Ministers

have resigned, and we put in charge of the prison system

its fiercest critic: the Georgian human rights defender,

Georgia’s ombudsman. That is how democracies learn;

that is how we improve.

That is how my own Government has overcome

past errors and challenges to emerge stronger, more

effective and ever more committed to building and

institutionalizing an open society.

It is clear that there are no shortcuts to accountability,

and no fast-track lines to freedom. Building and

maintaining an open society entails a painful learning

process and significant risk-taking. But the conclusion

we must draw in this respect, from Georgia to the

events in Myanmar, is this: such risks are worth taking.

I am speaking to the Assembly on the eve of crucial

elections in my country. I realize clearly the magnitude of the challenges that face this body and this troubled

world, from the menace of nuclear proliferation to

global warming and poverty. But today I ask for

the Assembly’s attention with respect to the events

unfolding in Georgia, because I believe that they are

part of the broader, global question facing us today:

whether the quest for democracy and freedom can and

will endure.

I came here to say that Georgia will remain an open

society. That is the choice of our citizens, and there is

no alternative to this. On 1 October, my nation will

vote in parliamentary elections. We look forward to

that day and to the opportunity to renew and strengthen

the fundamental social contract that allows citizens to

freely judge and choose their leaders.

Georgia has conducted several elections in recent

years, all of which were monitored by international

observers and all of which were free and fair. We live in

a world in which yesterday’s accomplishments are never

enough, and I have made a commitment to the effect

that this year’s vote will be even more free and fair

than the previous ones. We have taken numerous steps

to pursue that goal. We have increased public funding

and given free airtime on all national channels for ads

from all political parties, in addition to whatever they

can buy with their own money. We have proposed to all

national television channels a “must carry/must offer”

requirement, to ensure that all private cable networks,

large and small, broadcast all news-based television,

and they have accepted that proposal.

We have welcomed the first televised debate in our

country’s history between candidates for Prime Minister

and heads of candidate lists. We have initiated a code

of conduct to eradicate political intimidation, the use

of administrative resources, vote-buying, campaign-

related violence and hate speech in any shape or form,

which for so many years was used to promote hatred

against ethnic and religious minorities.

Regrettably, not all actors in the Georgian political

arena share those principles, and some are purposefully

working to undermine the legitimacy of Georgia’s

democratic institutions — how they are perceived at

home and by the international community.

Our response to deliberate attempts to short-

circuit our democracy is straightforward: democratic,

transparent and rule-of-law-based processes will not

be compromised. This is not only my demand; it is the

demand of the people of Georgia.

Georgia is a young democracy, and we know the

value that comes from partnerships and engagement

with the international community. As in the past,

we have once again opened our doors and invited

credible international election monitors to visit our

country, including the Organization for Security and

Cooperation in Europe, the European Parliament, the

NATO Parliamentary Assembly, the United States

Congress and respected international non-governmental

organizations.

To date, the interim reports of almost every election

observation mission have consistently underscored that

these are the most competitive elections in Georgia’s

history. On 1 October, notwithstanding significant

attempts to undermine that dynamic, the Georgian

people will make their decision. I am confident that

Georgian democracy will prevail and reject those who

seek to close Georgia’s doors.

Georgian democracy will prevail if, and only if,

Georgian elections remain a Georgian process. Today,

in this forum, I am obliged to draw the Assembly’s

attention to externally generated security threats to

my country. The European Union monitoring mission

has just announced that Russian forces are currently

undertaking a massive, illegal military buildup,

occupying territory inside Georgia, on the former

territory of South Ossetia, which is within Georgia’s

internationally recognized borders.

Even as we speak, they are bringing offensive

weapons and troops inside our internationally

recognized borders.

The Russian military has made the extraordinary

decision to hold large-scale military exercises in the

North and the South Caucasus on the eve and around

the time of our elections. One cannot imagine an

approach more provocative and irresponsible than

that of mobilizing military forces during this crucial

moment of any nation’s democratic life.

There has been involvement by Russia for months:

first, billions of dollars in Russian money came into the

Georgian election campaign. Lots of other resources

were allocated, and now Russian troops are trying to be

some kind of background players in this process. That

is why I call today on all our allies and friends, and all

members of goodwill in the international community,

not to ignore or dismiss this worrisome development.

I would like to use this opportunity to ask the world

to pay attention during the next few days, to speak in

a unified voice against these threats, in support of our

sovereignty and democratic institutions.

In short, the vigilance and engagement of Member

States is required to ensure that history does not repeat

itself and that 2012 does not become a repeat of 2008, or

especially of 1921, when Russia ended our independence

and we became a place that was dominated by violence

and oppression for 70-plus years.

We should look at what has happened in recent

years. We had a massive-scale invasion by Russia,

the successor to the Soviet Union, in 2008. We are a

country of just 4.7 million people — less than 5 million

people — and that country is 100 times larger, and

well armed. If we look at history, we see that during

the twentieth century it invaded many countries. The

Soviet Union invaded Baltic countries; it invaded large

parts of Poland and ended its independence.

In 1956 the Soviet Union invaded Hungary, killed

its President and ended its independence. In 1968 it

invaded Czechoslovakia, deposed its Government and

ended its independence. In 1979 it invaded a much

bigger country than Georgia, Afghanistan, killed its

President within one hour and ended its independence.

In 2008 it invaded our country, a smaller country than

any of those I have mentioned, and occupied part of its

territory.

However, none of the strategic goals of the Russian

invasion was achieved. They had three explicit goals in

invading Georgia. The first was to depose the Georgian

Government, end Georgian democracy and physically

destroy Georgia’s leadership. Those are not my words

or a conspiracy theory. That is what they themselves

overtly stated in every open and closed international

forum. The second goal was to shut off the energy supply

for different regions of the world and to monopolize the

energy supply in the part of the world where Russia

lies. That totally failed. Georgia is developing and its

energy corridor is developing. The third goal was to

stop the enlargment of NATO and to halt any kind of

inclusion of the region into international organizations.

Russia also failed at that goal.

We often say that after the Russians failed to

physically destroy the Georgian leadership, failed to

succeed in any of the purposes of their invasion and

basically were forced to stay where they are, within

occupied territories — in what most of the world and most international organizations call illegally

occupied territories, meaning that they will have to

withdraw — now they are trying to undermine us

because they have a strong sense of unfinished business.

It is not just the fate of a small country of less

than 5 million people that is being played out in this

scenario. The fate of the whole post-Soviet space is

being played out, affecting 400 to 500 million people.

Because Russia failed to destroy Georgian democracy

in 2008, countries in Central Asia such as Ukraine and

Belarus, people in the Republic of Moldova and Eastern

Europe, all think that freedom is the right choice after

all and that even the smallest free country cannot be

undermined and destroyed if it stands strong and united

and if the international community is there to help. That

sets a very bad example from the Russian point of view.

On the other hand, because of Georgia’s reforms

and because of our openness to the great nation of

Russia, we introduced visa-free travel for tourists from

Russia. One million tourists will travel to Georgia

from Russia this year and they will take back 1 million

stories of successful development, of a country with

new hospitals, with new cities, with sharply reduced

poverty — a country moving towards universal health

coverage and that has enjoyed double-digit growth, and

is this year enjoying 8 per cent growth. It is a country

that, even without oil and gas, is looking much better

than most of the Russian region. Indeed, Russia’s then-

President Medvedev had to acknowledge twice in one

week, in an open forum of journalists and his own

parliament, that Georgian reforms were so successful

that Russia had no choice but to study and copy them,

even if they hate the Georgian leadership.

That is the ideological issue. That is why they want

us out. That is why they want Georgia off the map. It is

because if Georgia survives and if Georgia continues,

it sets a bad example for all the others, including the

Russian people themselves, from the point of view of

the present Russian Government. The prison scandal

we had recently involved things that happen almost

every day in Russia, and are reported on social media

in Russia as frequently, and no one there gives a damn

about it. In the first case that came up in Georgia, two

ministers and scores of others were arrested, which also

sets a bad example in the eyes of people who want to

suppress freedom. That is why it is so important that

Georgian democracy is back and safe. It means that the

whole post-Soviet space, our whole part of the world,

will move in the right direction.

I call on the world to pay attention and send the

right signals. I make the call knowing what our

responsibilities are. In the face of the threats confronting

us, our commitment to democracy and transparency is

more important than ever. We remember the words of

the American founding father who said that whoever

sacrifices his freedom for security deserves neither.

That is not just our response; it is the best response. Our

transformation and the hostility it has generated among

those who feel threatened by freedom have continued to

make Georgia a test case for the entire region. What is at

stake in Georgia today is the very idea that democracy

can thrive in our part of the world.

Our common legacy from the dark time of the Soviet

Union is now almost gone from Georgia. Organized

crime — and Georgia was a hotbed of organized

crime — is now almost gone from Georgia. Most of

that legacy has migrated to other countries, including

Russia. Corruption, coercion, intimidation, oppression,

cynicism and despair: we condemn that way of life, that

way of Government and of being governed. No, we can,

we should and we will overcome that legacy. We are

doing it in Georgia and it can be done everywhere else.

Will we face strong opposition? Yes. And we are

well placed to say that, since our country is regularly

threatened with destruction and annihilation, for the

very reason that we choose another path — the path of

freedom, the path of transparency and accountability,

the path of meritocracy and an open society — we

know how difficult it is to overcome those forces. But

we know we can.

Sovietism and post-Sovietism is not a fate.

Organized crime and violence is not a fate. Slavery

is not a fate. Limited sovereignty as Brezhnev once

defined it and Putin reshaped it is not a fate. Every

country represented here is a free nation. We are all

free peoples, made up of free individuals, and our

future depends on us, on what we want and what we do.

There is nothing easy about saying this, and I do

not say it lightly. The Georgian people know the price

of freedom and still they think their freedom is worth

it, because with freedom comes development and

happiness, true stability and true peace. Our region

will one day become a zone where free people interact

peacefully, where respect will replace contempt.

All the peoples of Central Asia and Eastern Europe,

Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Russia, the

South Caucasus and North Caucasus, should hold hands together and shout down the voices of the past. Powerful

voices continue to send the message that democracy,

transparency and accountability are not possible. They

say that freedom, meritocracy and respect for human

rights are fundamentally alien. Georgia has proven them

wrong. Our survival story has proven them wrong, just

as many here today have in the past. As we have been

learning from many people in the Hall, our efforts have

shown that corruption, intolerance, intimidation, fear

and violence are neither cultural nor inevitable.

Advanced democracy is a sign of a mature society.

It is not easy to govern. Dissent, pluralism and vibrant

debate, which are threats to others, are strengths to us.

Our view is clear. One cannot gain enduring stability

at the expense of liberty, and one cannot ensure lasting

prosperity by sacrificing individual rights. Those short

cuts never succeed in the long run.

In every culture, in every society, in every corner

of the world, people will ultimately demand the right

to choose their own future. Only Governments that

meet that demand will achieve true stability. The

fundamental contract is not always without difficulties.

Governments that commit themselves to the process

must be prepared for turbulence and disagreement.

What is difficult for elected leaders is often beneficial

for citizens; what is challenging for ruling parties is

often necessary for the State. In pursuing the goals of

freedom and accountability, our common efforts must

be governed by the rule of law and a commitment to

respect these fundamental principles. Violence and

intimidation can never be legitimized, and a minority

can never forcibly impose its views on the will of the

majority. Guns, money, threats, hatred, blackmail and

fear cannot be allowed to hijack the process.

At the same time, we recognize the potential threat

of a majority trampling the rights and liberties of a

minority. We respond to that threat by protecting the

right to dissent, we respond by promoting pluralism,

we respond by allowing every voice to be heard. And

we respond by the law. I can testify to how difficult the

process is, but I can also state unequivocally that no

lasting alternative exists.

I want finally to share with the Assembly my

hope and my trust. A few days from now, Georgians

from all social, religious and ethnic backgrounds will

collectively decide their future in an unoccupied part

of our territory. They will express diverse opinions and

wishes, and a new future for our nation will emerge.

Openness will be further enshrined. Transparency will

be strengthened, and public accountability confirmed.

The main thing that will be confirmed is that Georgia

will not go back. It will not be dragged back under

any pressure, under any dirty money from the North,

under any threat of military exercise or direct military

invasion or mass-scale disturbances or the emergence of

some kind of militias emerge, as some have threatened.

It is not going to work.

According to the European Union, we are the safest

country and the least corrupt country in Europe with

strong Government institutions that cannot be bribed

and cannot be undermined. By constantly renewing the

social contract, which is at the heart of every democratic

nation, we will ensure that democratic principles and

practices are with us for good.

I trust the Georgian people. I trust the international

community and I trust that they will not allow others

to destroy the will of my people or destroy my small

nation’s choice. I stated earlier that democracy is

a difficult, sometimes noisy system. It presents

challenges to those in and outside Government, and it

forces leaders to place their trust in society. Personally,

I see no credible alternative, and I saw no better reason

to take risks. Fear is the paramount weapon of autocrats,

while trust is a definition of democrats.

Let us all trust our citizens, even if autocratic

forces much bigger than us are threatening us. The

best defence for my country is openness, democracy,

transparency and the work of institutions against all

of those forces, against all the international mafias

and against social and international pressures that

contravene international law. Let us defend the

institutions that support, strengthen and preserve our

choice to be open and free.