Georgia’s First Lady – Sandra Roelofs

It was the Summer of 1992 when Sandra Roelofs arrived in Georgia for the first time in her life. With two Flamindian brothers and translator, she was hosted by a Georgian friend in Kutaisi. These several days spent in Georgia’s second largest city were enough for her to become fascinated with Georgian culture and hospitality. She later recalls those ten days as very impressive and unforgettable. After leaving Georgia, she couldn’t imagine that very soon her fate would connect her to this country forever. Sandra Elisabeth Roelofs was born in Terneuzen, a small town in the Netherlands on the 23rd of December of 1968. She spent her childhood with her warm family – her parents and a brother. Magdalena and Eduard Roelofses baptized their children in early childhood and inspired them the faith of God. The family used to live a sportive and sound lifestyle. Sailing and cycling were Eduard Roelofs’s favourite occupation. They even had their own yacht and Sandra and her brother Ekbert used to sail in the North Sea with their father. One of the main priority for Sandra’s parents was the education of their children. So they gave Sandra and Ekbert a good education from the beginning and that played an important role in their future achievements. Sandra became a specialist in French and German languages. Besides, she also studied English and after arriving in Georgia, Russian and Georgian languages too. One day Sandra was arranging newspapers and bulletins, when she suddenly found an announcement – there was a one-month course about Human Rights in Strasburg. She got interested, applied and in June of 1993 she was sitting in a train towards Strasburg. Destiny was taking her to the place where she would meet her prince with a rose in his hands… After a month Sandra and Mikheil were madly in love with each other, but they had to say good-bye and return to their places.


Unusual marriage

But the separation didn’t last long. In November Sandra moved to New York and they got married on the 17th. The first two years of cohabitation they lived in New York because Misha was then a student at Columbia University. They had to change living places for several times and their living conditions weren’t the best, but Sandra was adapting this situation obediently, because she knew that it was necessary for her husband’s future achievements. In July of 1995 Sandra and Misha arrived in Tbilisi for several days to have a Georgian wedding. This was Sandra’s second visit to Georgia, but this one was more emotional and exciting. She wondered whether Misha’s relatives would like her or not. Before leaving New York, she sent wedding invitations to her friends. “My friends probably would be astonished receiving an invitation from a person who was born in the Netherlands, studied French and German in Belgium, met her fiancée in France, went to USA to live there and now was getting married in Georgia!” The wedding was really splendid and the couple returned to New York until 1995. Sandra was active, full of energy and was always trying to find new, interesting things in life. Before becoming the first lady of Georgia, she had tried many different jobs. She had been working almost everywhere – starting at a New York restaurant and ending up at University. Working as a translator of German and English languages was a little boring for her. She wanted something more energetic where she could apply her organizational talent. That’s why, one fine day, she decided to start working in the IRCC (International Red Cross Committee) in Belgium. Starting as a volunteer, she became a staff member. She continued cooperating with IRCC after arriving in Georgia too. While living in New York, Sandra and Misha didn’t have a comfortable life. They had a low income. Of course, the bursary Misha was receiving wasn’t enough and Sandra’s work was very important for them. She was moving from place to place. At first she started working in Unicef Metropolitan and later found a job at Columbia University, she even had to sell pizzas until she found a permanent job in a juridical firm as a secretary. Meanwhile her husband was studying and getting interested in politics. After Misha’s graduation, the couple moved to Georgia. While adapting to a new living place, Sandra began to look for a job. She worked in the Consulate of the Netherlands for three years. She was also teaching French at Tbilisi State University. In other words, she had a huge working experience but her field of interest had always been in the humanitarian field. At that time, social conditions in Georgia were dire. Lots of people needed humanitarian help and Sandra soon found a way out.


SOCO

In 1998 a charitable humanitarian centre named SOCO was established on the initiative of Sandra Roelofs. The aim of the organization was to help poor people, orphan children and singletons materially and morally. The name SOCO is not an abbreviation or a short name of something. As Sandra said, she gave this name to her organization because she just liked the sonority of letters. “I featured the letters on SOCO’s emblem with blue, red, black and green colours. This has a deep symbolical importance for me. This shows the way, how I started humanitarian activities in Georgia. Blue S – means a huge desire of adventures, traveling and finding new cultures, that brought me to Georgia the first time in 1992; Red O – meaning love, that connected me to a Georgian man; C – is black, because I think this is the colour of faith, religion and Christian values are very important and respectable for me; and last O, which has a green colour, means hope, hope and better future for Georgia…”. This Humanitarian organization has a very important place in Sandra’s life. Meanwhile Sandra’s husband Mikheil Saakashvili was becoming more and more successful and popular politician. After moving in Tbilisi in 1995, Misha got actively involved in political activities. At first he was a deputy, then a chairman of Tbilisi’s municipality, Ministry of justice and finally was inaugurated as a president of Georgia. It’s impossible not to mention Sandra’s participation in Misha’s progression.


Rose Revolution

It’s well-known, that anyone, who is aspiring to reach the top, needs a strong, clever and reliable person aside. Sandra was always doing her best to sustain her husband and was a suitable mate. After the Rose Revolution in 2003, under the status of Georgia’s first lady, she wrote a book about her life, which has been translated into several languages. In the book, named The story of an Idealist, Sandra describes those emotions and excitements, which were connected with Misha’s political achievements and she is proud of being part of her husbands success. Nowadays Sandra continues to make charity projects with SOCO. She planes more and more arrangements and projects in Georgian people’s benefit. A huge part of her time is conceded to her children – Eduard and Nikoloz. Sandra is deeply in love with Georgia. She calls is her second motherland. She sincerely cares about the future of Georgia and thinks it’s her duty to do something for its development and progress. In her book, she writes: “As it’s said, it’s easier to reach the top, than staying there. That means that there are more obstacles ahead. We will try everything. It’s a great honour to be in the head of a country like Georgia. It’s an honour to serve the Georgian nation, which deserves a much better future than the one it has endured in the past year. Cheers to Georgia!”

Information From: weastmagazine.net

Saakashvili`s son establishes Guiness Record

Edward Saakashvili overtook other contestants and succeeded to type alphabet on iPad fastest of all.

Edward Saakashvili, the eldest son of the president of Georgia, has established Guinness record in the presence of the representative of the Guinness Records. Edward Saakashvili overtook other contestants and succeeded to type alphabet on iPad fastest of all. With his right hand, Edward Saakashvili typed English alphabet in 5,25 second, beating the record of a British teenager, Charley joseph with 1,5 seconds.

This is the first case when the Guinness Record is established in the presence of the official representative of the organization. This is also the first record in modern technologies established in Georgia.

The young record holder plans to go to Chine to learn Chinese language after this success.

Information From: Rustavi2.com

Saakashvili: The Arab Spring will topple the Russian government

The Russian government is following the path of the deposed regimes of Hosni Mubarak and Muammar al-Qaddafi and is setting itself up for a fall from power, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said in an exclusive interview with The Cable.

"You need to listen to what Russian leaders themselves are saying. They say ‘We are not Libya, we are not Egypt, Russia will not go down this road,'" Saakashvili said. "I've heard that from other leaders before. I heard it from Soviet leaders. And once you start saying those things it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, and then you start to do certain things and to not allow certain things, and those are exactly the kind of actions that promote further sliding down this road [toward losing power]."

Not only is Russia denying the desires of its own people by suppressing protests and real democracy, it is now leading the opposition to the wave of popular revolutions that the world witnessed over the past year, said the Georgian president, who fought a five-day war with Russia in 2008. The latest and greatest example, he said, is Russia's support for the brutal Syrian regime led by President Bashar al-Assad.

"Syria stands as a symbol," Saakashvili said. "[The Russians] fully identify themselves with Libya but they thought that in Libya they were a fooled into action. And now with Syria they think that if Syria falls, it's the last bastion before Moscow. And this is exactly the kind of attitude that will bring problems closer home to Moscow. It's not going to help Syria in any way, but it's certainly damaging Russia a lot."

The anticipated return of Vladimir Putin to the presidency later this year is significant because his term will be marked by opposition to real reform both inside and outside Russia, Saakashvili said.

"Unlike Westerners who think in terms of superficial symbols that he's returning, the middle class in Moscow knew that he never went away," said Saakashvili. "It's not about returning Putin to the presidency, it's about what he said. And what he said was ‘I'm returning because I should stop any attempt to reform and crack down on any mode of reform,' and that's what the middle class in Russia heard."

U.S. engagement with Moscow is useful and efforts to continue the "reset" policy should continue, but all the signals from Russia indicate that it is returning to a pre-reset policy, the Georgian president added. He made the case that Russia showed real flexibility during its drive to get into the World Trade Organization in 2011, but now that it has achieved that goal, its attitude has reverted to one of confrontation.

One example is Russia's constantly stoking the rumor that the United States is planning to deploy missile defense elements to Georgia, something Saakashvili said simply isn't true.

"Vladimir Putin is talking about this all the time. Either he is strongly misguided or he's looking for reasons to say nasty things," he said.

Just minutes before his interview with The Cable, speaking in front of a packed audience in the sparkling new auditorium of the United States Institute of Peace headquarters in Washington, Saakashvili contrasted the reactions of Russia and Turkey to the Arab Spring.

"Two radical different attitudes have emerged, offered by two specific regional powers. On one hand, the Russian Federation reacted with outrage and panic to the Arab Spring and tries to do anything they can to prevent any international support to the democracy movements anywhere. On the other hand, Turkey asserts itself as the model for the post revolutionary countries," he said.

"On the one hand, the government of Vladimir Putin desperately tries to hold back the progress of history. On the other hand, the government of Prime Minister [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan tries to embrace the revolutions of the world. Two very different prime ministers," he said. "It's not a coincidence that Russian influence is decreasing while Turkish leadership is growing in the region every day."

Saakashvili also talked about Georgia's struggles following its separation from the Soviet empire, and the lessons he might offer to new governments undergoing similar difficulties.

"Georgia's experience does not provide a transferable model for many countries that have known or will sooner or later know progressive uprising. There was no freedom textbook for us, and no textbook for our friends was ever written. The real revolution occurs after the cameras from CNN, BBC, and the others have left the country. It consists of the long and difficult process of reform that follows," he said.

"This is a lesson and a message of hope. There is no future for global powers playing against the will of their own people."

The Cable also asked Saakashvili for his opinion of actor Andy Garcia's portrayal of him in the movie Five Days of War, the 2011 film about the Russian-Georgian conflict.

"I only saw parts of it, but what I know is that my English was a little better than his and that was very reassuring," he said.

Information From: thecable.foreignpolicy.com

Saakashvili’s Visit to Batumi Dolphinarium in Focus of Russian Media

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s visit to the Batumi dolphinarium has appeared in the focus of interest for the Russian media.
Details of Saakashvili’s visit were covered by RTVi TV, Echo of Moscow Radio and Interfax.
Interfax says Saakashvili confused his guards by ‘putting his head into the mouth of one of the dolphins’.
‘The dolphin was well-disposed towards the President, whispering something into his ear. Surrounding people applauded Saakashvili after being shocked for several times’, Interfax said.
This interpretation by Interfax was criticized by the Russian media itself.
According to Newsru, ‘Saakashvili really lent to one of the dolphins, though he did not put his head into its mouth’.
Echo of Moscow Radio and RTVi TV say Saakashvili hugged and kissed one of the dolphins.
Mikheil Saakashvili visited the Batumi dolphinarium following a police parade held in Batumi, Adjara region, yesterday.
The dolphinarium resumed functioning this year after a 20-year break.

 Information From:   georgianamerica.com

The Hero in the Cessna: Saakashvili at Georgetown

I never made it to see Saakashvili in person at Gaston Hall at Georgetown University (had to drive my daughter to school at last minute). Fortunately Georgetown webcast the event (a great idea, and to their credit). Only the audio was initially available and from his voice it really sounded like he was up all night partying! I think he simply had a head cold. When the video came through he looked older but well turned out. A few observations.
I’ve only seen Saakashvili speak a few times, and yet I heard the same speech he gave years ago. Its the story about the police which features the dramatic “We fired them” and the subsequent turnaround. Its a good story but its old, and its repetition may indicate that he and his government are stuck spinning their foundational mythologies. Alternatively, perhaps he knows from past experience that this story really works well in Washington DC (and better to stick to pre-Aug 2008 stories than remind folks about the circumstances of that war’s start). “My whole cabinet is younger than I” may be meant as demonstration of continuation of the libertarian Jacobin elan, but it too is a gesture that seems stuck in the past. Isn’t it good to have some mature minds around? The fascinating boy-man quality of Saakashvili’s personality — on full view in his response to Obama at the White House — deserves some scrutiny.
Saakashvili retains his fondness for GOP (i.e. US Republican Party) soundbites. Interestingly the subterranean sadomasochistic pleasure of the “we fired them all” story resonates with Romney’s recent “I like firing people.” What struck me, however, was his articulation of the current GOP storyline about how others (read Obama) are saying “America is finished” and American must “apologize” for its past behavior (read, the Iraq war and torture). [Obama, of course, says the opposite but this is an enduring self-construct; the SOTU deliberately countered this again but I expect the myth to remain]. This sets up a defiant ripost that doubles down on American exceptionalism and pride. Here Senator Marco Rubio as a meritorious carrier of these transcendent truths was mentioned (significant I think because he’s widely seen as a possible Romney running mate). The trouble with this structure of feeling for Saakashvili is that (i) many political heads in DC will instantly see this as GOP code and this identifies him further in US partisan political terms in ways that do not help his country and (ii) simple stories reflect badly on their tellers. In his defense, he may be articulating what he really thinks or what he really thinks works.
It is probably expecting too much from such a forum for someone to actually ask a challenging question. Georgetown President described his remarks as “inspiring” and “tough minded” or words to that effect. Generous. The Dean buried the one question that needed to be asked — are you going to ‘pull a Putin’? — inside a soft question about the European Union, which allowed him to justify the new constitution as Georgia Europeanizing itself.
The question from the Russian language VOA broadcaster elicited Saakashvili’s most polemical geopolitical rhetoric. Again the default mode is a pleasurable ‘structure of feeling’ of righteous indignation. “Russia occupies 20 percent of our country.” This beclouds all complexity, acknowledgement of Georgia’s difficult past relations with these regions, and any fidelity to empirics on the ground. Thus, we get the line that in South Ossetia there are only 7,000 residents but 20,000 Russian troops. Abkhazia’s beaches are deserted except for tank crews sunning themselves. In a situation where virtually the whole world supports Georgia’s position on the separatist territories, this type of rhetoric (with empirical claims about South Ossetia and Abkhazia that are not credible) runs the risk of damaging not furthering one’s cause. It would seem to be an unnecessary ‘own goal.’
The story at the conclusion of Saakashvili defiantly taking off in his Cessna, piloting it himself, even though he knows that Russian radar (and presumably anti-aircraft missiles) have locked onto his plane, seemed to work well with the audience to judge by the intensity of applause at the end. Maybe President Saakashvili did indeed move the audience and do a good job for his country, leaving everyone with the favorite image of little Georgia courageously defying the bullying bear to the north (and within its own territory). But do heroic defiance stories really work, especially with hardheaded political analysts and security planners?
Georgia exploded as an issue in the last Presidential election in August 2008. I’ve little doubt that President Saakashvili would like it to retain power as a ‘symbolic test’ of US commitment to its expansive ideals (some in the GOP may think of it as a wedge issue). My sense, however, is that Saakashvili’s stories, or those of other leaders vying for attention, do not resonate in US geopolitical culture like before. Why? Because they are out of synch with the post-Iraq, indebted, and wanna be post-Afghanistan ethos of our day. This isn’t ‘declinism’ so much as a reversion to American skepticism and self-concern in turbulent uncertain times. ‘Enough with funding experiments/states/favorites abroad; lets re-focus at home’ is how one might summarize the mood. This isn’t necessarily a good thing — we need proactive US engagement on Syria, Iraq, Burma and Egypt now especially — but it is a fact of life all US politicians have to confront.

Information From: Toal.org

Mikheil Saakashvili

Mikheil Saakashvili was elected president of Georgia after a bloodless revolution in 2003. A graduate of Columbia Law School in New York, fluent in four languages and in the values of free-market democracies, he was deemed a savior for the post-Soviet landscape.

Mr. Saakashvili has been a staunch ally of the United States in the volatile Caucasus region, dispatching troops to Iraq to show his support. He vowed to crack down on corruption, and introduced reforms that brought foreign investment and growth to one of the region's poorest countries.

He also pledged to restore federal rule to three regions that had been essentially independent since the fighting that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union -- Ajaria, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. He found quick success in Ajaria, a Black Sea region on the border with Turkey. After initial saber-rattling that alarmed many around the region, Mr. Saakashvili in 2005 tried a softer approaching, offering a package of autonomy and incentives to South Ossetia. His overtures were rejected.

By 2007, discontent was rising among the opposition, who pointed to what they called renewed corruption and to the economic inequality that accompanied the country's new growth. The unhappiness boiled over into six days of street protests in November, which were brought to a close by a violent police crackdown as Mr. Saakashvili declared a state of emergency. As critics wondered whether he was showing a new dictatorial side, he turned around and ordered snap elections, and won a new five-year term in January 2008 with 52 percent of the vote.

In August 2008, he ordered an attack on separatists in South Ossetia, one of two territories - Abkhazia is the other - where Georgia and Russia had been locked in a 15-year standoff. Georgian forces were quickly routed, and Russia seized both territories.

Mr. Saakashvili cast the attack as a necessary response to a Russian invasion, but no evidence emerged to verify the claim, and political opponents said he acted rashly.

Russian leaders have made it brutally clear that they want him out.

The internal call for his resignation grew in the months following the war and in April 2009 tens of thousands of protesters marched through the streets of Tbilisi bearing signs and chanting slogans against Mr. Saakashvili.

While the atmosphere in front of the Parliament building where the protesters gathered to demand his resignation was tense, the day's events unfolded without violence. A smaller number of protestors gathered again the next day.

Georgia put down a brief military mutiny that aimed to disrupt NATO military exercises in May 2009, ratcheting up tensions a day before the exercises were scheduled to begin over Russian objections.

In May 2010 voters in Tbilisi overwhelmingly endorsed Mr. Saakashvili's ruling party in municipal elections, barely a year after opposition parties had thronged the streets vowing to force him from office.

Mr. Saakashvili had declared that the mayor of Tbilisi would for the first time be directly elected by voters, and moved up nationwide local elections from October to May. The changes were part of a package of reforms intended to placate opposition leaders, who blamed him for leading the country into war with Russia.

Results from the Central Election Commission gave a solid victory to the incumbent mayor, Gigi Ugulava, a longtime political ally of Mr. Saakashvili. Mr. Saakashvili's United National Movement appeared to shut out the opposition in nationwide municipal races, which elect city councils.

The race in Tbilisi, in particular, was seen as an indicator of who may run to succeed Mr. Saakashvili when his term ends in 2013, and deflated the expectations of Georgia's opposition, which counts Tbilisi, home to more than a quarter of the electorate, as its most important stronghold.

Information From: nytimes.com/

President Obama Welcomes Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili

  Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili was at the White House today for a meeting with President Obama. The leaders discussed relations between our two countries, Georgia's contributions to the military operation in Afghanistan, and the potential for a free trade agreement between the United States and Georgia. In recent years, commerce between the two countries has been increasing, and President Obama described the potential free trade agreement agreement as a "win-win":  

Obviously, there’s a lot of work to be done and there are going to be a lot of options that are going to be explored. The key point, though, is we think it’s a win-win for the United States and for Georgia as we continue to find opportunities for businesses to invest in Georgia, for us to be able to sell Georgia our goods and services, and Georgia to be able to sell theirs as well.

 Georgia is one of 50 nations helping to fight the war in Afghanistan, and a point President Obama also took the time to note. "They have been one of the most dedicated contributors outside of NATO to the ISAF effort," he said, "And in fact have taken on some significant casualties as a consequence of those efforts." Today's meeting marked the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Informatiob From: whitehouse.gov

Andy Garcia took on the role of President Saakashvili

Sets are being built outside the Parliament preparing ground for a scene that will revive August 12, 2008 rally when tens of thousands of Georgian gathered to show unity amid war with Russia.

The filming of the scene will be part of yet untitled movie about the last year’s August war, directed by Renny Harlin, best known for his Hollywood big-budget action movies such as Die Hard 2 and Cliffhanger.

Andy Garcia, who took on the role of President Saakashvili, started shooting in the Georgian president’s palace on October 19; before arriving in Tbilisi, he met with Saakashvili in Batumi. The scene in the presidential palace in Tbilisi involves the Georgian President discussing tactics with his aides amid Russian invasion, according to the Georgian co-producers.

One of the co-producer is a ruling party lawmaker, Papuna (Mirza) Davitaia.

Another scene, in which Garcia will be shot, according to Georgian co-producers of the film, will be outside the Parliament on October 20 to depict the rally, which was also attended last August by leaders from the Baltic States and also by the President of Poland.

The main plot of the film follows an American journalist – played by British actor Rupert Friend, and his cameraman who get caught in the midst of the August war.

Some battle scenes were shot in Tsalka, south of Georgia and also in Gori, the town, which along with Tskhinvali suffered most from the August war.

Shooting of the movie, which Harlin described on his blog as “my big war movie”, started earlier this month and is expected to be over in November. Harlin, who is also know for shooting the Hollywood’s one of the biggest box office flops - Cutthroat Island, also says the movie about Georgia would be “antiwar statement.”

The film with reported budget of up to USD 20 million is expected to be premiered in May, 2010 – about year after the Russian state television premiered earlier this year a Russian film about the August war, depicting the Russian official version of events.

Meanwhile, it emerged on Monday that Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica, who visited South Ossetia this month, turned down a Russian offer to direct another film about the war.

“I didn't accept it because I have a binding contract for the next four years,” he told Reuters.

Information From: Civil.ge

Speech of the President of Georgia to the Parliament of Azerbaijan

Esteemed members of Milli Majlis,

Dear representatives of the Azerbaijani nation,

It is for me a great honor to address this Parliament.

I came here to underline how much vital the strategic partnership between our
two nations.

In fact, we are much more than strategic partners.

We are united by the tragic and the glorious memories of a shared past and by the same longing for a common peaceful and free future.

Our friendship has been shaped by centuries of tears and smiles, hopes and disarrays.

Azerbaijan and Georgia are both very old nations and very young independent States.

They have faced and they continue to face common challenges.

And, most important, they have faced them and they continue to face them together, united.

This is the lesson of the most ancient times as well as the most recent past.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I am far from being an Historian but, as every leader who wants to understand the present and tries to influence the future, I have a passion for History.

And today, I would like to visit our History and humbly echo the long and deep song of the Azerbaijani-Georgian friendship.

It is this song that resonated in 2008, as you stood so firmly by us while overwhelming foreign forces were invading our land and threatening our very existence.

Its melody comes from the most remote times, the times of the Caucasian Albania and Iberia, the times of the smaller Kingdoms of Georgia and of the Azerbaijani Khanates, the times of the glorious medieval Kingdoms of David the Builder and the Great Shirvanshahs.

Its sound revives also the memory of our first Republics.

It reminds us that, in victory or in defeat, we always stood together against powerful invaders, no matter if they were Christian or Muslim, pagan or communist…

It was not by accident that our greatest king, David the Builder, gave his most beloved daughter to the Shirvanshah Manuchehr the II as a symbol of an alliance that allowed us to defeat together a much stronger enemy in Shamkir, in 1195!

Nor was it a coincidence if the best ally of Irakli the II’s in his struggle for an independent and free Caucasus was Fath-ali Khan of Quba.

And, again, it was obviously not casual if our two young states have concluded in 1919 a treaty to defend themselves against Denikin forces.

Allow me here to quote the first paragraph of it:

The Contracting State undertake to act together with all the armed and military forces and facilities against any attack that threatens the independence or territorial integrity of one or both contracting republics…

Ladies and gentlemen,

Our alliance is not only political. Nor is it based only on common threats. It goes deeper.

The interpenetration of our cultures, languages, cuisines and, if I may, of our souls was and is still permanent.

The greatest Azerbaijani poet of the twelfth century, Nizami Gianjevi, has honored Georgia with his golden words.

Another genius of these times and jewell of your culture, Khagani, even used Georgian words in some rhymes of his poetry…

Among the celebrated Azerbaijani masters of music, many had strong links with Georgia.

From Uzeir Hadjibekov who studied in Gori to Rashid Behbudov who was born in Tbilisi.

Under the tsarist occupation, our capital was indeed an active center of the Azeri culture and the azeri intellectual life.

Mirza Fath- ali Akhundov, one of the father of the modern Azerbaijani identity spent almost half of his life in Tbilisi, where he died and was buried in 1878.

Akhoundov was a pivotal figure in our own intellectual life, a friend of our greatest thinkers – Grigol Eristavi, Aleksandre Chavchavadze, Grigol Orbeliani.

It is also in Tbilisi that was founded the first journal in Azerbaijani Language “Sharqi Rus”.

What a symbol again, Ladies and Gentlemen, that the independence of the first democratic Azerbaijani Republic was proclaimed in Tbilisi 28th of May 1918. .

We remember so vividly the first Azerbaijani Republic in Georgia, Ladies and gentlemen, because our two republics were absolute sisters, both being unprecedented attempts to build modern, democratic, western oriented states and societies in the Caucasus.

The death of one would logically mean the collapse of the other and, when Azerbaijan fell, Georgia could not survive more than 1 year.

The world stood there, watching the bravest of our people being slaughtered.

20000 of your compatriots have given their life to resist against the invaders and I want to pay tribute to them and to their Georgian brothers in arms.

The Empire had stroke back, but even the most ruthless repression could not kill our dream of freedom.

This dream had to come true one day and it did 70 years later.

Because, as Mammad Emin Rasul Zadeh, the first president of the DRA said “ Bir kera yukselen Bayrak, Bir daha Enmaz! (The Flag once raised will never fall!)

For a long time, their dream had to take the path of a dolorous exile.

Georgians, Azerbaijanis and several North Caucasian leaders have joined their forces in Paris, Warsaw and Istanbul

Mammad Emin Rasul Zadeh, Jeyhun Hadjibeyli, Mustafa Vekili, Mardanbey Topchubashev together with Akaki Tchkhenkeli, Noe Ramishvili, Spiridon Kedia and the best sons of mountainous people of the Caucasus like Haidar Bammat and Abdul-Majid Chermoev founded the committee of independence of the Caucasus, which later was transformed in the Council of the Confederation of the Caucasus, composed of 12 members, four members per nationality.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I can’t resist the pleasure to quote Mammad Emin Rasul Zadeh in his letter written to Stalin in 1923.

His words will sound familiar to many hears today:

And what is going on in Russia now, actually does not differ from what happened here a hundred years ago. Just like a hundred years ago, Russia continues to attach to itself more and more new colonies.

The history directed such a way that the Communist Party that came to power, decided to revive the Russian Empire. This happened to due to the imperial ambitions of the ruling elite and leads very definite results”.

Let me also quote the magnificent address he had in 1955 on Radio Free Europe:

The Soviet dictator Stalin, who claimed that the separation from Russia is a reaction and separation from others is – the revolution, has died, but his two-faced system – Stalinism still exists. Freedom is a global idea. If there stays at least one slaved person, at least one oppressed nation, the World will not see true freedom and security”.



Ladies and gentlemen,

Rasul Zadeh’s dream did not die and finally came true a bit more than 20 years ago when Soviet Union collapsed.

Soviet Union was not invaded or destroyed from the outside.

Soviet Union collapsed from the inside, because people could not stand it anymore, because it was trying to halt the course of History.

Azerbaijan and Georgia, as well as many other captive nations, became free once again.

These were turbulent, chaotic moments, and we both had more than our shares of wars, tragedies, disillusions and dramatic experiences.

But here we are standing, freer and stronger than ever.

And this time, there will be no way back.

This time, ghosts and reliques from the times of slavery cannot prevail over our thirst for freedom.

This time, Georgia and Azerbaijan have built a Statehood that will not be defeated and have integrated the world community of free nations, built partnerships and alliances that will protect their independence.

We are in 2012, and everybody should understand that, in 2012, attempts to revitalize the corpse of Soviet Union are doomed to fail.

Dear Members of Parliament,

A new old idea was proposed recently by some nostalgic leaders in Moscow: the idea of a Eurasian Union.

Let’s not be mistaken.

The name has changed - a little - but the content remains the same, fully.

This project has had many names through History: the Union of the Socialist Republics, the doctrine of limited sovereignty, the policy of sphere of influence or the “gathering of the lands” as pro-Kremlin commentators put it nowadays reviving the most imperialistic phraseology of the Tsarist period.

It has many names, but only one meaning for all of us, the neighbors of the Russian Federation: the end of our freedom and our independence, the end of the dream of Razul Zadeh and many others of our ancesters.

This project cannot and will not succeed.

It will not and cannot succeed because people will not give up their freedom, nations their independence and countries their right to choose their own path.

Even Russian leaders will have to understand this.

They will come to this obvious point: it is better to have strong neighbors than unstable vassals, it is better to be surrounded by happy and proud nations than by frustrated people dreaming about revenge, it is better to have partners than enemies.

To tell the truth, Ladies and gentlemen, and contrary to the lies spread by a powerful propaganda machine, I do not want a weak Russia and I am far from hostile to Russian national interests.

In fact, I am dreaming about a proud and stable Russian Federation, sure of its own strength and its own path, a country that would not need to humiliate others in order to prove to itself an illusory greatness, a State that could ensure decent life to all its citizens and would not try to replace the bread it steals from their mouth with dangerous nostalgia, a country that would have secured, safe and clear borders and not constantly moving margins.

Myths do not feed the poor and margins are harder to safeguard than borders.

Russian patriots, those brave people who wish the best for their country, those who do not send their billions abroad and their poor citizens to unnecessary battlefields, those who want to give back to the Russian people the power stolen by a weak leadership, Russian patriots are not our enemies.

They are our partners, our brothers. They want for their country what we want for ours.

We will, one day, build with them a common space of peace and cooperation.

We will do that with enthusiasm, because we cannot change geography, we cannot erase History.

We cannot and we do not want to. It is our common place, it is our common History.

We have a past in common with Russia and a future to build together.

On our side - we are very clear about it and nothing will make us change our mind - this future will be named European Union and NATO.

This does not necessarily mean a rupture with the Russian Federation. This should not mean a rupture.

As most of you know, Georgia recently abolished visas for all Russian citizens.

It was like sending an invitation to the 140 millions Russians: we welcome you as tourists, businessmen, artists, writers, we welcome you as guests and partners, only not as occupants.

To those who reject this extended hand, to those who prefer to build mental and physical walls, to those who still see the EU and NATO expansion as a threat, I would like to say that Cold War ended a happy day of December 1991, that there is no secrete plot in Brussels or Washington to undermine their sovereignty, that they should greet changes instead of fighting them and that they should start by stopping to occupy other people s land or use ethnic cleansing as well as religious divides as policy tools.

To the other ones, I have just one word to say: welcome! Welcome in our circle of friends and partners.



Ladies and gentlemen,

If today the alliance between Azerbaijan and Georgia is stronger than ever, we owe it to a large extent to the vision and the leadership of my very close friend, the President Ilkham Aliev, and to the identity of views of our two governments for the future of the region.

We want to raise it to an even greater level in the years to come and we discussed yesterday about very concrete and spectacular projects that will benefit our two nations equally.

Nobody should be worried about this.

Our alliance is not directed against anybody.

It is – if you allow me to be lyrical – like love: you do not love somebody because you hate somebody else, you just love somebody.

Speaking about love, I could not end my speech – my love declaration would be more acurate terminology as you saw – without mentioning the most beautiful monument to the Georgian-Azerbaijani friendship, the famous novel of Qurban Said “Ali and Nino”.

Last year, we have inaugurated a unique moving statue of Ali and Nino that has become the city’s landmark and symbol.

This hymn to love, to freedom and to the Caucasus is venerated in the whole Georgia.

The love story between Ali Khan Shirvanshir, grand-son of an Azeri nobleman who killed the tsarist general Tsitsianov and Nino Qipiani, descendent of the famous Nino Chavchavadze, is more than just a beautiful drama, it reflects the past, the present and the future of the Caucasus.

Despite their different faith and origins, theyare united by their love for each other and their love for freedom.

The end of the book is tragic.

As you know, Ali is killed by the Bolsheviks who invaded Azerbaijan.

Ali’s best friend, Ilias Bek writes Ali was killed at 5.15 on the Ganja bridge. In the morning, just before the Russian attack, we have buried him in the courtyard of the mosque. Our Republic has died, as died Ali khan Shirvanshir.

What we can do today, together, Ladies and gentlemen, is to rewrite the end of Ali and Nino.

We can turn a tragic past into a happy end.

We can and we will make in sort that Ali and Nino s love will never again be smashed by foreign invaders.

We can and we will make in sort that today’s and tomorrow’s Alis and Ninos will live in free, happy, prosperous countries, enjoying their love and their freedom far away from wars, oppressions and divisions.

It can and i twill happen.

It is already happening !

„Bir kera yukselen Bayrak, Bir daha Enmaz!“ (The Flag once raised will never fall!)

Infromation From: president.gov.ge/

Georgia's President Saakashvili, on the eve of war

TBILISI, Georgia -- For the Russians he is a scary figure. A cunning eastern despot whose main purpose is to humiliate and to outsmart them. They have disliked Mikheil Saakashvili, young president of Georgia, since he grabbed power following the famous Rose Revolution in November 2003.

To the Kremlin he was an instant threat, calling for the restoration of Georgia's integrity by the return of the breakaway separatist regions of Adjaria, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The Russians could not accept his NATO and European Union aspirations. The Kremlin's controlled media spared no effort in painting him as a ruthless dictator unconcerned about the well-being of his subjects. They stressed his macho ego and lack of respect for anybody but himself. Nationalist Russian politicians called him fascist.Now senior diplomats in Moscow, including the Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, are declaring that the time has come to unseat him.

Georgian opposition politicians have been only slightly less critical. To Giorgi Khaindrava, one of the leading Georgian opposition figures, Saakashvili was an "idiot," a chess player utterly incapable of thinking more than a single move ahead. Even Russian democrats were skeptical about Misha Saakashvili. They cannot forgive his clampdown on the independent Imedia TV station last year during the massive opposition riots in Tbilisi.

Tensions in Georgia were already on the rise last Wednesday when we rushed to the capital Tbilisi for an interview with Saakashvili. We had spent the day in the upper part of Kodori Valley, a controversial borderlands in the Caucasus mountains that provides the easiest access from Georgia to the separatist republic of Abkhazia. Georgia had moved its troops to the upper part of the valley in 2006; since then the separatist government of Abkhazia and Russia have continuously demanded their withdrawal.

Our ride lasted more than 11 hours. The first half took us to west Georgian town of Zugdidi, on bumpy mountain roads, in a Toyota military pick-up driven by the heavily armed Georgian Interior Ministry paratroopers. We then changed to a Toyota Camry driven by an official from the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs. This was Shota Utiashvili, a 30-year-old former journalist. It was Shota who helped book the interview with Saakashvili. On the long ride back to Tbilisi he kept reassuring us -- "Don't worry if we arrive late," he said, "here in Georgia interviewing the president even at 11 pm is standard. We do not come to the office early, we do not return home until late." He covered the 200-plus miles from Zugdidi to Tbilisi in a mad dash, continuously over the speed limit and overtaking countless cars along the way. It didn't help. We got to the president's office at least 20 minutes late.

When his secretary brings us to his office he reacts to our late arrival without the usual official's pride. "You are late? Or I am late?" he says, surprising us with his friendly questions and manners.

But as for the interview itself, Saakashvili is in command from start to finish, pausing barely long enough to acknowledge the questions we ask. He delivers instead well-rehearsed long monologues - to the effect that Georgia has chosen the West and NATO and that we do not want to follow Russia's political and economic patterns. We build a society based on democratic freedoms and the rule of law, he says, the values that he says he learned during his studies in the United States [at Columbia University's law school]. Georgia is a showcase for democracy in this part of the world, he goes on, an experiment that the United States should be eager to support.

Saakashvili insists that if Georgia succeeds on the path it has chosen, other countries in the region will follow. Russian leaders think Georgia is part of a conspiracy targeted against them, he concedes - "They do not believe we act on our own, making our own free choice." In this conversation, with fullscale war just 2 hours away, the Georgian president insists that his country does not seek conflict with Russia. He appears to understand the stakes involved, acknowledging that Russia's population is 30 times larger than Georgia's and that any Georgian attempt to reclaim one of the separatist regions would mean opening a war against Russia itself.

But at the same time, in this interview, Saakashvili is openly contemptuous of his counterparts in Russia. "You know them and their corruption," he says; "you can imagine what horrible consequences there would be if we followed their political and economic model." He says he cannot imagine the West not coming to Georgia's aid. It would be like the betrayal of Hungary in 1956 or the then Czechoslovakia in 1968, when the Soviet Union's aggressive repression of restive satellites was met with silence from the West.

This conversation take place late on Wednesday evening, as August 6 turns to August 7. On the following night, Aug. 7-8, Georgian troops launched their offensive against Tshkinvali, the capital of South Ossetia. With casualties estimated to be in the hundreds, the Russians have the "casus belli" they need, a rationale for responding with the full weight of the far superior Russian military.

In the days since, again and again I heard Georgian officials saying "we were provoked" - that their sudden attack on Tshkinvali was but a single episode in a long history of confrontation with Russia and the allegedly puppet governments they had installed in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. I suggested that perhaps their rhetoric had been too reckless, too aggressive. In the interview with Saakashvili I put the question directly to him, reminding him of what one of his own ministers had said - that Russia was like a hungry, provoked crocodile, ready to swallow Georgia and its people whole.

One of Saakashvili's closest associates conceded that yes, mistakes had been made. He recalled that "Misha" - the nickname for Saakashvili used by those in his inner circle - had once called Vladimir Putin "Liliputin" - a reference to the little people of Swift's Gulliver's Travels. "He should not have said this," this associate said, acknowledging at least implicitly that in the confrontation with Russia it was very much Georgia in the Lilliputian role.

When we shook hands with Saakashvili at the presidential residence, I wondered if this childish-looking man might become a real statesman after all, someone with the capacity to cope with Russia's existential challenge. Might it be possible at some point to compare him with one of those great figures of the 20th century, the likes of French President Charles de Gaulle or Turkish leader Kemal Ataturk or Spain's King Juan Carlos -- men who successfully dealt with their countries' most difficult crisis situations and paved the way for stable prosperity?

Before leaving his office I look at him once again. It suddenly pops into my head that yes, he could be a great president. He is bright and educated, speaks perfect English. One can feel his charisma. The problem comes down to this -- that his country should not be neighbors with Russia. My doubt comes down to this: my uncertainty as to whether Saakashvili is a leader who knows how to handle hungry crocodiles.

About the author:
Zygmunt Dzieciolowski is a Polish journalist and writer who has covered Russia for leading German, Swiss and Polish newspapers since 1989.

Information From: http://www.opendemocracy.net/russia/article/georgias-president-saakashvili-on-the-eve-of-war