Ruling Party Sec-Gen defends right to opinion as Gov’t-lined media owner opposes Euro-Atlantic integration in constitution


Author
Front News Georgia
Any person in Georgia can express their opinion, as long as it is done within the law, Kakha Kaladze, the Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party and Tbilisi Mayor, on Monday said in response to the Government-lined Imedi TV owner Irakli Rukhadze’s recent comments opposing the inclusion of European integration in the constitution.
In his interview earlier this month, Rukhadze argued there was no need for the Georgian constitution to specify the country’s Euro-Atlantic integration course, citing “more important” issues facing the country, including poverty.
Kaladze emphasized the steps towards European integration were closely tied to the efforts of the ruling party, which he believed would see the process through to completion.
“All the steps taken towards European integration are related to the Georgian Dream. The Georgian Dream will be the team that will bring this process to the end. The country will become a member of the European family. Any person in Georgia can express their opinion, the main thing is that it should be done within the law,” Kaladze claimed. He added that in a democratic state, all opinions should be allowed to exist as long as they do not contradict the law.
“There are people who think that joining the European Union is a problem for the country’s sovereignty, etc. This is their attitude. If we are building a democratic state, then we must allow all opinions to exist. If we are building such a country as it was when the radicals [in reference to the United National Movement Government] were in power under the leadership of [Mikheil] Saakashvili, we should also know that society did not want Georgia as it was before 2012. People want to live in a democratic country, and we are taking concrete steps in this direction. Our success is due to us, along with the majority of the country’s population,” said Kaladze.
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