Parliament Vice Speaker: zero tolerance towards United National Movement must be taken to higher level

Thea Tsulukiani, the Vice Speaker of the Georgian Parliament and Chair of the Temporary Investigative Commission of the Parliament examining alleged crimes committed by the former United National Movement Government between 2003 and 2012, on Wednesday reaffirmed the ruling Georgian Dream party’s “zero tolerance” policy towards the United National Movement party.

In her remarks, Tsulukiani noted that ongoing testimonies within the Commission confirmed the need to further strengthen the Government's stance against the United National Movement.

“Not only your testimony that we are hearing now, what we have already heard, what we know, what we have worked on in various cases in the past, or what we will hear within the commission in the future - this all confirms that we are right to have declared zero tolerance towards the United National Movement, and we should take this to an even higher level. Today, [Mikheil] Saakashvili [the imprisoned former President] is in humane conditions, but he is where he belongs, and he must understand this - these are the words spoken from the Parliament of Georgia, where, in 2003, he entered with a rose in hand and ultimately led the country away from the right path of development”, the Vice Speaker said.

Tsulukiani argued that the younger generation must be fully informed about past events to develop analytical thinking and avoid similar political mistakes in the future.

“As for the younger generation, of course, I am not here to advise, but in my opinion, the younger generation, including our children, must know everything. Nothing should be hidden. This is also why our commission was created. No matter how painful it may be, they must know”, she noted.

The Commission’s goal, the Vice Speaker noted, was to ensure that historical injustices committed under the United National Movement were exposed and understood.