Georgia’s ruling party Sec Gen: fighting corruption, preventive measures of fundamental importance

Kakha Kaladze, the Mayor of Tbilisi and Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Saturday responded to the arrest of the former Defence Minister Juansher Burchuladze, describing the incident as an unfortunate development, while stressing that the ruling party remains firmly committed to the fight against corruption.

In his remarks, Kaladze acknowledged that Burchuladze’s arrest was a “difficult and unpleasant” development but stressed that the Government’s anti-corruption stance must remain firm regardless of political or emotional considerations.

“Fighting corruption and implementing preventive measures are fundamentally important. As for Burchuladze’s detention, of course, it is not pleasant for me or my teammates. It is a heavy fact when a teammate is detained, especially at a time when the country has had to walk on the edge of a knife”, the official said.

He pointed out that Bidzina Ivanishvili, the Honorary Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, has dedicated himself to combating what he called “the evil opposing Georgia” and that, in such circumstances, any corruption-related incident was especially unfortunate.

“The honorary Chair [Bidzina Ivanshvili] of the [ruling Georgian Dream] party himself has set everything aside, and you know how he is fighting the evil that is opposing Georgia, our homeland. In these conditions and circumstances, when such incidents occur, it is very unfortunate”, he concluded.

The Georgian State Security Service on Thursday detained a former Defence Minister Juansher Burchuladze.

In a statement during a special briefing, the Service noted that the investigation accused Burchuladze of abuse of official powers.

The case concerns the misappropriation of funds.