Georgia's New President Advocates for Freedom, Unity, and National Identity

Mikheil Kavelashvili, the newly elected sixth Georgian President nominated by the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Sunday highlighted the Georgians as a “freedom-loving” nation, also pointing out the “respect for our history, culture, traditions, national identity and faith”.

“The word freedom, along with rights, involves responsibility and the protection of those values, the struggle for which has brought us this freedom”, he said, adding “this is the struggle for the immortal idea called Georgia”, The Caspian Post reports, citing Georgian media.

“In the Georgian language, the word freedom literally means being the master of oneself, not being dependent on anyone or anything except for one’s conscience, honor, humanity, and inner voice. Freedom primarily entails [..] striving for goodness and love, which our society so desperately needs today”, Kavelashvili stressed.

He further noted freedom did not mean “the right to everything”, pointing out “freedom also implies critical thinking, [...] discussion, which, in any case, are the main preconditions for the rapprochement of different positions”.

“We, the free citizens of Georgia, must first and foremost respect our Constitution, state institutions, the rule of law, and the rules established by the state”, the president said.

He also highlighted a “sense of statehood” as “paramount on the path to building a strong society and nation on which the Georgian nation stands and must unite our society”.

Kavelashvili also emphasised “this understanding of freedom, rules, and the protection of national identity offers the Georgian people a path to the European family”.

In his inaugural speech, the resident also overviewed the history of the Georgian people, which involved “facing numerous trials and tribulations”, the “fight for the homeland and honour” managing to “achieve what seemed impossible - the survival and the preservation of its values, that our nation is founded on”.