Azernews.Az

By Sabina Idayatova

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has called on the new government and parliament to abondon private interests and make interests of the public the priority.

In a speech on Wednesday, Saakashvili expressed concern that the opposition may complicate the situation in the country and worsen the international image of Georgia.

"We need to rise above personal grievances and engage in a dialogue, which, unfortunately, has stalled in recent days and led to an open confrontation, raising a concern," he said.

The Georgian president called on the government to respect the army, which is an institution defending the state.

"I am not even mentioning the charges, forms of arrest against the military officers who have fought resolutely in the war with the Russian aggressor," he said.

Saakashvili said the entry of tax police officers to the Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) is unacceptable and does not contribute to improvement of its performance.

GPB General Director Giorgi Chanturia has said that in accordance with the Georgian finance minister's decree, tax officers entered the GPB to conduct an unscheduled inspection.

Chanturia said at an emergency briefing on Wednesday that since the 1990s, the tax authority has never conducted an inspection at the institution and only routine inspections were carried out there by the government from time to time.

"We do not have any problem with the inspection and I instructed my staff to facilitate a transparent audit. Our journalists will cover the process. I hope that we will not interfere in each other's work," he added.

The Georgian president urges the two largest political parties, the government, the parliamentary minority and also the majority to engage in dialogue and address issues of national importance together.

"All these steps lead to the conclusion that there is purposeful work on collapse of democracy in the country, which is very dangerous on the eve of a NATO ministerial..." President Saakashvili said.

Meanwhile, the minority suspended its work in the Georgian parliament.

The parliamentary minority leader, David Bakradze, told reporters that the latest arrests in the country, what he called intrusion of tax police into the Georgian public broadcaster, etc. apparently lead to a conclusion that the majority is not ready to cooperate.

"In the situation when the authorities try to seize the army and the television channel that international organizations recognized as the 'most objective' in Georgia, we suspend our work...because we do not believe it is possible to debate in parliament," Bakradze said.

Former Georgian Minister of Defense and Internal Affairs Bacho Akhalaia was arrested in Tbilisi on Tuesday. Opponents of President Saakashvili accuse Akhalaia of torture at a Tbilisi prison, which was made public in September, before the parliamentary elections. Shortly after the release of a controversial video in which the allegations were made Akhalaia resigned.

"It is not a boycott of parliament, [it is] only a temporary decision," David Bakradze noted. "Everything depends on further developments."