President Warns Parliament’s Move to Tbilisi Will Destroy Kutaisi

The President of Georgia met students at Kutaisi’s Akaki Tsereteli State University in a relaxed environment on January 15. Students of the university, mostly first-years, attended his speech about the possible dangers that could result from the parliament’s return to Tbilisi.

Mikheil Saakashvili spoke about the necessity of parliament’s location in Kutaisi and referred to plans launched after the parliament’s move to Kutaisi that aim to develop all of western Georgia.

Saakashvili opened by saying, “Parliament’s return to Tbilisi is a declared chronicle of Kutaisi’s murder. You should choose what you want: to live in a European, thriving city or to return to the 1990s.” Afterwards, he addressed some of the students’ questions.

As for students’ positions on this issue, their opinions were divided in two. Some of the young people believed the parliament should remain in Kutaisi for the further development of Kutaisi and the region in general. Another part believed that in order to make the city more functional, other more important projects should be implemented there, such as the employment of local people, the opening of factories and mills, and the establishment of cultural and educational institutions, among other things.

Shorena Kakabadze, Kutaisi