A parade dedicated to the Day of Georgian Police was held in Batumi Boulevard today. Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili addressed the officers after the parade was over.
President spoke about the significance of the day, emphasizing the role of the police in the formation of modern Georgia.
`If today people are impressed with Georgia and think that Georgia in fact succeeded to form a modern and firm state on the remains of this post-soviet space, this is the result of your work,` Saakashvili said.
President hailed the police reform as the `parent` of all other reforms and the symbol of Georgia`s transformation.
`The difference between the old and new police is not only reforms, cars, equipment or salary, or the corruption in the previous police system, of which the police is free now, but the main difference is that the soviet militia looked at our people as at their possession, objects of torture and extortion. Today`s police treats people as the ones whom they are serving, protecting, our police are our people, that`s why our people treat them with respect,` Saakashvili said.
Georgian president also hailed the heroism of police officers in the 2008 Georgia-Russia war, saying they were fulfilling their duties with responsibility in those hard days.
`We have succeeded to revive the feeling that this is our country, which belongs to each of us regardless of ethnic and religious interests, to all generations, this is a feeling that however strong and organized our enemy is, we will be much organized and stronger with the firmness of our souls and what is the most important, we shall always have our dignity. We have all regained our dignity, which irritates our adversaries most of all,` Saakashvili said.
All units of the Interior Ministry forces participated in today`s parade, which was held for the second time. The Day of Georgian police was first marked last year
