Tbilisi, 23 August 2016 - On the occasion of the Europe-Wide Day of Remembrance for the victims of all totalitarian and authoritarian regimes the Government of Georgia made the following statement:
"Georgia stands with all of Europe today in remembering victims of totalitarian and authoritarian regimes, as this is a sad reality which forms a crucial part of Georgia's past. Coming under Soviet occupation in February 1921, Georgian citizens like millions of Europeans had to fight to regain their country's freedom and basic human rights, for democracy and the rule of law.
Georgia started its unstinting climb to freedom in 1991, 25 years ago. And this year, we are set to hold free, fair, and transparent elections in October - which would have been unthinkable a few years ago. We have come a long way since the Soviet occupation regime. The new generation of Georgians is able to live free, to study, to travel, to work in a Western and liberal environment. The upcoming democratic elections is just one example of this. Our ongoing and growing association with the EU is another.
Our past is not forgotten, however. It is precisely because we have lived through tragedy that we believe so strongly in Georgia's European choice."