Tbilisi - Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has dismissed Defense Minister Irakli Alasania.
The prime minister said late on Nov. 4 night after a meeting of the parliament majority that he had made the decision because of the minister’s attempts to politicize the inquiry into the corrupt practices of his subordinates.
“The minister has made an irresponsible statement claiming a threat to Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic trajectory. He is trying to politicize the inquiry into the Defense Ministry where major violations and corruptive practices have been detected. Instead of cooperating with the detectives, Minister Alasania has taken the liberty of politicizing the situation, and this is impermissible,” Garibashvili said, adding that the crackdown on corruption was a government priority.
The prime minister said he had decided to dismiss Alasania “in order to preserve a depoliticized army and to provide national security.”
State Security and Crisis Management Council head Mindia Janelidze will take over the position of Defense Minister when the parliament approves his candidature, the prime minister said. Until then First Deputy Defense Minister Giorgi Gegechkori will be the acting Minister.
Alasania told the Rustavi 2 television channel on Nov. 4 evening that he had not expected that Prime Minister Garibashvili would dismiss him.
“That [decision] was unexpected but somewhat logical. The implementation of an action plan proposed by the alliance will be discussed at the NATO-Georgia Commission tomorrow and my dismissal will definitely have an effect on the progress of this meeting,” Alasania said.
In his words, certain forces in Georgia “are purposefully targeting the main link to NATO, the Defense Ministry.”
Alasania was not the only member that left the Georgian government on Nov. 4. State Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Alexi Petriashvili was the other.
“Dictatorship is coming, democracy is in danger and I am stepping down,” Petriashvili said late on Tuesday night in a live program on the Maestro channel.
The state minister said he had decided to tender his resignation as soon as learned about the dismissal of his friend and colleague, Defense Minister Irakli Alasania, on television.
“I will submit my resignation request in writing to the prime minister tomorrow,” Petriashvili said.
