The Ministry of Internal Affairs celebrated Police Day. The solemn event in front of the administrative building of the Ministry in Tbilisi was attended by the President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili, the Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, members of the Government, members of the Parliament, representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited in Georgia and employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
After the ceremonial march performed by different units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri congratulated police officers on their professional day and addressed them with a speech.
“We have all celebrated the Independence Day of Georgia just recently. Today, few days after May 26, we are celebrating Police Day. Today is a symbolic emphasis that building of an independent Georgian state, the protection of our citizens’ security was and will be the foundation of devouted work performed by each of you.
Caring for the citizens of our own country, ensuring their safety - is the duty of a police officer, however, we have cases when our colleagues sacrifice their lives while performing their professional activities.
Let us all pay tribute to the memory of Georgian policemen who died in the line of duty for the unity of Georgia.
The centuries-old history of our entire country has been a struggle for peace and independence. In recent history, our police has always been standing at this frontline.
Today, only a few hundred police officers represent the Georgian police here, thousands of your colleagues stand behind you. They are ensuring the protection of our citizens even in this very moment, fighting crime, controlling borders, fighting fires and taking care of traffic safety.
Dear police officers, I would like to express my appreciation to you all for your loyal service to Georgia. It is a great responsibility and honor for me to celebrate Police Day with you once again.
I would like to express my gratitude to each police officer here and throughout the entire country for maintaining order and security in the. Thank you for your decent, highly professional and selfless work.
Those of us who has worn the uniform of a policeman and police badge at least once in our lives, we are well aware what the profession of a policeman stands for. We know about the difficulties that can emerge in the fight against crime, we know how can one be filled with pride when serving our citizens, and we know the value of protecting various fundamental human rights.
Protecting human rights and freedoms, creating a safe environment for the population and fighting crime is the most important social role for each of us.
Today we have a police focused on justice and human interests. For the police, in recent years human lives and its inviolability are of paramount importance as never before. This is the accomplishment of modern Georgian state and this achievement belongs to every member of the society.
However, today we, the society as a whole as well as police forces of the country, which was built on the foundation and principles of a democratic, European state, face a number of challenges.
The main challenge is mutual respect, solidarity, appreciation of labor, fair criticism and ensuring the unity of the country, sustainable development and a decent future by adhering to the mentioned principles.
Due to our professional difficulties, we often do not have time for those we love most - our families and our children. I would like to thank each and every one of them, for standing beside policemen on their professional path, for their support and solid patience. Commitment to the profession and oath of the police, sacrificing lives for the homeland and our fellow citizens, giving up our own interests – is the choice we made. To those in our families, waiting for us to be back home, would like to always be proud of your family member police officers and wish safe return of your loved ones after each working day.
Of course, each leader, head of the state, is well aware of the importance of ensuring decent work conditions for police officers. Under the initiative of the Prime Minister, along with the government, we are actively working to improve the police infrastructure and, most importantly, to create work conditions of European standard for police officers. We will also continue the active work to provide decent social guarantees for each employee of the Ministry. We are well-aware and realize that European standardization should not only include infrastructure projects. The protection of European principles and power of development is a human rights-oriented policing.
The Georgian police and the ongoing reforms as well as successful projects within the Ministry of Internal Affairs have played an important role in the integration towards the European Union and the implementation of visa-free travel. The Ministry of Internal Affairs successfully continues to fulfill the commitments undertaken by Georgia for the purpose of integration into Euro-Atlantic structures. The event is attended and observed by our international partners from different countries. You have been contributing to the capacity building of the Ministry of Interior for years.
On behalf of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Georgian Police, I would like to thank you for supporting us, for the most important assistance and outstanding partnership.
Dear policemen, once again congratulations on Police Day and, as representatives of loyal state institution, committed to democratic, Western values, wish you to fulfill your professional oath with dignity - be faithful and dignified, follow the principles of Constitution and Law of Georgia”.- stated Vakhtang Gomelauri.
Let’s defend our homeland together - Georgia and serve the society.
May God bless Georgia and Georgian Police!
After the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Garibashvili addressed the police.
“My dear police officers, we the citizens of this country are proud of the Georgian Police, set our hopes on each employee of the Interior Ministry. Once again, thank you for your service. It is very exciting that we have succeeded in police transformation. The Georgian Police Force is no longer politicized. Our police are protecting our country's citizens equally, without distinction. And it is absolutely unacceptable when undeserved insults are hurled against the police, something that our opponents unfortunately repeat quite often. Of course, we cannot accept this. We cannot compromise in any way, and not a single fact of this kind can go unanswered. Police officers must be untouchable, and I am not talking about individual excesses duly countered by the Ministry. But it is unacceptable, and I denounce any attempt to insult your cherished cause, your profession. Consequently, I repeat that any such act will be punished, and we will not allow any compromises.
I truly want to see young people eagerly join the police force when choosing a profession. I want current and future police officers to know that the state has due regard for them and will always try to appreciate police officers. Dear friends, when people take on this difficult line of duty, they must be motivated, they must feel support from the state. It was as my earnest desire-and recently we made the relevant decision together with Mister Vakhtang Gomelauri-to build a police city with 1,000 apartments in Tbilisi for our hero police forces. This will be just the initial phase that will continue, of course. The project will start this year, and we will be able to gladden the families of many police officers. Our duty is to make sure that all those fighting and sacrificing the most precious thing, their lives, for the people and the country is duly appreciated. As the country continues to develop, new residential blocks are being built, and tourist flows are growing every year, new police facilities are becoming a must. We have already stated, and I will repeat, that police infrastructure in all Georgian cities or regions must be built, equipped, and furnished in line with modern standards. The budget for building new police infrastructure is about 300 million GEL. Let me specify that this construction process will not apply only to police units, but also to almost every unit of the Interior Ministry, throughout the country. We expect this process to be finalized in three years.
My dear police officers, my friends, on behalf of our people and our Government, and that of my own, I thank you for your loyal, selfless service, for your professionalism and heroism. I am thankful to your parents, spouses, children, your family members, whose support is so dear to you in your work. Once again, Happy Police Day! God be your protector!"- the Prime Minister addressed police officers.
The President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili also congratulated the police on their professional day.
"I would like to congratulate everyone personally on the day of your profession, the day of your professionalism. For 31 years, the Georgian police have been able to transform an old Soviet institution that no longer exists. Today we have a modern police force in a contemporary, democratic country – professional force that invokes trust in citizens.
Maintaining order in the country is on you, the security of the citizens is on you, the internal stability of the country is indeed on you, and this is at a time when the world is facing a growing number of challenges. We have gone through very difficult times. We went through the Covid pandemic; you face all the challenges in the country in the first place. Your duty and obligation is the millstone for maintaining security, stability, peace in the country. This is a country, a state, if not you, then the state could not exist. Thank you all for all of that. Thank you for tireless work, sacrificing everything for this profession. This is the greatest service for the country. The protection of citizens' rights is upon you, and there is no contemporary democratic state without the protection of human rights.
It is also up to you to strengthen security, cyber security, fight against organized crime or other challenges that are so prevalent in the world today.
All of our partners already recognize your professionalism. Your cooperation with Europol is one of the examples of that. Our police attaches perform a very important job in different countries to demonstrate the professionalism of our police. I would like to express my appreciation for that as well – stated the President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili.
A minute of silence was observed at the event in memory of the police officers killed in the line of duty.
The Minister of Internal Affairs, Vakhtang Gomelauri awarded the successful policemen with various medals of the Ministry.
After the awarding event, the oath taking ceremony was held for the cadets of the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
At the end of the official part of the event, singer Oto Nemsadze and the ensemble "Georgian Voices" performed a song specially written for "Police Day 2022" - "I serve Georgia!"
