TBILISI. Dec 29 (Interfax) - Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said in a televised address that he was outraged by the parliament overriding his veto against the law on amnesty.
"This day will be a day of disgrace for the Georgian parliamentary system. I vetoed this bill as I wanted to save society from its grave implications. I did not want child molesters, Russian spies, and organizers of coups and military mutinies to be freed under this bill. By overriding the presidential veto, the parliament took on responsibility for an anti-national act," Saakashvili said.
He presented a horrific picture of what is going to happen in Georgia after pedophiles, drug dealers, and robbers are freed from prison. He also particularly emphasized consequences of liberating Russian spies.
"The parliament is releasing all Russian spies. Russia is a state that really threatens Georgia's national interests. The pardoning of these spies means that there will be many more of these spies in the future in hope of clemency after the change of another government in Georgia. The Georgian parliament has set a precedent today allowing for high treason and a military mutiny, and all this will be forgiven when the government changes. This is a very dangerous precedent," he said.
"It is not only a festival of injustice today, but it is also a festival in one of the capitals, where they say that they have received very positive signals from the new Georgian government," he said.
"Georgia lost today, but I believe that this is a temporary loss. We will get everything back, but society should consolidate against injustice for this to happen," he said.
It was reported earlier that the Georgian parliament on Friday overrode Saakashvili's veto against the bill on amnesty, which the parliament had passed a week before.