200 soldiers join Georgian Armed Forces on Independence Day

About 200 young men have pledged their allegiance to serving their country and officially were welcomed into the Georgian Armed Forces during a special celebration today, Georgia’s Independence Day.

The conscripts made an oath to Georgia in front of the country’s President Giorgi Margvelashvili, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, Parliament Speaker David Usupashvili, Supreme Court Chairperson Nino Gvenetadze, Patriarch Ilia II, Government and diplomatic missions’ representatives and other officials.

President Margvelashvili, as Commander of the Georgian Armed Forces, administered the military oath taking ceremony at Freedom Square in the heart of capital Tbilisi today.

The official ceremony took place at the Freedom Square in Tbilisi and was attended by thousands of people. Photo by PM's press office.

American soldiers attended the ceremony as a sign of firm friendship between Georgia and the United States (US)' Photo by PM's press office.

After the ceremony, the President addressed the military personnel with a speech, while prior to the ceremony, a minute of silence was observed to pay respect to the memory of fallen soldiers.

In his Independence speech, Georgia’s President said independence was a basic and important premise for future development.

"Today, those standing here, our descendants will be the witnesses of the great victories, strength and unification of our country,” he said.

He greeted the Georgian society as a "multinational state” as well as those who were celebrating Georgia’s Independence Day abroad.

"Not only our generation but also many thousands of generations have competed for this day and we are grateful to them,” he said.

The official ceremony involved Prime Minister Garibashvili’s Independence Day speech too.

"Our independence was the beginning of the Georgian state,” said Garibashvili said.

"This means the building of state institutions, strengthening of our citizens and our state. Independence Day is a day devoted to our statehood.”

"We have a responsibility to earlier generations who embodied this idea, who left us a Georgian state, and a responsibility to our future generations. We must leave them a united, strong and fair state.”

The PM thanked the United States (US), European states and "everyone who supports the integrity and independence of our country”.

Independence Day celebration in Tbilisi, Georgia. Photo by Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.

At the end of the official ceremony several helicopters flew over the ceremony and nearby Rustaveli Ave, and dropped leaflets in the Georgian flag colours from the sky to the thousands of people below.