“Congratulations on Georgia’s Independence Day. This year marks 34 years since Georgia regained its independence. Each year of freedom holds special significance, as it represents continued development, strength, and consolidation of our state,” said the Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili during a speech on Independence Day.
According to Papuashvili, the nation’s guiding values remain rooted in three sacred treasures passed down by our ancestors: our homeland, our language, and our faith.
“With the strengthening of our national self-consciousness, our army grows stronger, our borders are more secure. Our statehood and the faith of our people that we will never lose our independence, freedom, and sovereignty are gaining strength. Today, you swore an oath before our homeland, our state, God, and our nation. Standing before the five-cross flag, you declared “I swear” five times.
We must carry this oath with us throughout our lives—remembering the sacred promise we made and the purpose behind it. The world today is turbulent and uncertain. Values are collapsing before our eyes; friends and foes are often indistinguishable. In such times, what anchors us? It is the knowledge passed down by our ancestors, the love and experience we share, our collective memory, and the millennia we have endured as a people.
Our guiding light remains the three divine treasures entrusted to us: our homeland, our language, and our faith. Georgia has never existed without these three, and it never will. They are our living heritage—ancient yet ever-relevant. Losing even one means losing ourselves as a nation and a state. For us, homeland is not mere geography—it is home. A home we have inhabited since the dawn of history. Its protection is the sacred duty of every generation. That is why our national mission is to rebuild and reunite—together with our Abkhazian and Ossetian brothers and sisters—to fortify our common home: Georgia.
Our language gives us the foundation of a national state—the ability to understand, love, and support one another. It holds our memory and our cultural and spiritual code and distinguishes us as a unique nation.
And above all, we are a people loyal to our faith. Our strength as a nation flows from the faith and loyalty of each individual, regardless of religion or ethnicity. Those who mock faith, abandon values, and glorify the foreign at the expense of the native can never become true builders of the homeland. False oaths, intentions, and teachings only sow division and hatred.
The future of this country cannot be entrusted to such forces. That is why we swear to protect our three sacred pillars—to safeguard our independence so that every citizen in cities or villages, at home or abroad, may stand firm in our ancient language and steadfast faith to declare their loyalty to Georgia. As long as we remain faithful to our homeland, our language, and our faith, no evil force can defeat us.
Strength is in unity! Regardless of religion, ethnicity, or location, we are one Georgian nation—bound by a common spirit. Long live a united, independent, and free Georgia! May God be our protector!” the Speaker stated.
