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Dimitri Shashkini – The entire idea of the rally on May 17 was anti-western hysteria 19:21 23.05.2013 “You cannot be willing to be with the West and at the same time share the values of Russia” – The former Minister of Defense, Dimitri Shashkini told New Post while assessing the events that took place on May 17 in Georgia. “I would never imagine that this day would come because Georgia has never been a oppressor, on the contrary - it had always been oppressed by other empires like Persia, Russia and etc. That is why Georgian society has always been tolerant and forgiving. Events of May 17 show a very bad sign of the fact that we forgot that these people are minority today and if tomorrow some other groups of people are minority someone may decide that they are also unacceptable. Tomorrow we may not like a woman wearing pants or a woman who smokes and this will lead us nowhere. We have seen the examples of where it led other countries – it was Sharia in Muslim countries and inquisition in Catholic countries.” – said Shashkini. The former Minister thinks that anti-western statements made during these days are unacceptable and talks about the attitude towards Georgians in Russia where Georgians are killed for their skin color. Dimitri Shashkini agrees with the Patriarch’s statement and says it was timely. “He saw everything. What is even worse is that people say they do not want the West any more where these rallies are tolerated and they want Russia back. I would like to remind our society that not many Georgians have visited Russia lately and unfortunately they have not seen what is happening there…Georgians get killed in Russia because Russians don’t like their skin color. It is really strange that people here forgot that Georgians are called “dark colored” and get murdered because they don’t look like other Russians. You cannot be half pregnant – you cannot want to be the West and at the same time, share the same values with Russia. If we want Russia to be our example, then we need to openly say that Russia is our model country where people are killed for their skin color and because they are the minority. I think it is important to underline that more emphasis was made on the fact that the West was “bad” rather than the idea of the May 17 rally itself. The Patriarch made a good and timely statement because he saw what was happening. The rally was just a reason that was used against anti-western hysteria” - stated Dimitri Shashkini.