Statement Of Senator Mitch McConnell On The Death Of The Georgian Prime Minister

Statement Of Senator Mitch McConnell On The Death Of The Georgian Prime Minister

U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell inserted the following statement into the Congressional Record today on the death of Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania:

"Mr. President: I want to take a moment to share with the Senate the very sad news from Georgia this morning that Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania has died in what Georgian officials are calling an accident.

"According to government statements, he apparently suffocated during a meeting with his friend (and Georgian deputy governor), Zurab Usupov, from a gas leak in a space heater. Mr. Usupov also died.

"We send our condolences to his wife, three children and the people of Georgia. Prime Minister Zhvania led a crusade for freedom and democracy in Georgia that brought about the Rose Revolution.

"As Prime Minister, he led the fight to root out corruption and set Georgia on a new path where democratic institutions could flourish. At the time of his death, he was advocating a peaceful resolution to the problems in South Ossetia.

"Mr. President, we mourn his death. People throughout the world, who believe in freedom, democracy, human rights, and the viability of peaceful political opposition in a political struggle, mourn him as well. He will be missed."

http://mcconnell.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=231540&start=1