Georgia

Let me begin by thanking this institution and all who subscribe to its values and mission for providing me — and the citizens of my nation — with the opportunity to address you today. We are gathered here at a time when the challenges and opportunities for the institution of the United Nations have rarely been greater. And at this gathering, we must ask ourselves where hope for peace and prosperity would be, if the United Nations system were not such an active presence around the globe. My country salutes the ongoing efforts to make the United Nations even more effective and welcomes the candidacy of a Secretary-General whose competence and unique perspective on gender-equality issues will help advance that goal. Georgia is grateful for the contributions of the United Nations, for the commitment to build peace in our region and the efforts to create new opportunities for those most in need. I look forward to a continuation and deepening of that productive cooperation. In a few weeks time, we will be celebrating the third anniversary of the peaceful, democratic revolution that brought a new era of change and progress to Georgia and the entire region. In fact, that revolution caused reactions all over the world. Ours was a revolution that gave power to its citizens, and it did so by rebuilding the fundamental social contract upon which any democracy must rest — a contract founded on respect for the principles of transparency, accountability and responsibility. Today, citizens of Georgia’s democracy enjoy the fruits of fundamental human security, liberty, human rights and opportunity. We have changed the lives of our people, and we have done so by confronting and eliminating corruption, by fighting crime aggressively, by investing heavily in education and health care and by establishing new rules of the game — in a society where little of that existed in the past. The results of our efforts have not gone unnoticed. In the last two months alone, the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development — to name a few international institutions — have confirmed just how much Georgia has changed. Today, we are recognized as the number one reformer in the world, as one of the least corrupt States in Europe, as an outstanding place to do 06-53317 2 business and as a role model for other countries of the region. It is fair to say that our reforms, conducted in a part of the world where few thought they were possible, have in fact performed. In two weeks time, we will take another step, further solidifying the institutional framework upon which our democracy rests, when we conduct local elections. We are making that important investment in our democracy because we believe in the necessity of empowering our people with the responsibility and the tools to shape their own future. I look forward to healthy competition, transparent elections and a more vibrant democratic system. That, in our view, is the way in which we can provide our State with the capacity to protect the vulnerable and provide our citizens the means to build a better life. However, like any nation undergoing great change, we still have challenges ahead. Reform continues in the judiciary and in other spheres, local self-government is building capacity and employment remains the rightful expectation of every citizen. Our national aspirations are, however, not parochial. We see Georgia as an active and responsible member of the international community. To protect our achievements and consolidate gains, we should face common challenges and threats together. We are doing that together with our friends, partners and allies in places like Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo, where our troops help support international efforts to defeat terrorism and build lasting peace and democracy. Because of that commitment, we will continue to actively pursue our membership in NATO and welcome the most recent step forward, when just yesterday Georgia was invited to join in Intensified Dialogue with NATO. That is an important decisive step towards full membership. We do so because we believe democracies are stronger when they are united, and that lasting security is best achieved through alliances based on common values. We are a European nation and that is not a recent revelation. We would in fact be denying our history if we felt — or acted — otherwise. In the next days, my Government will be signing an action plan as part of the European Union’s European Neighborhood Policy. Thus, we will take another step, strengthening the bonds that unite the family of European democracies. It is the goal of my Government to become a model European neighbour. We have learned from past European experiences that the proper and peaceful conduct of neighbourly relations is the foundation of long-term peace and prosperity. That which Europe has achieved in the last fifty years, we seek to achieve in our neighbourhood in a much shorter time. That is our collective challenge and common goal. It will come as no surprise when we say that there are still grave obstacles to establishing lasting peace in my country. Reforms, especially when they are democratic, upset old interests and old habits. It is a simple statement of political fact that there are frequent attempts to undermine our reforms, our progress and our democratic way of life. We must all beware of those who believe that the presence of a stable democracy as a neighbour is threatening. Georgia’s democracy — like all democracies around the world — does not wish to be seen as threatening. The painful truth however, is that in Georgia today we have inherited the brutal legacy of unresolved territorial conflicts. Those conflicts undermine our stability and the stability of our region. In fact, that inherited legacy is directly responsible for the systematic abuse of the fundamental human rights of a large portion of our population. Just imagine for a moment, that children who find themselves victims of those savage events are denied the right to learn or speak their native language; that the elderly are not allowed access to adequate health care; that young people cannot receive a proper education and that hundreds of thousands of people cannot return safely to their homes where they belong, from which they were systematically ethnically cleansed and which in many cases have been illegally sold or destroyed. Further, the painful, but factual truth is that those regions are being annexed by our neighbour to the north — the Russian Federation — which has actively supported their incorporation through a concerted policy of mass distribution of Russian passports — a policy that is in direct violation of international law and is unprecedented. There are few more poignant examples of one State seeking to annex the internationally recognized sovereign territory of another State and thus undermining the other State. Today, I would like to ask all of you in this Hall, if any Members in this great Hall would welcome — or tolerate — such interference by another Power on their 3 06-53317 own soil. I doubt it. Yet, this is the situation we are facing today in Georgia. These are the actions that we must confront as we seek to consolidate and defend our democracy. Let us never forget that the victims of conflicts are real people, that the climate of fear that they live in is pervasive and that their suffering must come to an end. With those conflicts, we have also inherited frameworks for peacekeeping and formats for negotiation that no longer function. Simply put — they neither promote peace nor do they encourage genuine negotiation. If the purpose of our revolution was to guarantee to all citizens of Georgia the right to participate fully in the life and decisions of the State, then our revolution remains unfinished. Today, in Georgia’s conflict zones, we do not enjoy a status quo of stability and progress; that, unfortunately, is a popular fiction. Rather, we find ourselves facing a deteriorating situation in which sponsors of crime and illegality are gaining the upper hand. Let us be clear: Georgia is a responsible democracy, and if we are to take that responsibility seriously, we must acknowledge that embracing change is the only path towards a just and lasting peace. The shortcomings of the current peacekeeper system are well documented. A few examples, taken directly from reports provided by the United Nations and the OSCE, demonstrate how Russian-dominated forces on the ground have served to perpetuate rather than resolve the conflicts and how they have abused and made a farce of the principles of neutrality, impartiality and trust. By choice, they themselves — not we — have, in effect, annulled their own status. Since the deployment of Russian peacekeepers in Abkhazia, Georgia, more than 2,000 Georgian citizens of all ethnic origins have lost their lives in this zone controlled by peacekeepers, and more than 8,000 Georgian homes have been destroyed. For more than 12 years, Russian peacekeepers have been unable to facilitate the return of more than 250,000 internally displaced persons to their homes in Abkhazia, although this is explicitly stated in their mandate. The United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) and the OSCE have been cataloguing numerous violations involving the transfer of heavy weaponry such as tanks, armoured personnel carriers, artillery, mortar, anti-aircraft systems and cannons to the separatists, even as the Georgian Government has been taking action to unilaterally demilitarize. Russian peacekeepers have proved unable and unwilling to take any measures to halt such violations. In fact, some of them have directly encouraged such violations and assisted in them. In South Ossetia, 18 illegal military exercises using prohibited equipment were catalogued in the past year alone. Many involved the direct participation of Russian peacekeepers. This is all well documented. Unfortunately, the list goes on. Imagine. In the village of Chubirkhinji, during talks sponsored by the United Nations, an 8-year-old Georgian boy saw his country’s flag from the window of his school and exclaimed, “Long live Georgia!” At that very moment, in front of live television cameras and in front of United Nations observers, local separatist militias moved in, arresting every single teacher in that school and taking them to undisclosed locations. That was done before the very eyes of the international community by the proxies of Russian peacekeepers. Let us be under no illusion. The residents of our disputed territories are under a form of gangster occupation whose hope is that the international community will lose interest and reward the results of ethnic cleansing. That cannot be allowed to happen. If we stand by, we will have accepted the fact that indifference and illegality are the new rules of the international game. This leads me to the topic of Kosovo. As the international community seeks to find a just solution to this decade-long issue, we must take stock of the extraordinarily counterproductive efforts made by the Russian Federation to abuse this unique situation for the pursuit of narrow special interests. Here, too, we must be very frank: any attempt — and many have been made — by Russian officials to create or suggest a nineteenth-century-style solution involving deals and territorial swaps in exchange for agreement on Kosovo would be not only old-fashioned but deeply immoral. Mr. Wenaweser (Liechtenstein), Vice-President, took the Chair. I wish to remind all present that my country’s territories, just like yours, are not for sale or exchange. Any hint of a precedent for Abkhazia and South Ossetia would therefore be both inappropriate and reckless. 06-53317 4 The foundation of modern peace and security in Europe is based directly on the principle of respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty. Indeed, it is the cornerstone of the contemporary international order. If the Russian Federation persists in attempting to make this dangerous linkage and undermine that fundamental order, the impact will be far-reaching and a Pandora’s box will be opened, unleashing violent separatism and conflict not only in the Caucasus but across many parts of our globe. We all must be aware of this. I must assure the Assembly that, because we are a responsible democracy, Georgia will not allow this to happen. To that end, we will, however, work in the spirit, and on the basis, of the values that govern all civilized democracies. In this I do not believe that we are alone. It is our firm belief that, as Europe looks to intensify its relationship with its neighbours in the East, there is a strong interest in avoiding instability and in rejecting the unravelling of sovereign statehood. It is with these goals and threats in mind that I would like to share with the Assembly my thoughts on how together we can frustrate the aspirations of those who draw strength from the cynical politics of division and fear. Responsible nations have an obligation to act accordingly, and my Government is firm in its belief that we need to transform and replace the current framework for negotiation and peacekeeping in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. It is therefore our solemn duty and sovereign right to replace ineffective mechanisms with ones that work, substitute partial forces with ones that are fair, and replace fear with hope, and mutual suspicion with newfound trust. Our efforts are guided by principles that are simple, predictable and clear. We will consult, we will cooperate, and we will commit ourselves to avoiding any policy that is destabilizing. Our goal is the pursuit of peace and a peaceful resolution. But, again, let me be very clear. If we fail to unite in support of new mechanisms to advance peace, we will give the green light to those whose intentions lie elsewhere, and we risk plunging the region into darkness and conflict despite our best efforts to promote peace. That is why I am proposing today a fresh road map aimed at resolving the situation whose goal is the peaceful reunification of my country within its internationally recognized borders: a country in which all the diverse ethnic groups of Georgia — and diversity is our strength — can live in peace and harmony, as they did for thousands of years, and enjoy the fruits of democracy in a society that both protects and celebrates their unique heritage; a country that invests in new schools, hospitals and roads, rather than in weapons and armaments. The essential elements of this package must include the demilitarization of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, backed by the active engagement of the United Nations, the OSCE, the European Union and other international organizations. It must include direct dialogue between the parties on the ground, and here I mean the central Georgian Government and the separatist authorities, so that together we can assume responsibility for resuming the dialogue for peace among peoples and among different communities. These efforts can and will succeed through the establishment of an international police presence in both regions, backed, again, by the robust participation of the international community. Once such a force is in place, we will be ready to endorse its mandate by signing a comprehensive non-use-of-force pledge. More must also be done to restore trust and improve living standards, and we are prepared to rehabilitate the economies of both regions, which is a necessity. Why should our citizens be reduced to living in such miserable economic conditions? We are ready to contribute significantly to restoring access to the opportunities that the rest of Georgia’s citizens are now starting to enjoy. Additional confidence-building measures will also be implemented. Today, the situation in Georgia is marked by both opportunities and threats. Every day there are new provocations, and every day criminal elements consolidate their hold — actions whose consequences will have international implications. Examples include shooting at helicopters, as well as other incidents that have occurred in recent days. As we move forward to replace and transform those anachronistic mechanisms, we continue to stand ready to work with our neighbour, the Russian Federation, because Russia must become part of the solution. Consultations aimed at changing those mechanisms have already begun and will intensify in the weeks and months ahead. 5 06-53317 It is well established and universally accepted that under international law Georgia has the sovereign right to request the removal of foreign military forces that impede the peaceful resolution of conflict. We make no secret of our intention to exercise that right, because it is based on the most fundamental principles governing a nation and the international community. It is in the spirit of the United Nations Charter that we seek to bring the benefits of our democratic revolution to all the citizens of Georgia and to every corner of our country. It is with the deepest respect for this institution and on this occasion that I have chosen to signal not only our desires, but also our concerns. Let no one ever say that Georgia was not clear as to how it sought to protect democracy and the State. Let no one ever say that we sought to do so by other than peaceful means. There is simply no other path for our country — or the international community at large — to follow. We chose to join the standard-bearers of civilized democracy; let no one ever say that we did not act accordingly. We assume that all nations which share these same values are willing to make the necessary sacrifices for them, so that collectively we can achieve peace in our very important region. Let us, therefore, embrace this historic opportunity and not delay.