Georgia

I am grateful for the opportunity to address the General Assembly at its sixty-fourth session. Each year, we gather here to confront our common challenges and to express our vision for the world we share, the world for which we are common stewards. And each year we promise to do more and to do better to live up to and defend the principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter. This year, we meet on the twentieth anniversary of the most successful triumph of those principles. Twenty years have passed since Europe and the rest of the world were liberated from one of the cruellest episodes in modern history. The fall of the Berlin Wall brought an end to an artificial line that separated nations, divided families, strangled freedom and imprisoned millions. Remarkably, that formidable wall crumbled without a single shot being fired. It yielded to the will of those millions who yearned for liberty and it yielded to the determination of a united West. Twenty years ago, a universally feared military force was defeated by the force of a universal truth — the call for freedom and the simple desire to live a dignified life. When the Berlin Wall was dismantled 20 years ago, it did more than free the captive nations of the Warsaw Pact. It unleashed the hopes, dreams, aspirations and talents of millions of citizens living under the tyranny of the Soviet Union — including my own nation’s people. Today, these citizens make up more than a dozen diverse nations, linked together by the common desires and ambitions to live in a world free from spheres of influence — free from external control — and to be able to choose their own destiny. Today, as we look back at that historic chapter and the impact it has had on our world, we can rightly be proud of what was achieved, the tremendous progress that has been made, and the prosperity that a lasting peace has brought. But if we are to evaluate the past honestly, we must admit that the present remains bittersweet. For there is a real danger that, rather than build on this great chapter of idealism and progress, States and leaders will allow a return of the dull complacency and cynical power politics that led to so many of the worst moments of the past 100 years. And the moment is bittersweet because, regrettably, not everyone drew the same lessons of hope and inspiration when that wall came down. Indeed, 20 years ago, when freedom’s spirit swept that wall away, few imagined the repression and threats it represented would so soon reappear and that the hopes unleashed in 1989 would so quickly founder. Yet today, a Europe that is whole, free, and at peace remains a goal still to be achieved — a project not yet accomplished and a challenge, unfortunately, unmet. Today, I stand before the Assembly as the democratically elected leader of a proud and sovereign nation. But, tragically, Georgia today, like Germany a generation ago, is a nation with a deep wound running through it. As Václav Havel and other leading voices of Europe’s conscience declared earlier this week, Europe is today divided by a new wall built by an outside force — a wall that runs through the middle of Georgia. This wall has been built by the same people who miss the Berlin Wall, who regret its fall, who did everything so that the wall would not fall. This wall cuts off one fifth of our territory and, once again, divides Europe from itself, creating new lines of repression and fear, artificial dividing lines inside the internationally recognized borders of a European nation. It may be unpopular, but I am obliged to speak the truth. And the truth is that this wall’s existence mocks the progress we seemed to have made since that bright, shining day in Berlin 20 years ago. This new wall tells us that, once again, the rule of force has trumped the rule of law and the rule of reason. I see no irony — only tragedy — in the fact that this wall is being built by the very people whose ideas were collectively and decisively defeated and rejected just 20 years ago. I take no comfort in the fact that 57 09-52425 those who thought the wall’s destruction was the single greatest tragedy of the twentieth century now lead these deplorable efforts. One year ago, my country was invaded. Tanks, warplanes, warships, bombs and State-directed cyber- hackers descended upon our towns, villages, cities, infrastructure and economy. Hundreds of our people were killed within days and thousands were wounded. Tens of thousands of innocent civilians were forced to flee in the face of ethnic cleansing, which independent human rights organizations have documented very well. Today, these acts of brutality have gone unaddressed, in direct contravention of international law, the norms of this institution and internationally signed agreements designed to reverse these wrongs. These are the facts that confront us as we gather here today, and these facts have a name: armed aggression, ethnic cleansing, mass violation of human rights and continuing illegal occupation. Those who unleashed war in our region and in my country and led ethnic cleansing campaigns in Georgia said yesterday — in this very Hall, from this very rostrum — that they had to do it to “implement the principle of the indivisibility of security” in order to “move beyond the legacy of the past” (). This is la langue de bois — very classical langue de bois from the old days. The only thing that they stepped over in reality was our sovereign border. They said they had to do it, just as their predecessors had to invade Poland — because of Poland’s reckless desire to be free — in 1939, Finland in 1940, Hungary in 1956, Czechoslovakia in 1968, and Afghanistan in 1979. The same people had to erase a capital of 400,000 inhabitants — Grozny — to destroy and exterminate the proud Chechen nation and kill tens of thousands of innocent women and children. And I am saying on the record that the clock is ticking, and they will have to do it again, and they will do it again unless they are stopped by all of us. Recent history indeed is a powerful guide to understanding what kind of actions these leaders undertake in order to bring what they call security and stability to my nation. But I want to say clearly today that the people of Georgia cannot and will not accept a new dividing line in our country. That is an unchangeable commitment. Under these daily menaces, military provocations and all kinds of lies directed against us from many different sources, my nation will not crumble and we will never surrender to this brutal force. The wall across Europe is not a matter of concern to Georgia alone. Indeed, in this matter the very values of this institution are under threat. The protection of human rights, respect for the dignity and equality of all persons, the inadmissibility of ethnic cleansing and the recognition of the inviolability of sovereign borders — all these are values that form the bedrock of this institution. We certainly did not choose this course of action, but it is up to us to recognize and reverse its illegality. As a community of responsible nations, it is our collective responsibility to uphold international law and to insist that borders cannot and will not be changed through the use of force. It is up to us to tear down this new wall peacefully with the power of our ideas and the strength of our convictions. I want the world to understand clearly how we view this new wall and our strategy for tearing it down. To start with, let me state outright that we do not expect it to disappear overnight. We understand that it is a very, very hard process, but the history of the Berlin Wall teaches us that patience must never be passive. We should never become resigned to the idea that this situation should be accepted or tolerated. The Berlin Wall fell only because passionate, disciplined, energetic partisans of freedom, both behind and outside that wall, worked with focus, discipline, courage and determination to remind the world community of the illegitimacy and illegality of that wall, and to take action to hasten its demise. I would like to take this opportunity to thank those States Members of the United Nations for their votes recognizing the right of return for all who have been displaced and for all the victims of ethnic cleansing. I would like to thank all those nations across the globe that resisted illegal pressure — and in many cases attempts at bribery — by standing firm in their non-recognition of those territories of Georgia now occupied by a foreign force. I want to thank all those nations that have been so generous in pledging and providing the vital economic support that has proved invaluable in helping to build shelters for and rebuild the dreams of those the invasion has made refugees and internally displaced persons. On behalf of all my fellow citizens, I wish to thank them for their 09-52425 58 generosity, especially at a time of such extreme hardship around the world. Beyond the comfort provided by their material support, I want to thank all of Georgia’s friends who have defended not only our sovereignty, but our right to forge our own path in the world, to choose our own alliances and to reject the nineteenth-century notion of spheres of influence, which led to so much warfare, repression and hardship in the world’s history. I want to thank those nations and leaders of the European Union who today have committed their monitors to Georgia for the promotion of peace. The Georgian people are also grateful to United States President Obama for his unyielding words and very strong declarations of support for our sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as to Vice President Biden for visiting Georgia this summer and for underscoring, in meeting with refugee children, America’s commitment to our democracy and our right to choose our own future. In particular, I want to thank the United Nations for more than 16 years of contributions to peace on the ground in Georgia through its presence in our country — a presence recently and abruptly halted by the unilateral actions of one single Member State. Our future depends on us, and so today I also want to report to the United Nations on the progress Georgia has made, through our own efforts, in the year since we suffered Europe’s first invasion in the post- cold war era. One year after losing hundreds of our sons and daughters and after seeing hundreds of thousands of our people displaced, the Georgian people have regrouped and made real progress down the path of peace, freedom and individual liberty. I would like to pay tribute to their courage. Just a few days ago, in a refugee camp outside Tbilisi, I saw young children demonstrating their unstoppable will to have a normal and free life. These were children of all ethnic backgrounds. Indeed, most of the refugees from South Ossetia are ethnic Ossetians, and they fled from so-called liberators or were forced out. The children I saw in that refugee camp were seizing the opportunity to learn how to compete in the modern age using new computers, mastering English and advancing their pursuit of knowledge, despite the odds. These children are the future of my country. These children symbolize the path Georgia took after the invasion. We are following through on the promises I made at this rostrum last year to strengthen our democracy, foster pluralism and expand individual liberties. Already, we have set reforms in motion that within the next year will advance the progress of the Rose Revolution and irreversibly deepen our identity as the freest State in our region. Already, we have permitted nearly three months of opposition protests to proceed unhindered, even though they closed down the main streets of our capital and paralysed Government buildings. Our actions reflect our deep commitment to pluralism and our respect for dissent and freedom of speech. In a situation where enemy troops are just two dozen kilometres from the capital, with their artillery pointed at the city centre, we have already given opposition-controlled broadcast stations license to transmit across the nation. Already, we have brought opposition parties into the meetings of our national security council, basically keeping no secrets from them and giving full access to all State information, so as to ensure that our security policies reflect the unified will of the nation, beyond faction and beyond party. Already, we have committed to the direct election of all mayors in a few months’ time, and we have begun the development of new electoral rules, based on consensus and the agreement of different political parties, in order to ensure the greatest possible legitimacy of the next local, parliamentary and presidential elections. Along with all these efforts and our commitment to democratic reforms, our biggest imperative today is to continue to integrate all different political interests and groups in promoting a better everyday life for our citizens. We are also doing everything we can to rebuild our economy. The Georgian people are skilled and hard- working, but they are enduring the double punishment of the global economic downturn and the economic consequences of last summer’s invasion. Our biggest imperative at home is to create more employment, and we are pursuing that goal every day. Indeed, we are heartened and proud that the World Bank recently ranked Georgia as the eleventh most attractive country in the world for doing business, when only a few years ago we ranked 122nd. We also rank first in Eastern and Central Europe, just one year after the invasion. And we will continue to take steps to strengthen our economy and create more employment. 59 09-52425 We are resolutely committed to our vision of a sovereign and unified Georgia. Together with all of Georgia’s diverse ethnic groups and religions, we will prevail over the illegal occupation and reverse the results of ethnic cleansing. Abkhazia is the birthplace of Georgian civilization. Since the days of the ancient kingdom of Colchida — which was the birthplace of one of the most interesting and ancient European cultures, beginning with Jason and the Argonauts — it has been a valuable and vibrant part of our journey through history. Just a few years ago, it remained a very vibrant part of Georgia. And that most vibrant and successful part of Georgia has now been emptied of more than three quarters of its population. Gardens, hotels, theatres and restaurants have been replaced by military bases, minefields and graveyards. It will take time, but I am sure that Abkhazia will once again be what it was — the most wonderful part of Georgia — and that the occupation will be merely a part of history. I came here today to deliver a simple message. We believe that Georgia is winning the peace, and here is how the Assembly can measure our commitment. Did we crumble in the face of the brutal invasion? No. Did we crack down on dissent? No. Did we reduce freedom in the face of recession? No. Even in the face of adversity, we continue to contribute to the common goals established by our friends and the international community at large. I am proud to say that Georgia is in the vanguard of the battle against climate change, producing 85 per cent of its electricity from green and renewable sources. That percentage is growing, and within the next three years we will cover 100 per cent of our needs. Meanwhile, we are on the front lines in confronting terrorism throughout the world with our allies, including in Afghanistan, where our troops will serve side by side with others from around the world. We are winning the peace because, every day, the nations of our region become more and more independent from our common imperial legacy. Every day, regional States increasingly reject the tremendous pressure generated by our common past. Every day, the idea that we can resist revanchist tendencies is spreading further, and every day the arc of independent nations — from Ukraine to Moldova and from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan to Mongolia — is telling the world that spheres of influence are a thing of the past. Georgia is not only a country; the new wall that cuts across our territory has transformed Georgia into an idea and a test. It is an idea of freedom and independence and a test for the world — a test that the world must not fail. If the world passes the test, then everyone will be amazed at how quickly the region will develop its tremendous potential. An active, patient victory over this new wall would be a crucial step in the effort to build energy security for free nations and a united front against lawlessness and terrorism. Georgia is a place where all cultures, influences, religions and traditions meet, providing an antidote to the threat of a clash of civilizations. Yesterday, President Obama said clearly that new walls should not divide us, that the future belongs to those who build and not to those who destroy, and that cooperation and values must prevail against division and cynicism. Today, I want to stress how much we share that vision and how vital that vision is to my country, my region and beyond. Twenty years ago, the velvet revolutions opened a new era of international relations and a new journey began towards a free and cooperative world. I am confident that we will prevail on that journey, but only if we are not complacent or passive and only if we support and defend our deeply held values. After all, only this week, the clarion voice of those velvet revolutions two decades ago — the voice of Václav Havel — offered us a solemn reminder about the dangers that we have yet to overcome. Speaking about the new wall that now divides Georgia, he wrote, together with other prominent Europeans, that “the failure of western democracies to respond to the dismemberment of a friendly nation, albeit a small one, can have very serious global consequences … The European Union was built against the temptation of Munich and the iron curtain. It would be utterly disastrous if we were to appear in any way to condone the kind of practices that plunged our continent into war and division for most of the last century. At stake is nothing less than the fate of the project to which we continue to dedicate our lives: the peaceful and democratic reunification of the European continent”. 09-52425 60 We must not fail to hear Václav Havel’s call, President Obama’s call and the call of one of my personal heroes from Russia, Anna Politkovskaya, who was so brutally silenced. I remember my conversation with Ms. Politkovskaya just a few days before she was murdered. She was my friend and my hero, and I remember the hopes that she expressed. Their calls echo across two decades of progress — progress that has inspired the greatest hopes but that remains very fragile. Today and together, we must provide answers. Today and together, we must show leadership and vision. Today and together, we must demonstrate our common resolve. And most of all, today and together, we must provide an example, showing that the power of our values and ideals will finally unleash the tremendous human potential within all of us.