Friday, August 15, 2008

Appeal of Georgian Parliament to the International Community

The whole world, with deep concern, is closely watching how Russia is carrying out full-scale occupation of Georgia. Encroachment of sovereignty of an independent State and its military occupation represents a direct challenge to security of Europe and whole democratic community.

Land-based operations and bombardments are being carried out on the whole territory of Georgia. Russian armed forces barbarically bombed not only military and industrial facilities, but also peaceful population in different Georgian cities and villages, including capital of Georgia Tbilisi, as well as cities Kutaisi, Gori, Kaspi, Kareli, Marneuli, Bolnisi, Zugdidi, Poti, Oni, Khelvachauri, Khashuri, Senaki, and Dedoplistskaro. In addition, Hospitals were bombed resulting in killing of wounded people and medical personnel there.

The Russian aviation and artillery have also ruined Tskinvali and nearby villages, as a result of which many Georgian and Ossetian peaceful people have been killed.

In the course of several days the Russian artillery and aviation have been bombing the upper Abkhazia, and in the aftermath the Russian airborne forces launched an air, sea and land-based attack. Russian armed forces along with illegal formations of the separatists occupied the upper Abkhazia in violation of the United Nations Security Council’s resolutions and other international agreements.

Currently, the substantial part of territory of Georgia is occupied by Russian military units. The occupants seized the central highway connecting eastern and western Georgia, disrupted economic links between different regions, blockaded the Poti port and the capital of Georgia, which may result in humanitarian catastrophe.

Open terror and marauding are being carried out in the occupied territories and peaceful Georgian population is being subjected to ethnic cleansing. The upper Abkhazia and Tskinvali region have been empted of population. Part of the population is under arrest and is subjected to cruel and inhumane treatment.

The international community must stand up to the aggression, brutality and full-scale ethnic cleansing carried out perpetrated by the Russian Federation.

This aggression against Georgia constitutes the threat not only for Georgia but for the whole world.

Russian Federation’s aggression against neighboring State has demonstrated once again that Russia is not and can not be a mediator or peacekeeper in the conflict regions of Georgia, because the so-called peacekeeping forces of Russia have turned into occupation forces. They must be replaced immediately by international peace contingents.

The Georgian Authorities and Georgian people shall not reconcile themselves with the presence, in any possible forms, of occupation forces of Aggressor State on the territory of Georgia.

The Parliament of Georgia declares those territories occupied by Russian armed forces as occupied territories and calls upon the international community to do its utmost in order to make sure that military units of Aggressor State immediately leave the territory of Georgia, including the Tskinvali region and Abkhazia.

The Parliament of Georgia calls upon interparliamentary organizations and the Parliamentary Assemblies of international organizations to terminate the mandate of Parliamentary delegations of Russia, as representatives of Aggressor State.