Peace Must Be Secured in South Ossetia!

An Appeal of the Human Rights Center

The Human Rights Center is extremely concerned about the recent urgent situation in the Tskhinvali region (South Ossetia). We consider that Georgian authorities and all of society should do their utmost to reduce and bring the current hostilities to a peaceful conclusion.

We have already learned a hard lesson with such tensions.  We should still remember how hostilities were tensed several years ago and now the terrible events at the time resulted in needless bloodshed. People died and peace talks were deadlock for indefinite period of time as a result of the military standoff.

We hold the opinion that society should realize that Georgia does not have right to use provocations as ploys in bringing about an uncontrolled situation in the conflict zone. Every exchange of fire takes us further away from our final goal of peaceful co-existence with the Ossetian people. The Human Rights Center considers that Georgian government should be most careful when carrying out any sort of activities within the conflict zone.

We believe that representatives of the Georgian Defense Minister and United HQ of Armed Forces made a serious mistake when they hoisted a Georgian Flag in the village of Sarabuk in the Tskhinvali region. This place is a strategic zone and such an action artificially tensed an already heated situation.

Military hostilities creates the threat that war will be resumed in the conflict zone, which further breeds fear of society being unprotected that will also result in instability. It is impossible to think about economic or democratic development in the country where gun-fire is always ringing out.

Creating an environment of a constant threat of war means that Georgia will forfeit trust at the international level, which can have long-term negative consequences.  Moreover, we will lose our partners who want to cooperate with us. We have their support at this point after long and trying times. Consequently it is necessary that every activity on the part of the Georgian government be done within the boundaries of diplomatic and peaceful mechanisms.

The Human Rights Center calls upon Georgian society and international organizations to not allow the situation to further escalate in the Tskhinvali Region. Furthermore,  it urges all stakeholders to take all necessary measures to guarantee peaceful existence for the residents of the conflict zone.