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Human Rights Center Addresses to Government – Confidence Building and Peacebuilding Will Happen Through Acknowledging Mistakes of the Past

November 18, 2013
 
Human Rights Center responds to the statement of the US Ambassador to Georgia Richard Norland, which he made during his meeting with the students of the Tbilisi State University on November 14.

Although his statement – “Georgians were treating Abkhazians and Ossetians the same way as Russians were treating Georgians and Georgia will have to apologize for the mistakes of the past” –is exaggeration and incorrect interpretation of historical relation between Georgian, Abkhaz and Ossetian peoples, Human Rights Center believes, Georgian state shall think over Mr. Ambassador’s suggestions about acknowledging and re-evaluating mistakes of the past.

Human Rights Center fully agrees with the US Ambassador, who said that “when Georgia tries to make itself economically and politically attractive to these regions, you should also re-evaluate, acknowledge and apologize for past mistakes.”

It is a pity that part of society and several representatives of the government and parliamentary majority had incorrect reaction on Mr. Norland’s statement that shows that process of acknowledging mistakes will still take a while and “hot heads” will still influence the public opinion, who claim that “lost with the war can be returned only with the war.”

As a result of the follow-up reactions, Mr. Ambassador even had to make additional clarifications on his statement, where he noted that evaluation of past mistakes and apology for them do not mean refusal to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia. Namely, Mr. Norland said that “in future, any attempt of restoration of Georgia’s territorial integrity shall be accompanied with reconciliation process and all parties involved in it shall regret their mistakes.”

Human Rights Center launched Sorry Campaign in 2007 to apology to Abkhaz people for not preventing the brothers killing war, for not resisting the bullets, which killed both Georgian and Abkhaz people. 

In response to the initiative, the Human Rights Center became target of insulting and hatred from the government and militarist part of the society. Ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili was particularly aggressive towards the Campaign: “Shall we apology for what they have done?! For what?! I know several international groups, not state ones, who pay money for similar stupid initiatives.”

However, a lot of people supported and positively responded to the Campaign. Citizens joined the Appeal to Abkhaz People and interested people can still sign this petition on the website: www.apsni.org. In the frame of the Sorry Campaign, Human Rights Center published newspapers in Georgian, Abkhaz, English and Russian languages. The editions were uploaded on the website, where people can learn more about the Campaign (Georgian-Abkhazian version http://www.apsni.org/admin/editor/uploads/files/GAZETI/abkh-geo1.pdf; English version http://apsni.org/admin/editor/uploads/files/GAZETI/sorry_campaign_Eng.pdf).

Unfortunately, primitive and militarist approach of the Ex-President Saakashvili and his political team towards existing conflicts in Georgia, had only negative impact on the reconciliation process and in 2008 we underwent another war that finally destroyed confidence between Ossetian and Georgian peoples; the state lost new territories both in South Ossetia and Abkhazia; the hatred between conflicting parties increased and peacebuilding became almost impossible. 

Human Rights Center calls on the Government of Georgia, Parliamentary majority, who are responsible for the ongoing process, to take effective measures for the confidence building and peacebuilding activities. Conflicts inspired by Russia for the past twenty years shall be seriously reconsidered. 

We believe that Russian occupation is double disaster for Abkhazians and Ossetians living in the occupied regions – for everybody who lives there without any support from the Georgian state. Fences, truncheons and walls, which separate the nations, will not be dismantled unilaterally. It is urgently necessary to neutralize dark past and cruelty with forgiveness and reconciliation. 

As for apology, (like a citizen commented on our appeal statement) “it is much more difficult to apology than to pull a trigger.”

Human Rights Center 

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