Open Letter to the Georgian Government

Open Letter to the Georgian Government

The revolutionary processes developed since November 23 showed the members of NGOs working in the field of Human Rights Defense in the light of future democratic development of the country, which is being looked at with hope by the majority of the population, us being among them.

We support progressive steps taken by the government, and would like to join in the fight against corruption and defend democratic values. However, we are very unhappy that many unlawful activities have been carried out by law enforcement bodies, and many completely unsubstantiated statements made by the mass-media have been the cause of major disappointment.

It is obvious that the government is carrying out some reforms using non-democratic methods and is violating fundamental human rights in the name of fighting crime. It is certainly necessary to fight crime, but many statements and actions in this fight have been unacceptable. It is absolutely unacceptable to convince the public that any methods are acceptable for achieving these objectives. Unfortunately, in spite of the fact that the government has been changed, the motto - “the end justifies the means”- has remained the same. People who were tired of illegal activities and the lack of culpability that rampant during the reign of the previous government now gladly listen to the threatening statements made by the president of Georgia, the Minister of Interior, and the Prosecutor General which refer to fighting against crime. But in these statements, we lawyers see not only the danger of human rights violations in the future, but also problems which have already begun. This trend is becoming more and more dangerous.

After the “Rose Revolution”, numerous incidents of torture, inhuman treatment by law enforcement officers, and lack of presumption of innocence were reported. In the press, government representatives openly call for cruel punishment for defendants, and discuss the liquidation of prisoners, which is reminiscent of repression in the previous century. We would like to remind the government that obeying our own constitution and acting according to international principles of human rights is the obligation of every state, which is especially important if the state is on the way to democratic development. We would also like to remind the government that the desired resluts of reform must be achieved legally.

We are afraid that because the government frequently acts outside the law, it will lose perhaps the most valuable achievement of the “Rose Revolution” - the trust that people have in the new government. Our organization has made 34 applications against the former government to the European Court of Human Rights. We do not want to see representatives of the new government as defendents in Strasburg, or to see an increase in the number of cases submitted against the state. For that reason, we appeal to our government to:

• Not permit the violation of fundamental human rights by state officials
• Operate in line with the Constitution and legislation of the country
• Ensure the independence and impartiality of the court
• Not permit political pressure on the court
         

  Non-Governmental Organization – “Article 42 of the Constitution” www.artilce42.ge