Petition

To the General Assembly of UN, To the General Secretary of UN, To the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, To the Euro-Atlantic European Initiative, To the Special Representative of the Secretary General of UN on Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, To the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe, To the Governments and Peoples of the world Let us support the peaceful way of restoring Georgia's territorial integrity!

Political reality is always changeable and unstable, and law, compared to it, by its nature, presents a steady normative system. Mankind created law with the purpose of placing the permanently changeable and unstable political reality into the frames of stable law. The idea of rule of law is accumulated in this thesis, that is, it is not the rule of law that must be adjusted to the political reality, but the political reality must be subjected to the firm principles of rule of law, among them to the worldwide recognized norms of the international law. This thesis has been approved by centuries-long practice and the civilized world follows it steadily, because it guarantees stability and development in the country and in the world. We demand the same of the government Georgia.
How can Georgia's present situation be assessed from the point of view of the international law today? Georgian's ethnic cleansing was carried out at the beginning of the 90-ies. Who did it in the Sukhumi and Tskhinvali Regions? The ethnic minorities - Aphsuans (contemporary Abkhazians) and Allans (contemporary Ossetians)? No. Everybody knows that it was Russia who did it! Historically Russia is incorrigible imperialist booth in east, west and south. Particularly, in 1921 Soviet Russia occupied and annex independent Georgia. Now Georgia is at the border of the self-determination and has intended to be free from the all variations of Russian persistence, including de-jure Russian peace military but de-facto occupational forces on the Georgian territory, which recognized by the all the member states of UN.
It is absolutely abnormal that Russia remains a key player in the negotiations over the status of the breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. However the West constantly advises us to find a common language with Russia. How shall we find a common language: when Georgians have been driven out of the main regions of Sukhumi and Tskhinvali? How shall we find a common language: when the remaining population by introducing a Russian passport system on the de-facto occupied territory Russia carries out its "creeping" annexation de-jure. It is strange why the International Governmental Organizations have not reacted to these facts adequately up to the present day. And it happens when the ethnic cleansing is the heaviest international crime and our Government has not used this "trump-card" for more than ten years. It is a suspicious fact. If it goes on like this, the whole Georgian nation will turn into refugees.
Where is a solution? We are involved into the discussion on the status of Abkhazia and "South Osetia", since the fact of ethnic cleansing of Georgians in Georgia - is ignored. We do not use this most significant international argument and are busy with the sophistry of the state arrangement. However, the repatriation of the refugees to their native places has nothing to do with the territorial arrangement of the state according to the standards of international law. The return of the refugees is the object of the care of the world society. According to Article I of the statute of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees: "The UN High Commissioner's function for Refugees is entirely non-political, but humanitarian and social... The main task of the High Commissioner for Refugees is to seek durable solution for refugees by assisting Governments to facilitate the voluntary repatriation of refugees"... However, the political arrangement is an internal affair of any country and is connected with the national sovereignty, the will of the whole population, and the populations will only be legitimate when the refugees return to their habitat.
At the same time, we must generally note, that today's status of Abkhazia and "South Ossetia" is the survivals of the Soviet Union, the "Impair of evil", which, fortunately, does not exist any more, and therefore the legal force of this survival equals to zero.
Some politicians assert that to the contemporary Abkhazians should be given autonomy because they do not have another motherland. Firstly, unlike the ancient Georgian speaking Abashs and Svans living on that territory, contemporary Abkhazians are descendants of today's North Caucasian Apzuas located on the territory of Russia. Secondly, in many countries of the world there are several hundreds of national minorities that do not have other motherlands. Imagine, what bacchanalia will take place in the world if all of them, or even part of them, demand autonomy?! Thirdly, if we follow the logic of the Aphzuan and Ossetian separatists, encouraged by Russia's imperialist forces, then North and South Apsua, North and South Armenia, East and West Azerbaijan "autonomous republics" should be established, later on, with the prospect of their being united, nothing much will be left of Georgia. Name the nation who had made such a foolish step or will make it. However according to the International and European standards, contemporary Abkhazians and Ossetians are the same kind of national minorities, as Greeks, Kurds, Armenians, Azers, Russians, Jews and others living in Georgia, and their rights should be equally protected. Proceeding from this, two republics in one republic is an absurd idea! If we give the autonomy to Aphzuans and Ossetians, it would be bad precedent for the rest of the World, because any national minority in other countries will carries out an ethnic cleansing of majority and then they demand state autonomy. However all of national minorities, as the citizens of Georgia, have Georgian nationality, are Georgians.
Many sorry Georgian politicians think that the Abzuans and Ossetians will agree to have the status of autonomy since Russia historically has the imperial intention to those territories. De jure Russia recognizes territorial integrity of Georgia, but continues de facto carry out "creeping" economical and political annexation of these parts of Georgia. More over it is known that Russia as incorrigible violator of international agreements. You don't forget how the Russian minister of foreign affairs in 2003 behaves in Istanbul? He demonstratively left the Summit when the question of Russia's unfulfilled obligations concerning the removal of Russian military bases from Georgia, including Abkhazia, was touched upon.
Does a real international mechanism of repatriation of refugees exist?
This international mechanism exists and it is as follows: according to the practice of the UN, the peacekeeping armed forces in the conflict zone are completed in the following way: there should not exist a single military unit from the neighboring countries of the respective conflict country. Concerning Georgia that is why there cannot be a single military unit from Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan. More over, there should not have been any unit from Russia, whose imperialistic ambitions towards Georgia have been known historically.
Such multi-national peacekeeping armed forces from the countries, that do not border Georgia, should be completed by the UN and stationed in Abkhazia and "South Osetia". Noteworthiness that Butros Butros-Gali, the former Secretary General of the UN, had a talking with Shevardnadze once about it. Shevardnadze did not take the advice. Instead of that, he made Georgia as a member of CIS, retaining his own and his clan's power and security, put blue helmets upon the heads of the Russian military units and gave up Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali Region de facto to Russia. The UN remained the status of a dumb observer. All of that, including giving out the Russian passports, is the last phase of the de jure legitimizing the "creeping annexation" of the Sukhumi and Tskhinvali Regions by Russia.
A question arises: do political ways of restoring territorial integrity not exist? There is no prospect of regaining these regions from Russia by only political means, for it is an incorrigible imperialist. Therefore the international law mechanism must be made more active. It is a decisive importance. Russia will not otherwise leave the conflict zones of its own free will if it is not deprived of the UN mandate. At the same time, the UN, on its part, will agree to take the UN mandate from Russia, if the UN multinational forces substitute it.
The UN multi-national forces actions were successful on the Asian and African continents, South East Asia, and other ‘hot points'. The practical result was that the majority of the Angolian, Shri-lankian, Congolese, Eritrean, Burundian, Tamil, Bosnian, Afghan, Hertzegovine refugees returned to their habitat. At present the UN is carrying out the repatriation of Somalian refugees to their native places. It surprises one why our government misses a real opportunity and does not make known comprehensively such an unprecedented fact for the modern international practice as the ethnic cleansing of the majority having a statehood? And what is most important, why it does not give priority to the question of repatriation of refugees?
Therefore, there was and there is only one way: the people of Georgia and its representative - Georgian Government must force the UN and the High Commissioner for Refugees by means of systematic peaceful actions to realise the operation of replacing the Russian blue helmets by the military units of the States that do not border Georgia in the conflict zone, i.e. they must use the internationally approved method of internationalization of peacekeeping forces. Preliminarily, Georgian Government must immediately declare about leaving of the Confederation of Independent States (CIS). Only such conditions will guarantee the peaceful and gradual repatriation of the refugees from Leselidze to Ochamchire. We stress it, from Leselidze to Ochamchire!
Thus according to the international standard and practice, the peaceful return of the refugees must be realized not by Russia's mononational forces, but the UN multinational ones. This demand is the most real way of the refugees' repatriation and the only peaceful way of restoring Georgia's territorial integrity. All the other decisions will bring us to the final conservation of the problem.
Therefore, we, a group of Georgia's neutral scholars and scientists guided by articles 1, 2, 6, 7, and 39 of the Constitution of Georgia, and Articles 1 of the International Covenants on Civil, Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights appeal to the UN and the High Commissioner of Refugees with only one request:

"To substitute Russia's peacekeeping (de facto occupational) armed forces in the Sukhumi and Tskhinvali Regions by the UN peacekeeping forces from the countries that do not border Georgia and give them the mandate of repatriation of the refugees".

July 07, 2004.

Initiative group:
An Active Member of New York Academy of Sciences,University Professor, Dr. Bizina Savaneli
Professor of Tbilisi Medical State University, Dr. Shota Mirashvili
Head of Chair of the Institute of State and Law at the Academy of Sciences of Georgia, Professor, Dr., Otar Gamkrelidze
Head of Chair at the Technical University of Georgia, Professor, Dr., Otar Zumburidze
Secretary-Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Georgia, Professor, Dr., Otar Kvesitadze
Head of Chair at the Technical University of Georgia, Professor, Dr., Levan Klimiashvili

" An Active Member of the New York Academy of Sciences Prof. Savaneli is an authority of the Philosophy of Law and founder of the International Human Rights Education in Georgia. He published Universal Human Rights Law, the first Manual in the history of Georgia." Excerpt from Update, New York Academy of Sciences Magazine, March 2003

update@nyas.org

1. III Congreso International Historia a Debate Santiago de Compostela ... ... Mr. BIZINA SAVANELI. D.O.B: ... "Professor Savaneli is a prominent ... Philosophy of Law... founder of International Human Rights Education in ...
...www.h-debate.com/congresos/3/ ponencias/cv/savanelli.htm - 20k - 2