Georgia, 2007

I am grateful for the

opportunity today to address this sixty-second annual

gathering of the General Assembly.

On behalf of my nation, I would like to

congratulate the Secretary-General on his innovative

leadership and on the exceptional progress he has made

in his first nine months. His steadfast vision for peace

in Darfur, his commitment to rallying the world to

combat climate change and his determination to

eradicate global poverty stand true to the founding

principles of this institution.

Let me also extend my congratulations to

Mr. Srgjan Kerim on his assumption of the presidency

of the General Assembly and express our appreciation

to his predecessor, Sheikha Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa,

for her very effective leadership.

Today, in this great Hall, we have an opportunity

to reaffirm one of the core principles of the United

Nations "the right of every individual to pursue a life

of liberty in dignity” by voicing our support for

hundreds of thousands of peaceful protesters, monks

and ordinary citizens, daring to seek freedom for the

people of Myanmar. We must stand fast with them. It is

my deepest hope that we will look back and remember

this saffron revolution of the Burmese monks as

another step in the inevitable march of liberty across

the planet. It echoes the rose and orange revolutions

that freed the peoples of Georgia and Ukraine from

hopelessness and stagnation just a few years ago.

When we returned Georgia to its rightful path of

peace, democracy and transparency, we did so in the

knowledge that our country was not an island. We

knew that, in order for our freedom to endure, we

would have to help advance the peaceful aspirations of

others around the world, as a responsible member of

the international community of democratic nations.

That is why Georgia has lent its sons and daughters to

peacekeeping efforts in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq.

And just this month, we committed a new battalion to

serve under French command in Kabul.

This is why we have reached out to our

neighbours in Europe, Central Asia and beyond to

promote peace through cooperation, trade and deeper

engagement. Together, we are working to help ensure

new and diverse supplies of energy for European and

global markets. We contribute to the integrated effort

by building new roads, railways and pipelines that

weave together the countries of our region, ensuring

that people and goods flow across our borders in a

manner that is safe, legal, predictable and fair. In short,

our vision for the region is guided by the belief that

mutual interdependence brings mutual benefit.

I believe that the people of Georgia have served

as a catalyst and a living example of how governing

transparently, through democratic principles, breeds

lasting stability and shared prosperity. This is not, of

course, a new path for Georgia, but rather a return to

our European home and our European vocation, so

deeply enshrined in our national identity and history.

And, while our most challenging relationship

today remains with our neighbours in the Russian

Federation, my Government is committed to addressing

this subject through diplomatic means, in partnership

with the international community. I can say this with

confidence, because Georgia is a nation that is rooted

in justice, the rule of law and democracy. This is an

irreversible choice made by the people of my country.

For evidence of that, one merely has to look at how

Georgia has responded to the many provocations it has

faced in the past year, which range from missile attacks

to full-scale embargoes and even destructive pogroms.

Rather than lash out angrily, we have redoubled our

commitment to democratic development and

comprehensive reform. My Government and I have

done everything we can to show how much can be

achieved when good governance opens the door to the

development of human potential.

Today Georgia's economy is growing at over 14

per cent. Our gross domestic product per capita has

more than doubled in four years. Corruption is the

lowest among transition economies around the world

and one of the lowest in Europe, according to the

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

And as of today, our country has taken its place

alongside some of the most developed economies in

the world like Australia, New Zealand, the United

Kingdom, Singapore and Hong Kong, Iceland, when

the World Bank and the International Financial

Corporation ranked Georgia as the 18th easiest and

best place to do business because of institutionalized

transparency and a lack of corruption.

We were 140th in world, one of the worst

rankings, and now we have one of the best rankings

for business and in terms of economic development

and economic conditions. That is proof of what can be

achieved when institutions function and when rhetoric

is replaced with results.

Four years ago, I spoke at this Assembly about

Georgia being a test case for the modern challenges of

democratic transition. Today, it is clear that Georgia's

transition has led to real transformation. I could recite

a long list of other successes since the Rose Revolution

and, equally, I could elaborate upon the many profound

challenges that remain. But let me focus on what is

perhaps our most important duty; the imperative to

create a better future for the next generation.

We will not rest until every school in Georgia is

filled with empowered and confident students, who

have the benefit of new books, a modern curriculum,

full Internet access, many computers, until every

student gets a computer, and motivated teachers. Just

four years ago our schools were barren and

desperate - many lacked desks, windows, heat and,

above all, hope.

Today, reforms in education are sowing the seeds

of lasting prosperity, and our students are leading the

way. That is the Georgia we promised. And that is the

Georgia we have created. It is also the Georgia we will

and we must defend.

For our democratic project is not yet complete -

far from it. Georgia today is not whole. The vast

majority of residents from the regions of Abkhazia and

South Ossetia have been unable to reap the benefits of

the Rose Revolution that I have just shared with you.

Tens of thousands of children in these regions are

raised amidst the sounds of gunfire instead of

fireworks. Their homes are not their own, and their

dreams are distant and frightening. They are prisoners

of the morally repugnant politics of ethnic cleansing,

division, violence and indifference.

But we will not rest until justice is restored, until

the rule of law is accessible to everybody.

Today, I regret to say that signs of hope are few

and far between. The story of Abkhazia, where up to

500,000 men, women, and children were forced to flee

in the 1990s, is of particular relevance - one of the

more abhorrent, horrible and yet forgotten ethnic

cleansings of the twentieth century. In the time since

Russian peacekeepers were deployed there, more than

2,000 Georgians have perished and a climate of fear

has persisted.

It is worth pausing to remember that today's

Abkhazia is populated by less than 20 per cent of its

pre-war population. It is an area with very fertile land,

beautiful beaches, lovely resort areas and wonderful

landscapes. Yet it is all deserted, houses have been

destroyed, and signs of hopelessness, desperation and

annihilation abound.

The brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing uprooted

ethnic Georgians, Armenians, Estonians, Greeks, Jews,

Russians and others who had lived peacefully in that

land for centuries, creating a depopulated and

criminalized wasteland.

President Ilves of Estonia spoke today of the

parallels between Darfur and Abkhazia. Of course, we

should remember Darfur, but we should not forget

Abkhazia. President Ilves knows of what he speaks

because tens of thousands of ethnic Estonians were

also deported and their houses confiscated. In 1992, the

Estonian Government had to evacuate some of these

people by air under the fire of the people that were

attacking this peaceful middle-class population in

Abkhazia.

The United Nations has tried to bring peace to

this region, but it has not succeeded in making Georgia

whole again, despite its unwavering recognition of

Georgian sovereignty. Every day that passes without a

peaceful resolution to the conflict, every day in which

forcibly displaced persons are not allowed to return

home, marks a slow erosion of the credibility of this

House and of its ability to fulfil its mission. We cannot

allow this situation to continue.

Fourteen years have passed without a single in-

depth analysis being carried out as to why peace has

not triumphed or why the legal framework has not been

restored and has therefore failed. For this reason and in

order to inject a new and positive dynamic into the

process, I am calling on the United Nations today to

launch a comprehensive review of all aspects of the

Georgian peace process. The necessity of this review of

the peace process is self-evident, and it must result in

fundamental changes.

Changes are necessary in the negotiation format,

which has stalled, and is stagnant and

counterproductive. That in turn must lead to real

changes in operations on the ground. Years of biased

and unbalanced actions by supposed peacekeeping

forces must be replaced with competent and neutral

ones that will be engaged in peacebuilding and

peacemaking, rather than in trying to maintain the so-

called status quo, while in fact being biased and

preserving the injustices that have happened there.

That is the only path forward. Out of this process,

we can expect genuine and relevant changes in the

legal framework. Although we need effective economic

rehabilitation, the main thing we need is a meaningful

and implementable plan to bring about the return of

displaced persons, guaranteeing their property rights,

the establishment of lasting security and the

resumption of direct dialogue on the ground without

any preconditions and without any adverse movements

from sides that are against dialogue.

Because of the lack of political will, countless

lives in that part of Georgia are being wasted. And

inaction has its costs.

One of the greatest voices for peace in the last

century, Martin Luther King, captured the essence of

the problem when he said:

"Man's inhumanity to man is not only perpetrated

by the vitriolic actions of those who are bad. It is

also perpetrated by the vitiating inaction of those

who are good".

Let us fill the vacuum with new energy, new

commitments and a new common resolve. I want to

take this opportunity to elaborate on the foundations of

our proposals for a lasting and peaceful settlement.

First, we offer the alternative of security and prosperity

to those who have been poisoned by the separatist

illusion. We offer and recognize the right to full self-

governance for all who live in Abkhazia and South

Ossetia, within our sovereign territorial borders under

international guarantees. We offer constitutional

changes to enshrine the protection of minorities

including language rights, the protection of culture and

education. And we are even willing to offer special

property rights to all interested groups in order to

enhance their identities and to guarantee and secure

that their long-term survival will be protected by the

State and the international community. Finally, we

offer and welcome a robust role for the European

Union and a greater role for its engagement on the

ground.

In short, we offer a level of autonomy grounded

in the very same principles that have guided the rest of

Europe in promoting peace and prosperity throughout

its multi-ethnic tapestry.

The continued ignorance of the ethnic cleansing

in Abkhazia, Georgia is a stain on the moral account

book of the international community. These disputes

are no longer about ethnic grievances; they are about

the manipulation of greed by a tiny minority of

activists, militants, militias and their foreign backers,

at the expense of the local population, the displaced

and those who are deprived of their property and

fundamental rights - even the right to speak and study

in their own language.

The choice is between a Georgia that is willing to

welcome them back with every constitutional

recognition of their identity and their rights or a bleak

future where they are the objects of propaganda, fear

and poverty, and where they are pawns in a big

geopolitical game.

I have faith that we will succeed. Their masters

and foreign manipulators will not succeed.

Where does the international community stand?

My dear friends, that is the essence of the issue.

But the violent hold of the armed separatists and

their patrons is not unbreakable. In South Ossetia, the

courage of the people, of common men and women

who have chosen dialogue over division, and

reconciliation over recriminations, is making a

difference. Unfortunately, those who do not share a

vision of peace and reconciliation have chosen to

oppose peace in South Ossetia, fearful that the power

of the people and the desire to live in freedom may

undermine their cynical plans.

As I speak before you today, elements from

Russia are actively and illegally building a new, large

military base in the small town of Java, in South

Ossetia, in the middle of Georgia, on the other side the

Caucasian ridge, very far from Russian territory,

hoping that arms and violence will triumph over the

will of the people. And this dangerous escalation is

taking place under the very noses of international

monitors, whose job it is to demilitarize the territory.

I have brought a very conclusive body of

evidence with me today, to show our friends in the

international community the truth that others conceal. I

bring that disturbing fact to the Assembly's attention

because reckless acts such as that must be highlighted

and countered. Our collective job today is not to ask

how this is possible. Rather, it is to act with

determination and unity. We have all the evidence, we

have video footage, documented facts and all the other

evidence, and we will present it to the international

community, to anybody who has voiced interest in this

issue.

Sooner rather than later, the march of liberty will

prevail. In the past year, the residents of South Ossetia

have started down a different path. They are seeking to

participate in Georgia's economic growth, to benefit

from our new hospitals and our revived schools and to

share in and contribute to our democracy. It is the

ordinary residents of South Ossetia engaged in

extraordinary acts of heroism who are making a

difference. It is the children who took their summer

holidays on Georgia's seacoast, only to return home

and be barred from their schools or menaced by official

authorities, who will tear down the barriers of hate. It

is the residents rebuilding their towns under gunfire. I

have specially met with the workers who continued to

build schools, movie theatres and even discos under the

gunfire of elements that wish to stop them. These are

very courageous people of different ethnicities who

want to live in peace and who are willing to take risks,

even with their own lives for the sake of peace and a

better future for their children.

It is the courage of local leaders such as Dmitry

Sanakoev, a former separatist leader of South Ossetia

who once bore arms against Georgia, who will lead the

way. He was chosen by the people of South Ossetia in

democratic elections to represent them. This vision will

be embraced. I believe we should respect the

courageous expression of the ethnic Ossetians who

have decided to take that path within Georgia.

The only obstacle to the integration of South

Ossetia is a separatist regime that basically consists of

elements from security services from neighbouring

Russia that have no historical ethnic or cultural links to

the territory whatsoever. I think that is a very

temporary development Now is the time to seize this

historic opportunity to avoid the escalation of violence,

which is a possibility and a major risk, especially in the

territory of South Ossetia.

In closing, I would like to share the insights of a

woman whose name is on our minds and in our hearts

today: Aung San Suu Kyi. Her courage, her resolve and

her reflections on peace and democracy, cannot be

imprisoned. They travel across every border and barrier

to inspire us all. Her words are of profound relevance

to the people of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. I believe

they also must be a beacon for all of us in this Hall.

"Even under the most crushing State machinery,

courage rises up again and again, for fear is not

the natural state of civilized man. It is man's

vision of a world fit for rational, civilized

humanity which leads him to dare and suffer to

build societies free from want and fear."

Those words poignantly reflect what is taking

place today in the streets of Burma.

In our own corner of the world, for the past four

years, the people of Georgia have invested their own

sweat and treasure to build such a society - one free

from want and fear. We now must ensure that Georgia

whole and free includes all the people of South Ossetia

and Abkhazia.

I believe I have been clear in stating Georgia's

intentions and equally clear as to where we are

unshakeable in our principles - principles, I stress,

that are shared by all nations that seek legality and

stability in the international system.

We are committed to a peaceful and honest path.

Unfortunately, our interlocutors do not seem to be. This

morning, a senior Russian official made the very

unconstructive, unsubstantiated and untrue accusation

that Georgian forces killed two innocent people in

Upper Abkhazia. What the senior Russian official

failed to say, however, is that one of the people was a

lieutenant colonel of the Russian military and that he

was killed during a law enforcement operation against

armed separatist insurgents. One has to wonder, what

was a lieutenant colonel in the Russian army doing on

in the Georgian forests, organizing and leading a group

of armed insurgents on a mission of subversion and

violence? I want to ask our Russian friends: is there not

enough territory in Russia? Are there not enough

forests in Russia for Russian officers not to die in

Georgian forests, on Georgian territory, for them not to

fight on foreign territory for God knows what cause for

their nation? Whatever the explanation, we regret any

loss of life. That person was recruited from Russian

peacekeepers and State and local militia. We do not

wish anybody such an end to their life.

Indeed, we will do everything possible to avoid

violence and further hostility and confrontation. This

reckless and dangerous pattern of behaviour must not

continue.

In conclusion, I want to express the gratitude of

Georgia for the efforts of the United Nations and its

staff. I trust that I have demonstrated that we have the

opportunity and, in Georgia, the desire to resolve our

common challenges so that the international

community can commit its resources to resolving the

great challenges of our age. Let us not lose any more

time.