Appeal to the members of NATO - “NATO-membership for Georgia”

- NATO 60th Anniversary -

Appeal to the members of NATO - “NATO-membership for Georgia”

by the Georgian Diaspora community, 03.04.2009

NATO 60th Anniversary - Appeal to the members of NATO - NATO-membership for Georgia - englischer Aufruf 03.04.2009 als PDF-Datei - english appeal as PDF-file

The members of the Georgian Diaspora in Europe and the USA send their sincerest congratulations on the occasion of the 60th Anniversary of the Alliance and express all the best wishes for a peaceful future.

Georgian people, even if they live far from their homeland, have strong feelings and emotions about the fate of their beloved and coveted Georgia. Perhaps because of the distance they are worrying even more on what happens there.

And Georgian people have reasons to worry. For 3000 years, conquerors from every direction have coveted this wonderful land. The small Georgian states had to defend their independence against grand peoples like the Greeks, Romans, Persians, Arabs, Seljuks, Turks, Mongolians, Russians, and these peoples came again and again.

Now we appeal to give the independent and democratic states Georgia and Ukraine as quick as possible the MAP or even full NATO membership.

We appeal to continue to support the Georgian government and nation on the way to NATO. A repeat of 1921 – when Soviet Russia attacked and conquered the first democratic Georgian republic, because Georgia was abandoned by democratic Western states – must not happen again.

We strongly believe that NATO must integrate Georgia and Ukraine, because they belong to a complete European NATO community. Both have European Christian traditions and modern democratic state structures. By plebiscite in Georgia 77% of voters favoured Georgian membership of NATO. Only with their membership is a peaceful and stable future in Europe possible!

The NATO membership of Georgia as the central country and as the transit way for energy and goods in the Caucasus region is a guarantee for peace and stability in the whole Caucasus. For this purpose the territorial integrity of Georgia must be respected.

Energy security is also very important for NATO members in the future. Georgia as transit country to Europe from the Caspian and Persian region offers alternative routes beside Russia and reduces the already existing dependence on Russian energy net. Therefore security and stability in Georgia creates also security and stability in the whole Caucasus and Europe.

Good neighbourhood relations to the NATO member Turkey could be strengthened and Turkey in its geographical outstanding position would get more assistance and support.

In a certain way the situation of Georgia nowadays is comparable with the situation of West Germany in 1955. The incorporation of West Germany into the organization completed the NATO structure in front of the Soviet Union sphere. This act was directly executed without MAP, even in a tensed pre-war situation and protected Germany against Soviet aggression up to the present. And today is already the 230th day of Russia violating the “six-point peace plan” against Georgia and still occupying 20% of Georgian territory.

We want to commemorate You the history and situation of Georgia:
For 3000 years conquerors from every direction have coveted this wonderful land. The small Georgian states had to defend their independence against grand peoples like the Greeks, Romans, Persians, Arabs, Seljuks, Turks, Mongolians, Russians and these peoples came again and again.

Georgia never started campaigns and wars to conquer land outside of traditional Georgian settlement areas or to oppress neighbours. The culture in Georgia was always high developed, Christian belief became already 327 state religion and the Silk Road through Georgia was connecting Europe with the Orient. Georgia was always a multi-cultural country and lived in peace with religious and ethnic minorities, which were integrated in the society and even state administration. For example Ossetian people came in middle age time as refugees, survived as ethnical group and could keep their language and traditions because of the tolerance of Georgian nation up to the present.

At last the growing Russian empire reached the Caucasus in the 18th century and managed 1801 the annexation of the weakened, for help against Turkey asking Georgia. But brave Georgians survived then the russification in the 19th century with the foundation of the “Democratic Republic of Georgia” in 1918, immediately recognized by Germany and the Ottoman Empire, 1920 by Soviet Union, 1921 by the League of Nations. This, however, did not prevent the country from being attacked by Soviet Russia one month later. The sovietisation started then, because democratic Western states were not ready to recognize the consequences for the future. The elected government of Georgia went into exile in France, about 50,000 Georgians were executed and killed in 1921-1924, more than 150,000 were purged in 1935-1938.

In the time of perestroika freedom-loving Georgian people were the first, who started with demonstrations for freedom and independence in 1989. They could realize this at last in 1991, following examples of European democratic states. This transition got immediately undermined by the Russian influence, which reinstalled the old soviet nomenklatura, using for this also the ethnical conflict zones. The Rose Revolution in 2003 brought to power young politicians, who were educated in Western countries and started a new policy against corruption and for economical development inside the country. In foreign policy Georgia chose the way to EU and NATO, supported by US and European organisations and politicians. Because Russia by itself didn’t go this way to modern democratic structures and tolerant behaviour to his neighbours, at 2008 the Russian government finalized the plans from the past against Georgia and occupied with its military superiority, what they wanted to possess by themselves, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The other aim, to unseat president Saakashvili, was interrupted by diplomatic international interventions. By the way they damaged the Georgian infrastructure, the reputation of the Georgian government and the hope of a peaceful future in the Caucasus and Europe.

Georgian diaspora recognizes a “dual strategy” of Russian foreign policy:
bargaining, but then realizing and taking, what only they want, ignoring agreements !

The policy of the Russian government still doesn’t respect the free decisions of other nations about their future. This can’t be the political order of the 21th century.

Russian parliament passed an 25% increase of military spending and the government introduced an aggressive style of rhetoric, far away from peaceful cooperation and fair dialogue between nations.

The unilateral recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and the support of the de facto regimes with military equipment shows, that Russia continues heating up the ethnic conflicts and the separatism in Georgia. Additionally Russia started to build military bases in Abkhazia and South Ossetia and signed agreements about military cooperation and protection.

Russia still doesn’t abide by the “six-point peace plan”, signed in August 2008 by Russian President Medvedev, French President Sarkozy and Georgian President Saakashvili.
( Georgia asked for the additions in parentheses, but Russia rejected them. )

1. No recourse to the use of force.
2. Definitive cessation of hostilities.
3. Free access to humanitarian aid (addition rejected: and to allow the return of refugees).
4. The Armed Forces of Georgia must withdraw to their permanent positions.
5. The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation must withdraw to the line where they were stationed prior to the beginning of hostilities. Prior to the establishment of international mechanisms the Russian peacekeeping forces will take additional security measures. (addition rejected: six months)
6. An international debate on the future status of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and ways to ensure their lasting security will take place. (addition rejected: based on the decisions of the UN and the OSCE)

by Russian side broken treaties and agreements against Georgia in the past:

1783 Friendship “Treaty of Georgievsk” with Russia, but: no military help against a Persian attack and later annexation in spite of the guaranteed sovereignty!
1920 “Moscow Peace Treaty” with the recognition of Georgia by Soviet Union under the condition, that Georgia should be neutral. Therefore British troops left Georgia and shortly afterwards in 1921 the Red army attacked unprotected Georgia.
1989 „Constitution of the Soviet Union“, which guaranteed the „inviolability of persons“, but on a demonstration in Tbilisi Russian special units killed 22 Georgian citizens.
1991 „Constitution of the Soviet Union“ didn’t allow Russian military help for the Ossetian separatists. In 1990 no formal intervention against Ossetian independence declaration!
1992 Armistice in Abkhazia and 1993 peace treaty in Abkhazia, but both times instead no peacekeeping, military help for separatists and offensive with genocide of Georgians.

We want to remember You to statements and opinions out of the past to Georgia:
German Chancellor Angela Merkel
“Georgia will be, if it wants, and it wants, member of the NATO”, Angela Merkel said in the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Sunday directly after her meeting with the Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili. “The situation did not change for me at this point.”
(Welt, 17.07.2008)

Former US-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
“And you know, I don’t mean to sound at all cavalier about it, but there was one huge territorial dispute at the inception of NATO. It was called East Germany. And we did not prevent, therefore, West Germany for – from being a founding – for coming into NATO. And ultimately, it was in NATO that Germany not only overcame its division, but overcame its very difficult history with its neighbours through a democratic peace. And we need to remember that history, when we talk about territorial problems for Georgia.”
(Warsaw, Poland, August 20, 2008)

Estonian President Toomas Ilves
“It is highly regrettable, that the NATO couldn´t agree on, to offer these two countries (Georgia and Ukraine) the membership of the Access Programm (MAP). Obviously this was interpreted by Russia, that these countries remain in their area of influence.”
(FAZ, 13.08.08)

Russian President Dmitrij Medwedjew
“NATO provoked the Caucasus conflict.”
(SZ, 19.09.2008)

Former US-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
“The conflict in Georgia, thus, has deep roots. And clearly, all sides made mistakes and miscalculations. But several key facts are clear: On August 7th, following repeated violations of the ceasefire in South Ossetia, including the shelling of Georgian villages, the Georgian government launched a major military operation into Tskhinvali and other areas of the separatist region. ... But the situation deteriorated further when Russia’s leaders violated Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity – and launched a full scale invasion across an internationally-recognized border. … What is more disturbing about Russia’s actions is that they fit into a worsening pattern of behavior over several years now.“
“Russia’s invasion of Georgia has achieved – and will achieve – no enduring strategic objective. And our strategic goal now is to make clear to Russia’s leaders that their choices could put Russia on a one-way path to self-imposed isolation and international irrelevance.”
“We cannot afford to validate the prejudices that some Russian leaders seem to have: that if you press free nations hard enough – if you bully them, and you threaten them, and you lash out – they will cave in, and they’ll forget, and eventually they will concede.”
(Renaissance Mayflower Hotel, Washington, DC, September 18, 2008)

Stichworte: Georgien, Abchasien, Süd-Ossetien, Russland, Krieg-2008, Appell, Sprache: deutsch, englisch, Archiv: #