HCA South Caucasus Network Made a Joint Statement
00:00, November 7, 2007 | Freedom of Assembly and AssociationOn November 7th, 2007 the coordinators of HCA South Caucasus network held a meeting in Tbilisi. During the meeting they assessed the situation of recent days in Georgia. The participants condemned the violence performed against the peaceful demonstrators and applied to the international society with the following text:
“We are the witnesses of the force used by the Georgian authorities against the opposition Members of Parliament of Georgia and protesting people.
The escalation took place and is getting stronger due to the destructive policy of the president of Georgia who hasn’t met with protesting people yet and did not have any dialogue with the opposition that is supported by people gathered in the square.
As a result, peaceful suggestions of the opposition changed into radical demands of change of authority and M.Saakashvili’s resignation.
Today the whole world has seen the sights of severe beating of people, gathered at the parliament in the morning after the leaders of the political parties had been taken out forcedly who declared about hunger-strike. We consider necessary the urgent intervention of the international organizations with the requirement to stop immediately the actions of authorities and the violence in the streets of Tbilisi with tear gas, rubber bullets and other techniques used against peace actions of the civil protest and to state a corresponding estimation to antidemocratic and inhuman behaviour of authorities.
We call and ask the United Nations, OSCE, European Commission, the Ambassador of EU in South Caucasus, Council of Europe, European Parliament, the Governments of democratic countries of the world and other international organizations and the international society to urgently interfere, as the stability and fate of democracy in the whole South Caucasus region are under danger.
Alexander Russetski
Anahit Bayandur
Arzu Abdullayeva
Arthur Sakunts
Akifa Aliyeva
Karen Ohanjanyan
Khamis Masimov