YouSaid · the spoken record

Mikheil SAAKASHVILI

lines on the record: 223
first: 2006-09-24
most recent: 2013-09-24
sittings or episodes: 8
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“We all want — I personally want — Russia as a great partner and not as an enemy. That is why the Georgian Government supports the reset policy of the United States and the European Union’s engagement with Russia. Nobody has a greater stake than we have in seeing Russia turn into a country that truly operates within the concert of nations, respects international law and — this is often connected — upholds basic human rights. I want to tell the Russian people that they will always be welcome in Georgia, as tourists, as students, 5 10-54833 as businessmen, as journalists or simply as friends, but never as occupation forces.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“And this dream will become possible in a reunited and free Georgia, a Georgia that will build positive relations and even intense cooperation with the Russian Federation, a Russian Federation acting as a rational international player and not as a revisionist or revanchist Power; a Russian Federation that will have chosen cooperation instead of confrontation and has dropped the politics of embargoes and intolerance, and instead of imposing crackdowns will be a good partner to cooperate with. My second call is, therefore, to the Russian leadership, to whom I say: You face a choice. Either you take a major part in the ongoing transformation of our common region, accepting that other countries are your partners and not vassals, or this transformation will happen without you.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“You are part of a common history, a common culture and a common future. Your differences enrich our proud national tapestry. Rather than see you succumb to annexation by the emerging Russian empire, we invite you to build together with us a multicultural and multi-ethnic society that will be a regional model for tolerance and respect. I dream about the day when — as has happened several times in our common history — an Abkhaz or Ossetian citizen of Georgia becomes President and leader of a democratic and European Georgia.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“In which direction is history moving? Certainly not in the direction of those who can deploy thousands of tanks in a very short time, but who cannot even take care of their soldiers or prevent them from fleeing. Those who refuse to modernize their society and to open their political system may have an interest in war and instability. But in Georgia we know, and we have always known, that peace is our interest — the very precondition of our survival and our success. I have three calls to make today. My first call is addressed to my fellow citizens, ethnic Abkhaz and Ossetian, who live behind the new Iron Curtain that divides our common nation. I want to tell them once again: We will protect your rights, your culture, your history — we will work with you, we will work for you.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“The dismemberment of Georgia has failed categorically — and even the Russian Federation will one day need to reverse its disastrous policy. Imagine how uncomfortable those leaders from faraway countries will be when Moscow itself chooses to comply with international law and withdraw its troops. Because that day will come. Those who claimed a military victory in 2008 now face a diplomatic and political defeat. And in Moscow the occupation and annexation will soon be debated. They are in fact already debated in the corridors of the Kremlin, because this situation is not sustainable, even for the Russian leadership. We have now in our country Russian soldiers deserting their units and fleeing to the Georgian side through the wall erected by their superiors, just as Soviet soldiers did in Berlin during the cold war.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“It is noticeable that, despite enormous pressure and multiple threats from Moscow, not a single former Soviet republic has recognized this dismemberment of Georgia. It shows — to the great surprise of those who describe the fall of the Soviet empire as the worst catastrophe of the twentieth century — that the old times are definitely over. It shows that the change I evoked earlier has already taken root. It shows that all the former captive nations of Soviet times are now independent States that can determine their own policies. It is noticeable — and it is noticed in Moscow. I solemnly call today on those three, isolated Member States that recognized Russia’s de facto annexation of our territories and legitimized the Russian-led ethnic cleansing of around 500,000 citizens, to acknowledge that it is never too late to reverse a bad policy.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“It forms the substance of the strategy on occupied territories that my Government has put in motion to engage the populations held hostage by the Russian occupiers, on the other side of the new Iron Curtain that illegally divides our country. Like the Berlin Wall, walls like the one dividing Georgia will be brought down not by bombs, but by the commitment of citizens to build a free, united country — and by the commitment of the world 10-54833 4 community to enforce international law and the principles of the Charter. This commitment is expressed in the refusal of nearly the entire world to legitimize the Russian occupation and the result of ethnic cleansing by recognizing the so-called independence of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region, a de facto annexation of Georgian territories by the Russian Federation.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“It refers, for instance, to our calm when militias supported by Russia’s federal security service (FSB) killed our policemen at the occupation line, or to our willingness to free criminals working for the occupation regime when the other side was kidnapping teenagers who wanted to visit their empty house just after their school time. Constructive unilateralism means that we behave in a civilized and patient way, even when our enemy uses barbaric methods or implements an impulsive and irrational policy. It means that — even if peace requires both sides to come to the negotiating table — one can pave the way to peace on one’s own, without the other side’s cooperating. This constructive unilateralism is based on the idea that peace is in the supreme interest of Georgia, that peace is the only path to the de-occupation of our country.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“Hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons, victims of the ethnic cleansing campaign led by the Russian forces, are still prevented from entering their homes. How did Georgia respond to those violations of international law and human rights? We answered with patience and calm. We implemented — fully — the ceasefire agreement and went beyond our obligations, without ever using as a pretext Russia’s refusal to comply. Last month, the head of the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia, Ambassador Haber, publicly praised Georgian policy as “constructive unilateralism”. What does constructive unilateralism mean?”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“But I will tell the Assembly that all those successes remain bittersweet for me, because they cannot be savoured by all the people of Georgia — not by those who live in fear for their basic rights in the occupied territories, nor fully by the 500,000 internally displaced persons and refugees who were expelled from their homes and cannot go back and regain their property. For the last two years the Russian Federation has been violating the ceasefire agreement brokered in August 2008 by my good friend French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who was acting at the time on behalf of the European Union. The Russian army has not withdrawn as required by the ceasefire. European Union monitors cannot enter Russian-occupied areas of Georgia, where a constant military build-up is taking place.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“I am speaking of the lawlessness bred by the Russian occupation. Our two occupied regions exist in a black hole of governance. Today, in those lands, criminals act with impunity. The most elemental human rights are abused. Drugs and weapons are smuggled. People are trafficked. And potential weapons of mass destruction are moved in and out of the territories, posing a threat to us all. Three days ago, we met in this very place to discuss the Millennium Development Goals and our progress in meeting them over the past decade. I shall not tire the Assembly with a recitation of our efforts to achieve the Goals, the strides we have made in halving our poverty rate and decreasing by two thirds our extreme poverty, reforming our educational system and improving health care.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“We are fighting other common scourges, now focusing especially on the terrible danger of nuclear trafficking. Many times over the past seven years we have intercepted criminals who had in their possession the essential ingredients for nuclear devices. Every step of the way, we have cooperated with our allies in the international community to ensure that Georgia is doing everything possible to confront this global danger. Here I must pause to draw attention to a grave problem that resulted from the partial occupation of my country — a problem that everybody should worry about, even those who overlook and do not care too much about violations of international law, who forget 500,000 internally displaced persons and refugees; even those who dismiss repeated assaults on basic human rights, civil liberties and the environment.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“We answered those relentless attacks by reinvigorating our reforms, opening our economy even more, and accelerating our social transformation. This is our policy, and no provocation will ever make us change it. Thanks to this commitment to reform, Georgia is now a responsible international player. I am proud that my nation is fighting international terrorism in Afghanistan. I pay tribute here to our nearly 1,000 soldiers who are risking their lives every day in the south of Afghanistan to help the Afghan people secure a stable, terror-free future. I pay 3 10-54833 a special tribute today to company commander First Lieutenant Mukhran Shukvani, who died earlier this month. Mukhran was killed in the cause of peace, while serving alongside NATO forces in the dangerous Helmand province of Afghanistan.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“Once a place where foreign investors were kidnapped by gangs and mafias, Georgia is now ranked by the World Bank as number 11 for ease of doing business in the world — a ranking we hope to further improve this year — and the number 1 in Eastern and Central Europe. These rankings make clear why Georgia’s only interest is a peaceful resolution of conflicts: Georgia is winning the peace — Georgia is winning through peace. Our northern neighbour expected us to change our path when it imposed on us a full embargo in 2006, invaded us in 2008, ethnically cleansed Georgian regions and illegally occupied 20 per cent of our territory, an occupation that continues to this day. All these actions had one objective: to destroy the Georgian laboratory of political, economic and social reform — to prevent the region from changing.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“The Georgian people have tasted freedom, the absence of corruption, the fruits of economic development, the emergence of a true meritocracy. They have changed their behaviour, their vision of the world, their dreams even, and they will mightily resist any attempts to reverse those changes — no matter whether those attempts come from inside or from abroad. This is our great victory: we helped to create something that goes far beyond the leaders and parties that led the Rose Revolution. We helped to create a revolution of the heart and the mind. Once one of the most corrupt countries of the post-Soviet world, Georgia has made greater gains in the fight against corruption, as witnessed by Transparency International, than any other country over the past five years.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“Georgia is back, first, as a laboratory for political reform and social transformation. More than ever, we are committed to the promise at the heart of the Rose Revolution to turn a failed State into a modern European one. Our local elections last May were proof of that transformation and a milestone for our democracy, the result of seven years of patient, constant, tireless reform. Our objective is clear: to create a more institutionalized system of liberal democratic governance. My term as President ends in 2013. These changes will survive my presidency and the current Government, because we are not speaking only about changes of leadership or reforms of institutions; we are speaking about something deeper and stronger — something that The Economist of London recently branded as Georgia’s “mental revolution”.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“When I addressed the Assembly two years ago — in the aftermath of a full-scale invasion, and when the Russian Foreign Minister was openly discussing with foreign diplomats and the international community the possibility of Georgia’s total annihilation — few people believed that our country would survive as an independent and democratic State. Few people thought that our Government would endure, that our economy would survive the war and the global crisis, that our reforms could continue with renewed vigour, or that we would make steady progress towards the European Union and Euro-Atlantic structures. Well, I am proud to tell the Assembly, two years later, that we have succeeded against all the odds, thanks to the commitment of the Georgian people and to the support of friends and allies. Today, Georgia is back.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“From the times of Pushkin, Lermontov or Tolstoy to the present day, the Caucasian mountains have been a symbol of wilderness and paradoxes, a region where individuals and souls were fundamentally free, but where citizens were brutally oppressed; where people and cultures were deeply tolerant, but where Governments and authorities created artificial divisions; where shepherds would cross 5,000-metres- high mountains, but where rulers erected walls nobody could cross. I have come here today to tell the Assembly that those times are vanishing, that the dream of unity and peace is possible.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“As the President of a young democracy that recently suffered from war and invasion and is still under partial occupation of an important part of its territory by a nuclear super-Power, I can say this: peace is our most precious common goal and, at the same time, our only path towards the other goals we share. To those here and in my own country who see no way to reverse the armed occupation or reduce regional tensions, I say: peace is not only the goal, it is also the means to any goal. Today my region is at a crossroads. For too long, it has suffered from division, injustice, conflict, colonization and violence. Today, however, change is possible. In fact, change is already taking place. I came 10-54833 2 here to speak about this change and to promote a specific vision — a vision of a free, stable and united Caucasus.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“The road to peace, security, and justice is still a long one. The remaining obstacles are enormous. But the goal is so noble and necessary that no effort should be spared. That is why today I would like to pay tribute to all those who are taking risks for peace. Yes, risks. Because peace is never obvious, never easy. That is certainly true in the Middle East, and it is true in my region as well. One of our common goals, then, must be to enable those risk-takers who have the courage to defy conventional wisdom and forge new paths to peace. Peace is not an easy way. But peace is the only way.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“It is always a great honour for me to address the annual gathering of the General Assembly. In uncertain times such as ours, cooperation is more necessary than ever. Unless we stand together and invent new approaches to the global challenges we all face, we shall be torn apart by fear and self- destructive interests. Gatherings such as this, therefore, are valuable only if they allow us to shape a common vision for concrete action towards peace, development, solidarity and justice. This month, thanks to the coordinated efforts of the international community and the leadership of President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton, direct peace talks have resumed between Israelis and Palestinians. This is a very important moment, because they resume precisely when many people had given up hope for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“09-52425 60 We must not fail to hear Václav Havel’s call, President Obama’s call and the call of one of my personal heroes from Russia, Anna Politkovskaya, who was so brutally silenced. I remember my conversation with Ms. Politkovskaya just a few days before she was murdered. She was my friend and my hero, and I remember the hopes that she expressed. Their calls echo across two decades of progress — progress that has inspired the greatest hopes but that remains very fragile. Today and together, we must provide answers. Today and together, we must show leadership and vision. Today and together, we must demonstrate our common resolve. And most of all, today and together, we must provide an example, showing that the power of our values and ideals will finally unleash the tremendous human potential within all of us.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“Speaking about the new wall that now divides Georgia, he wrote, together with other prominent Europeans, that “the failure of western democracies to respond to the dismemberment of a friendly nation, albeit a small one, can have very serious global consequences … The European Union was built against the temptation of Munich and the iron curtain. It would be utterly disastrous if we were to appear in any way to condone the kind of practices that plunged our continent into war and division for most of the last century. At stake is nothing less than the fate of the project to which we continue to dedicate our lives: the peaceful and democratic reunification of the European continent”.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“Today, I want to stress how much we share that vision and how vital that vision is to my country, my region and beyond. Twenty years ago, the velvet revolutions opened a new era of international relations and a new journey began towards a free and cooperative world. I am confident that we will prevail on that journey, but only if we are not complacent or passive and only if we support and defend our deeply held values. After all, only this week, the clarion voice of those velvet revolutions two decades ago — the voice of Václav Havel — offered us a solemn reminder about the dangers that we have yet to overcome.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“It is an idea of freedom and independence and a test for the world — a test that the world must not fail. If the world passes the test, then everyone will be amazed at how quickly the region will develop its tremendous potential. An active, patient victory over this new wall would be a crucial step in the effort to build energy security for free nations and a united front against lawlessness and terrorism. Georgia is a place where all cultures, influences, religions and traditions meet, providing an antidote to the threat of a clash of civilizations. Yesterday, President Obama said clearly that new walls should not divide us, that the future belongs to those who build and not to those who destroy, and that cooperation and values must prevail against division and cynicism.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“Meanwhile, we are on the front lines in confronting terrorism throughout the world with our allies, including in Afghanistan, where our troops will serve side by side with others from around the world. We are winning the peace because, every day, the nations of our region become more and more independent from our common imperial legacy. Every day, regional States increasingly reject the tremendous pressure generated by our common past. Every day, the idea that we can resist revanchist tendencies is spreading further, and every day the arc of independent nations — from Ukraine to Moldova and from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan to Mongolia — is telling the world that spheres of influence are a thing of the past. Georgia is not only a country; the new wall that cuts across our territory has transformed Georgia into an idea and a test.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“We believe that Georgia is winning the peace, and here is how the Assembly can measure our commitment. Did we crumble in the face of the brutal invasion? No. Did we crack down on dissent? No. Did we reduce freedom in the face of recession? No. Even in the face of adversity, we continue to contribute to the common goals established by our friends and the international community at large. I am proud to say that Georgia is in the vanguard of the battle against climate change, producing 85 per cent of its electricity from green and renewable sources. That percentage is growing, and within the next three years we will cover 100 per cent of our needs.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“Since the days of the ancient kingdom of Colchida — which was the birthplace of one of the most interesting and ancient European cultures, beginning with Jason and the Argonauts — it has been a valuable and vibrant part of our journey through history. Just a few years ago, it remained a very vibrant part of Georgia. And that most vibrant and successful part of Georgia has now been emptied of more than three quarters of its population. Gardens, hotels, theatres and restaurants have been replaced by military bases, minefields and graveyards. It will take time, but I am sure that Abkhazia will once again be what it was — the most wonderful part of Georgia — and that the occupation will be merely a part of history. I came here today to deliver a simple message.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“Our biggest imperative at home is to create more employment, and we are pursuing that goal every day. Indeed, we are heartened and proud that the World Bank recently ranked Georgia as the eleventh most attractive country in the world for doing business, when only a few years ago we ranked 122nd. We also rank first in Eastern and Central Europe, just one year after the invasion. And we will continue to take steps to strengthen our economy and create more employment. 59 09-52425 We are resolutely committed to our vision of a sovereign and unified Georgia. Together with all of Georgia’s diverse ethnic groups and religions, we will prevail over the illegal occupation and reverse the results of ethnic cleansing. Abkhazia is the birthplace of Georgian civilization.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“Already, we have committed to the direct election of all mayors in a few months’ time, and we have begun the development of new electoral rules, based on consensus and the agreement of different political parties, in order to ensure the greatest possible legitimacy of the next local, parliamentary and presidential elections. Along with all these efforts and our commitment to democratic reforms, our biggest imperative today is to continue to integrate all different political interests and groups in promoting a better everyday life for our citizens. We are also doing everything we can to rebuild our economy. The Georgian people are skilled and hard- working, but they are enduring the double punishment of the global economic downturn and the economic consequences of last summer’s invasion.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“Our actions reflect our deep commitment to pluralism and our respect for dissent and freedom of speech. In a situation where enemy troops are just two dozen kilometres from the capital, with their artillery pointed at the city centre, we have already given opposition-controlled broadcast stations license to transmit across the nation. Already, we have brought opposition parties into the meetings of our national security council, basically keeping no secrets from them and giving full access to all State information, so as to ensure that our security policies reflect the unified will of the nation, beyond faction and beyond party.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“The children I saw in that refugee camp were seizing the opportunity to learn how to compete in the modern age using new computers, mastering English and advancing their pursuit of knowledge, despite the odds. These children are the future of my country. These children symbolize the path Georgia took after the invasion. We are following through on the promises I made at this rostrum last year to strengthen our democracy, foster pluralism and expand individual liberties. Already, we have set reforms in motion that within the next year will advance the progress of the Rose Revolution and irreversibly deepen our identity as the freest State in our region. Already, we have permitted nearly three months of opposition protests to proceed unhindered, even though they closed down the main streets of our capital and paralysed Government buildings.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“Our future depends on us, and so today I also want to report to the United Nations on the progress Georgia has made, through our own efforts, in the year since we suffered Europe’s first invasion in the post- cold war era. One year after losing hundreds of our sons and daughters and after seeing hundreds of thousands of our people displaced, the Georgian people have regrouped and made real progress down the path of peace, freedom and individual liberty. I would like to pay tribute to their courage. Just a few days ago, in a refugee camp outside Tbilisi, I saw young children demonstrating their unstoppable will to have a normal and free life. These were children of all ethnic backgrounds. Indeed, most of the refugees from South Ossetia are ethnic Ossetians, and they fled from so-called liberators or were forced out.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“I want to thank those nations and leaders of the European Union who today have committed their monitors to Georgia for the promotion of peace. The Georgian people are also grateful to United States President Obama for his unyielding words and very strong declarations of support for our sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as to Vice President Biden for visiting Georgia this summer and for underscoring, in meeting with refugee children, America’s commitment to our democracy and our right to choose our own future. In particular, I want to thank the United Nations for more than 16 years of contributions to peace on the ground in Georgia through its presence in our country — a presence recently and abruptly halted by the unilateral actions of one single Member State.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“I want to thank all those nations that have been so generous in pledging and providing the vital economic support that has proved invaluable in helping to build shelters for and rebuild the dreams of those the invasion has made refugees and internally displaced persons. On behalf of all my fellow citizens, I wish to thank them for their 09-52425 58 generosity, especially at a time of such extreme hardship around the world. Beyond the comfort provided by their material support, I want to thank all of Georgia’s friends who have defended not only our sovereignty, but our right to forge our own path in the world, to choose our own alliances and to reject the nineteenth-century notion of spheres of influence, which led to so much warfare, repression and hardship in the world’s history.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“The Berlin Wall fell only because passionate, disciplined, energetic partisans of freedom, both behind and outside that wall, worked with focus, discipline, courage and determination to remind the world community of the illegitimacy and illegality of that wall, and to take action to hasten its demise. I would like to take this opportunity to thank those States Members of the United Nations for their votes recognizing the right of return for all who have been displaced and for all the victims of ethnic cleansing. I would like to thank all those nations across the globe that resisted illegal pressure — and in many cases attempts at bribery — by standing firm in their non-recognition of those territories of Georgia now occupied by a foreign force.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“We certainly did not choose this course of action, but it is up to us to recognize and reverse its illegality. As a community of responsible nations, it is our collective responsibility to uphold international law and to insist that borders cannot and will not be changed through the use of force. It is up to us to tear down this new wall peacefully with the power of our ideas and the strength of our convictions. I want the world to understand clearly how we view this new wall and our strategy for tearing it down. To start with, let me state outright that we do not expect it to disappear overnight. We understand that it is a very, very hard process, but the history of the Berlin Wall teaches us that patience must never be passive. We should never become resigned to the idea that this situation should be accepted or tolerated.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“But I want to say clearly today that the people of Georgia cannot and will not accept a new dividing line in our country. That is an unchangeable commitment. Under these daily menaces, military provocations and all kinds of lies directed against us from many different sources, my nation will not crumble and we will never surrender to this brutal force. The wall across Europe is not a matter of concern to Georgia alone. Indeed, in this matter the very values of this institution are under threat. The protection of human rights, respect for the dignity and equality of all persons, the inadmissibility of ethnic cleansing and the recognition of the inviolability of sovereign borders — all these are values that form the bedrock of this institution.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“They said they had to do it, just as their predecessors had to invade Poland — because of Poland’s reckless desire to be free — in 1939, Finland in 1940, Hungary in 1956, Czechoslovakia in 1968, and Afghanistan in 1979. The same people had to erase a capital of 400,000 inhabitants — Grozny — to destroy and exterminate the proud Chechen nation and kill tens of thousands of innocent women and children. And I am saying on the record that the clock is ticking, and they will have to do it again, and they will do it again unless they are stopped by all of us. Recent history indeed is a powerful guide to understanding what kind of actions these leaders undertake in order to bring what they call security and stability to my nation.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“Today, these acts of brutality have gone unaddressed, in direct contravention of international law, the norms of this institution and internationally signed agreements designed to reverse these wrongs. These are the facts that confront us as we gather here today, and these facts have a name: armed aggression, ethnic cleansing, mass violation of human rights and continuing illegal occupation. Those who unleashed war in our region and in my country and led ethnic cleansing campaigns in Georgia said yesterday — in this very Hall, from this very rostrum — that they had to do it to “implement the principle of the indivisibility of security” in order to “move beyond the legacy of the past” (). This is la langue de bois — very classical langue de bois from the old days. The only thing that they stepped over in reality was our sovereign border.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“I see no irony — only tragedy — in the fact that this wall is being built by the very people whose ideas were collectively and decisively defeated and rejected just 20 years ago. I take no comfort in the fact that 57 09-52425 those who thought the wall’s destruction was the single greatest tragedy of the twentieth century now lead these deplorable efforts. One year ago, my country was invaded. Tanks, warplanes, warships, bombs and State-directed cyber- hackers descended upon our towns, villages, cities, infrastructure and economy. Hundreds of our people were killed within days and thousands were wounded. Tens of thousands of innocent civilians were forced to flee in the face of ethnic cleansing, which independent human rights organizations have documented very well.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“This wall has been built by the same people who miss the Berlin Wall, who regret its fall, who did everything so that the wall would not fall. This wall cuts off one fifth of our territory and, once again, divides Europe from itself, creating new lines of repression and fear, artificial dividing lines inside the internationally recognized borders of a European nation. It may be unpopular, but I am obliged to speak the truth. And the truth is that this wall’s existence mocks the progress we seemed to have made since that bright, shining day in Berlin 20 years ago. This new wall tells us that, once again, the rule of force has trumped the rule of law and the rule of reason.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“Indeed, 20 years ago, when freedom’s spirit swept that wall away, few imagined the repression and threats it represented would so soon reappear and that the hopes unleashed in 1989 would so quickly founder. Yet today, a Europe that is whole, free, and at peace remains a goal still to be achieved — a project not yet accomplished and a challenge, unfortunately, unmet. Today, I stand before the Assembly as the democratically elected leader of a proud and sovereign nation. But, tragically, Georgia today, like Germany a generation ago, is a nation with a deep wound running through it. As Václav Havel and other leading voices of Europe’s conscience declared earlier this week, Europe is today divided by a new wall built by an outside force — a wall that runs through the middle of Georgia.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“Today, as we look back at that historic chapter and the impact it has had on our world, we can rightly be proud of what was achieved, the tremendous progress that has been made, and the prosperity that a lasting peace has brought. But if we are to evaluate the past honestly, we must admit that the present remains bittersweet. For there is a real danger that, rather than build on this great chapter of idealism and progress, States and leaders will allow a return of the dull complacency and cynical power politics that led to so many of the worst moments of the past 100 years. And the moment is bittersweet because, regrettably, not everyone drew the same lessons of hope and inspiration when that wall came down.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“It yielded to the will of those millions who yearned for liberty and it yielded to the determination of a united West. Twenty years ago, a universally feared military force was defeated by the force of a universal truth — the call for freedom and the simple desire to live a dignified life. When the Berlin Wall was dismantled 20 years ago, it did more than free the captive nations of the Warsaw Pact. It unleashed the hopes, dreams, aspirations and talents of millions of citizens living under the tyranny of the Soviet Union — including my own nation’s people. Today, these citizens make up more than a dozen diverse nations, linked together by the common desires and ambitions to live in a world free from spheres of influence — free from external control — and to be able to choose their own destiny.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“I am grateful for the opportunity to address the General Assembly at its sixty-fourth session. Each year, we gather here to confront our common challenges and to express our vision for the world we share, the world for which we are common stewards. And each year we promise to do more and to do better to live up to and defend the principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter. This year, we meet on the twentieth anniversary of the most successful triumph of those principles. Twenty years have passed since Europe and the rest of the world were liberated from one of the cruellest episodes in modern history. The fall of the Berlin Wall brought an end to an artificial line that separated nations, divided families, strangled freedom and imprisoned millions. Remarkably, that formidable wall crumbled without a single shot being fired.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“Georgia has made its choice, and our democracy will emerge stronger as a result. Together, we will find ways, as we have over the millennia, to ensure peaceful coexistence among all members of our multiethnic society, be they ethnically Georgian, Abkhaz or Ossetian. We have been a Christian country since the fifteenth century, but we are also a country in which many different religious groups and communities coexist. Diversity is our strength, not a source of our weakness. We are willing to strengthen our diversity even further in order to make my country successful and whole once again, rejuvenated and rebuilt.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“Secondly, we must stand united in rejecting the forced and illegal recognition of Georgia’s two separatist provinces and what is essentially their annexation by its neighbour. Thirdly, we must ensure that all parties comply fully with the existing ceasefire agreement. Fourthly, we must resolve to create a meaningful conflict resolution process that will peacefully reunify Georgia and resolve the conflict, in the interest of all ethnic groups and minorities, our society as a whole and the region. If we can accomplish those goals, then this institution will emerge from this crisis stronger than it was before. If, however, we fail to stop the violent tactics that have subverted State sovereignty in Georgia, they will spread to other parts of the world. It is our collective responsibility to respond with conviction and resolve.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“I promise to you that my Government will implement with all due speed the new democratic initiatives that constitute the second “Rose Revolution”. I promise to you that Georgia will soon be stronger and more democratic than ever before, and thus that it will be in a better position to contribute to our collective security and prosperity. However, if that is to have any meaning, we must together defend the principles on which this institution was built. We need actions, not words. Allow me to repeat once again the four commitments that, I believe, we must make. First, each of us must refuse to stand silently by in the face of this armed aggression, occupation, ethnic cleansing and assault directed against a United Nations Member State.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“The value of human life is incalculable, and we in Georgia grieve not only for our own lost sons and daughters, but also for our fallen neighbours who were sent in to carry out an unjust aggression of war. Yet, the international community has emerged from the invasion of my country with something truly valuable: finally, clarity. We understand what has happened. We can no longer deny the motivations and intentions of those actors who instigated the war. With clarity comes responsibility. We no longer have any reason for inaction. Now each of us has a responsibility to act. Despite the destruction wreaked by the invasion — hundreds dead; nearly 200,000 displaced, according to the United Nations; our economy disabled — my Government is putting our convictions into practice.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)