Urgent Appeal to International Community

November 18, 2006

Non-Georgian population of the Republic of Georgia appeals to the international community for its support in putting an end to present Tbilisi’s policy of national minorities’ oppressions! Georgian leadership tries to becloud from international democratic community numerous facts of discrimination of Azerbaijanis, Armenians and Ossetinians in Georgia through fomenting anti-Russian hysteria. But Georgian ethnic groups’ demands for restoration of our lawful rights to education, job and lands can not have any connection with “effective work of Russian or Iranian special services” as Georgian authorities try to present it. It’s mere ploy of Tbilisi trying to escape responsibility for its nearly open oppression national minorities in Georgia. Representatives of such NGOs and civil parties and associations of Armenian and Azerbaijani minorities in Georgia, as “United Javakhk”, the Virk party, “Hairat”, “Caucasus” and National Assembly of Azerbaijanis, interpret similar statements of Georgian authorities as a direct assault of Georgian official power on our human rights and freedoms!
As Armenia and Azerbaijan continue to connive at Georgian policy of national minorities’ oppressions, fearing to lose neutrality of Georgia, we have to apply to international organizations like OSCE with request to stop numerous crimes against, first of all, Armenian and Azeri population in Georgia, that have conducted in such even spheres as health protection and now have a character of discreet genocide!
See for yourself! Georgian gynecologists (who have supplied the place of their Azeri or Armenian colleagues since 2004 when due to Georgian Health Protection Ministry’s decision the latter were fired from all maternity hospitals!) at maternity hospitals in Kvemo Kartli (Borchaly), Kakheti, Shida regions and Tbilisi physically damaged 2578 Azerbaijani women in childbirth, injecting them with sterilizing medicines! The same inhuman actions are made concerning some other national minorities. Numerous addresses to Office of General Public Prosecutor led only to formal filing suits in some cases, when guilty persons got off lightly. Moreover, the same disgraceful things relating representatives of national minorities continue to be committed in Labor Ministry, Social Protection Ministry and Education Ministry of Georgia. And we stress that all this began to happen after President M. Saakashvili came to power.
We resolutely protest against such policy of hidden genocide, pursued by Saakashvili’s government in Georgia and ask international community to strongly condemn acts of the discreet genocide of Azeri, Armenian and other ethnic minorities, committed by present Georgian authorities!

Thanking you,
Centre for Protection of Minorities in Georgia