NGOs Offer Principles to Secure Democracy and Freedom

Leading civil society organizations launched today a campaign aiming at implantation of ten main principles, necessary to ensure democratic development of the country.

These are the ten principles NGOs, including  Liberty Institute, Open Society ? Georgia and the Georgian Young Lawyers Association are advocating: passing of the law that would allow for the confiscation of assets that high officials could not prove was acquired legally, reform of the soviet-style state structures, improvement of investment climate, restoration of Georgia?s territorial integrity, election of Mayors of Tbilisi and Poti, withdrawal of Russian military bases till 2007, introduction of jury at courts, repayment of pension and salary backlog before 2006 and increase of expenditures for the education system.

The NGOs will hold meetings with the representatives of the political parties in order to convince them to assist to implement these principles.

?We offer cooperation to those political forces, which share democratic values and struggle for protection of dignity and freedom of the Georgian State and its citizens in the new Parliament,? Kakha Lomaia of the Open Society ? Georgia said at the presentation of principles today.