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| Saakashvili gives Annan a golden rose as a present – the symbol of Georgia’s Rose Revolution. |
On his way from Islamabad to New York, Kofi Annan stayed in Tbilisi for only two hours. He met with Mikheil Saakashvili in the Georgian President’s new residence, which was followed by brief statements for the press without Q&A with journalists.
In his statement Kofi Annan stressed that respect of human rights is essential in the process of conflict resolution. President Saakashvili, who condemned abuse of human rights of the Georgian population in breakaway Abkhazia, stated that Tbilisi is “frustrated” with the current situation in the region.
“My colleagues in the UN mission here have been working with you and with the government of the Abkhaz side trying to find solution with this conflict. We will sustain our efforts and will work with the parties and with other friendly countries in search for the solution. In the meantime it is important that all sides respect the rule of law and respect human rights and dignity of individuals. Without development of rule of law and respect of rule of law it is difficult to solve these problems in a longer term,” the UN Secretary General stated.
President Saakashvili said that “Georgia wants peace, but Georgia will never tolerate infringements of human rights.”
“We are extremely frustrated with the situation in Abkhazia, when in front of our eyes the Abkhaz authorities sell the property which belonged to 80 percent of the legitimate population [of Abkhazia] – Georgians and representatives of other ethnic groups; when almost everyday people are killed, tortured and kidnapped; when another side [Abkhazia] is categorically against the opening of a [UN/OSCE] human rights office in order to establish control. Militarization of this region is underway; more and more weapons are being delivered to Abkhazia,” Saakashvili said.
“The main lesson learned from our revolution is: freedom for every person, regardless of their ethnicity. This is democracy for everyone, where integration of all groups takes place. I think that we will give this chance to all regions, including South Ossetia and Abkhazia. I hope that the United Nation will become more active and the member states will enable the United Nations to become more active,” the Georgian President stated.
A similar statement was made by President Saakashvili during his address a high-level plenary meeting of the 60th session of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 15. He said the UN “must change” and conflict resolutions must take higher priority for the organization.
Kofi Annan said that during the talks with President Saakashvili he also discussed “social and economic developments in the country.”
“I must say that I am impressed with what you have done in a relatively shorter period. And I am grateful to the government and the people for having worked very cooperatively with my Special Representative [Heidi Tagliavini] and UNDP mission,” Annan added.
The UN Secretary-General also said that although he has never been in Tbilisi before, “I’ve been following developments in your country for a very long time.”