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UN ENVOY ANALYZES
CONDITIONS IN GEORGIA; BLACK SEA COUNTRIES OFFER OPINIONS ON FUTURE OF
THE REGION, BY CAROLINE PATTON:
01/10/2008
(MaximsNews Network)
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UNITED
NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network / 01
October 2008 --During
the last few weeks, the UN has heard presentations from several countries on the
situation in the Black Sea countries, including
Romania
and
Bulgaria
who sought increased UN involvement and
Russia, which talked about the negative consequence of unipolar thinking and the need
for independence for the disputed Georgian regions.
Presentations
from
Romania
and
Bulgaria
both emphasized the need for greater
involvement by the UN and pointed to the
clashes in Georgia
as evidence of the potential for conflict in
the area.
According
to Romanian Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu,
“The United Nations should be there to
assist the region not only in de-frosting
conflicts, but also to help coastal countries
in cooperating to solve problems related to
pollution, illegal migration, organized crime
and drug trafficking, so as to project
stability and to support development.”
Mr.
Comanescu opined that “with its
reverberations in Abkhazia and the entire
State of Georgia
and beyond, should focus the attention of the
international community on all protracted
conflicts in the area, including Transnistria
and Nagorno-Karabakh.” He elucidated the
advantages of ensuring stability around the
Black Sea
and spoke of “a region with a large
population, an important hub for energy and
transport flows, a great economic
potential.”
Bulgarian
Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev spoke about
the expertise of the UN in mediating disputes
among nations and preventing the outbreak of
fighting and asked that it do more in the area
to promote stability and head off clashes. He
made clear that, “Democracy, security and
cooperation still have their further way to go
in the
Black Sea
region.”
Mr.
Stanishev held up the unrest surrounding Georgia’s contested regions as an indication that,
“More coherent efforts are needed for the
ultimate settlement of the protracted
conflicts there. Frozen conflicts should not
be neglected because they tend to re-ignite
tension time and again.” He offered Bulgaria’s support and assistance in carrying this
out.
Foreign
Minister Sergey V. Lavrov told the UN that for
Russia
accepting the independence of
South Ossetia
and Abhazia “was the only possible measure
to ensure their security and the very survival
of their peoples.” He also called for the
six-point agreement brokered between French
President Nicolas Sarkozy and Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev to be fully applied
and respected, saying that he worried that his
would be impeded “by the attempts to rewrite
it post factum to please Tbilisi.”
Mr.
Lavrov also accused the international
community of having a “unipolar
world ideology” in the post-9/11 period that
negatively impacted the August fighting. He
told the UN, “The illusion of a
unipolar world confused many. For some people,
it generated a desire to make an all-in stake
on it. In exchange for total loyalty they
expected to receive a carte blanche to resolve
all their problems by any means.”
Mr.
Lavrov added that, “The all-permissiveness
syndrome that they developed went rampant, out
of all possible control, on the night before 8
August when the aggression was unleashed on
South Ossetia.
Walter
Kälin, the Representative of the
Secretary-General on the human rights of
internally displaced persons (IDPs), arrived
today in Georgia
to evaluate the status quo there and intends
to stay through the weekend. Subsequent to his
trip, he will address the UN Human Rights
Council in Geneva
regarding his observations and offer proposals
for going forward.
The
trip will begin with discussions in Tbilisi
with members of the Georgian government, local
organizations, and international humanitarian
actors. Kälin will also speak with some of
the 192,000 Georgians who had to leave their
homes as a result of the fighting back in
August.
Subsequently,
he will go to Gori where he will talk to
officials of international organizations in
the city and nearby regions, as well as more
Georgians displaced by the conflict, about the
conditions currently facing by those who had
to flee and have not yet returned home.
The
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights added that, “Mr. Kälin hopes to be
able to also visit Tskhinvali and surrounding
conflict-affected areas in the near future.”
--- Caroline
Patton
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