MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
1.9.2008
pursuant to Rule 103(2) of the Rules of Procedure
by Francis Wurtz, Tobias Pflüger, André Brie and Vittorio Agnoletto
on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group
on the situation in Georgia
B6‑0411/2008
European Parliament resolution on the situation in Georgia
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on placeplaceGeorgia,
– having regard to the UNSC resolutions on the frozen conflicts in the placeCaucasus region since 1992,
– having regard to the Conclusions of the General Affairs and External Relations Council on the situation in placeplaceGeorgia of 13 August 2008,
– having regard to Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas the armed conflict between the Russian Federation and Georgia over two regions of Georgia – Abkhazia and South Ossetia – follows 14 years of continued failure to find a political solution to the conflict; whereas on several occasions during these years the security situation has deteriorated to a level marked by direct clashes,
B. whereas in the night between 7 and 8 August, during the Olympic Truce, the Georgian army launched a massive bombardment of Tskhinvali followed by a ground operation using both tanks and soldiers aimed at establishing control over placeSouth Ossetia,
C. whereas on 8 August Russian forces in retaliation entered South Ossetia and on 11 August they extended their offensive into placeplaceGeorgia proper,
D. whereas the military actions of both Georgia and Russia resulted in severe loss of life and the destruction of civil infrastructure; whereas, according to estimates by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), over 158 000 people – 128 000 within Georgia and 30 000 who have fled to Russia – were uprooted by the recent fighting,
E. whereas there are strong indications that crimes under international law have been committed during the recent conflict, including the killing of civilians, forced displacement and indiscriminate attacks against civilians,
F. whereas on 12 August the Presidents of Georgia and Russia signed an agreement on the basis of the mediation efforts carried out by the EU providing for an immediate cease-fire, the withdrawal of Georgian and Russian forces to the positions which they had held prior to 7 August and the opening of international talks on an international mechanism to be set up rapidly in order to prepare for a peaceful and lasting solution to the conflict,
G. whereas on 22 August Russia withdrew tanks, artillery and hundreds of troops from their most advanced positions in Georgia but it still controls access to the port city of Poti, south of Abkhazia, and has established other checkpoints around South Ossetia,
H. whereas on 25 August Russia's Upper House of Parliament voted a resolution asking the President to recognise the independence of Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which, on 26 August, was followed by President Medvedev's formally recognising the two regions as independent states,
placeI. whereas, year after year in recent times, numerous European Union Member States have taken upon themselves the heavy responsibility of emulating the United States in its strategy of confrontation in this particularly sensitive region, notably by approving the enlargement of NATO and the installation of the antimissile shield on European soil,
J. whereas the encouragement which the United States and the EU Member States gave to the political leaders of Kosovo to unilaterally declare independence from Serbia and their recognition of Kosovo as a sovereign state set a dangerous precedent and paved the way for the recent unilateral decision on the status of Abkhazia and South Ossetia,
K. whereas due to its geographical location and oil resources, the Caucasus region is one of the world's hot spots where besides Russia the United States, NATO and the EU reclaim so-called security interests,
L. whereas the armed conflict between Russia and Georgia has brought about a major political crisis; whereas the rapid and fundamental deterioration of institutional cooperation mechanisms and relations between Russia, of the one part, and the EU and NATO, of the other part, marks the beginning of a new period of confrontation, with extremely dangerous implications for regional and international security and stability,
M. whereas Georgia has benefited from technical support from US military advisers as well as advanced military matériel furnished by some Member States of NATO and also by Israel,
N. whereas the Georgian army had the third biggest contingent of occupation troops in Iraq after the US and Great Britain, with 2000 soldiers, and whereas these troops were transported to Georgia by the US army after the Georgian attack on South Ossetia had failed,
1. Condemns the attack by the Georgian army on Tskhinvali and on UN-mandated Russian troops, which constitute serious violations of international law; condemns the excessive use of force by the Russian army in response, which also constitutes a violation of international law;
2. Condemns the attacks on civilians by the Russian and Georgian armies, which constitute serious violations of international humanitaplacerian law (use of cluster bombs, crimes against the civilian population, etc.);
3. Deplores the loss of life and human suffering caused by the use of indiscriminate force by all parties to the conflict;
4. Expresses its deep solidarity with the victims of the war, calls for rapid deployment of the international humanitaplacerian efforts and demands that the European Union and its Member States allocate sufficient emergency funding for the victims of the crisis;
5. Deeply deplores the fact that the UN Security Council was not able to react to the South Caucasus crisis in a constructive, result-oriented way; calls on the Member States of the Security Council to overcome the deadlock and to contribute to a political solution to the crisis in the South Caucasus by adopting a resolution which paves the way for the immediate opening of international talks on the security and stability arrangements in Abkhazia and South Ossetia;
6. Welcomes the decision of 19 August 2008 by the OSCE to increase by 20, to 100, the number of Military Monitoring Officers for six months in order to contribute to the full implementation of the six principles of the cease-fire agreement; calls on the OSCE to start an independent and impartial investigation into the events that have taken place during the crisis;
7. Emphasises that all parties must fully and without delay honour their commitments to the cease-fire agreement; urges Russia to withdraw its troops from Georgia according to the six-point cease-fire plan; calls for full publication of the plan and further amendments by all sides;
8. Urges placeGeorgiaplace and placeRussia as well as the international actors present in the region to refrain from any actions that could lead towards a further escalation of the situation or increase tension;
9. Recalls that there is no military solution to the problem and that only a negotiated political solution acceptable to the majority of the people in a region affected by conflict can ensure lasting peace and stability;
10. Reaffirms its commitment to the sovereignty and territoplacerial integrity of Georgia and all other countries in the region; calls for the immediate opening of international talks on the security and stability arrangements in Abkhazia and South Ossetia as agreed in the cease-fire agreement of 12 August; takes the view that the OSCE and the UN, of which Russia and Georgia are members, should take the lead in the political process to solve the conflict;
11. Notes the decision of the emergency summit of the EU to contribute to the civil reconstruction of Georgia; reminds the EU of its own code of conduct on arms exports, which prohibits trading in arms with countries in regions of conflict, and calls on the EU Member States to cease selling arms to Georgia;
12. Calls on all parties to the conflict to allow full and unfettered access for humanitaplacerian assistance to victims, including refugees and internally displaced persons;
13. Calls on both sides to ensure that all civilians are afforded the full protection of the law and that those displaced by the fighting can return home safely as a matter of urgency;
14. Considers it imperative that a swift, objective and impartial investigation of all allegations of war crimes and other violations of international humanitaplacerian law or of international human rights be carried out; calls for those suspected of having committed such violations to be brought to justice;
15. Expresses its deep concern about the implications of the crisis in the South Caucasus for international peace and security; underlines the importance of the continuation of the political dialogue with placeplaceRussia and calls on the Council and Commission to refrain from any action which could endanger the EU-Russia dialogue;
16. Expresses deep concern that apart from the conflict in the South Caucasus other developments have the potential to aggravate the political confrontation with Russia such as the deployment of a new anti-ballistic missile system in Europe, the intention to further enlarge NATO, an increased NATO presence in the Baltic Sea, the failure to overcome the differences which stand in the way of comprehensive implementation of the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty, and others; takes the view that a new security dialogue between all European countries about the problems and future security architecture of Europe is urgently needed; calls on the Council and the Member States to undertake an initiative to revive the security dialogue within the OSCE;
17. Reiterates its opposition to the enlargement of NATO and the organisation as such and underlines that the security of Georgia and all other countries in the region can only be guaranteed by political means and through economic and social development; calls on NATO not to offer membership to Georgia;
18. Calls upon the Council to explore all possibilities of initiating the drafting of a new pan-European security treaty;
19. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the placeMemberplace Statesplace, the Presidents and Parliaments of Georgia and the placeRussian Federation, the OSCE and the Council of Europe.