US Helsinki Commission holds hearing on Georgia’s occupation issues

The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the US Helsinki Commission, which is an independent agency of the US government, has held a hearing about the illegalities committed by Russia on Georgian territory.

The hearing was titled "On Violations of the OSCE Principles and Commitments by the Russian Federation, and Severe Human Rights Situation in the Illegally Occupied Regions of Georgia – Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia” and the Ambassador of Georgia to US David Bakradze, Damon Wilson of the Atlantic Council of US and Luke Coffey of the Heritage Foundation participated in the talks.

.@BakradzeDavid@GeorgianEmbassy: #Russia’s occupation of #Abkhazia & #SouthOssetia undermines the security & peace in #Europe and creates a very dangerous environment that … may lead to developments in the region that will be hard to reverse. https://t.co/kTAXzPkpJQ

— Helsinki Commission (@HelsinkiComm) July 17, 2018

The Helsinki Commission, which promotes human rights, democracy, economic, environmental, and military cooperation in the 57-nation OSCE region, stated that Moscow’s invasion of Georgia demonstrated the Kremlin’s willingness to use military force to unilaterally re-draw European borders and challenge the right of its neighbors to choose their own futures.

The war in Georgia set the stage for Vladimir Putin’s subsequent war in Ukraine, including the illegal occupation of Crimea and the Donbass and the attempted annexation of Crimea,” the commission statement reads.

The human costs of the Russian occupation of Georgia have been tragic. Tens of thousands of Georgians remain internally displaced and face arbitrary detention, mistreatment, and even death if they attempt to visit their property and communities across the Russian-imposed

@SenCoryGardner Thank you for your strong voice at @HelsinkiComm hearing today standing up to Putin’s intimidation of Russia’s neighbors and standing up for Georgia and our values.

— Damon M. Wilson (@DamonMacWilson) July 17, 2018

internal administrative boundary. De facto authorities have also worked to eliminate Georgian language and culture from South Ossetia and Abkhazia,” the Helsinki Commissions said.

The statements say that ten years after the invasion and the fateful 2008 NATO Bucharest Summit, the Helsinki Commission gathered expert witnesses to assess the present state of the conflict and its implications for US interests and international security.

The invasion of The Republic of Georgia demonstrated that Vladimir Putin is willing to use his military & intelligence services to redraw international borders. Today, I chaired a @HelsinkiComm hearing marking 10 years of Russian occupation of Georgia. https://t.co/eCAxv8feUo

— Senator Roger Wicker (@SenatorWicker) July 17, 2018

Bakradze thanked the thanked the US Congress, government and administration for "bipartisan support” to Georgia’s NATO integration process and opposition to the Russian occupation of Georgian territories.

Georgia enjoys widespread bipartisan support across the US Government, Congress, and Administration. The Georgian-US bilateral relationship has never been stronger and continues to strengthen under the current Administration, which has repeatedly stated its opposition to Russian occupation of Georgian territories as well as Georgia’s NATO integration process,” Bakradze wrote.

Senator Roger Wicker, the chairman of the US Helsinki Commission, closed the hearing with remarks on the democratic progress of Georgia.

"Mr. Ambassador I want to congratulate Georgia on the progress that you are making on the rule of law and independent judiciary and all of the things that we look for, in countries that would like to join the Western alliance. We are not going to forget you. We are going to continue speaking up about this, we are going to be guided by the testimonies of the three outstanding witnesses today [referring to Bakradze, Wilson and Coffey].”