Tweet
GEORGIA TAKES ON CIVIL INTEGRATION
The Messenger, Georgia
Aug 25 2005
On the order of President Mikheil Saakashvili, a special National
Council on Tolerance and Civil Integration has been formed and
charged with developing a national concept and plan of action. The
council will also oversee the fulfillment of the plan and provide
subsequent monitoring. It will be headed by State Minister for Civil
Integration Issues Zinaida Bestaeva and will include Finance Minister
Aleksi Aleksishvili, the President's Parliamentary Secretary Pavle
Kublashvili, Minister of Education and Science Aleksandre Lomaia and
Minster of Economic Development Irakli Chogovadze.
The council is to assert the main directions of the national concept
by September 20. The government, meanwhile, must then approve the
concept following a presentation and recommendations of the council
by February 20, 2006 and present it to Parliament.
In the initial period following the Rose Revolution, civil integration
was an active topic of discussion. The term then referred largely to
overcoming the negative results of the violent overthrow of independent
Georgia's first President Zviad Gamsakhurdia in 1991-92 and restoring
the political and legal rights to the "Zviadists." However, many
pointed out at the time that civil integration could be employed as a
much broader concept and extend to the ongoing ethnic conflicts within
the country. It seems that now the government has chosen this later,
wider interpretation.
The Concept on Tolerance and Civil Integration is aimed at establishing
a "tolerant political culture" and moreover, further involving ethnic
minorities in public and political life, in which they are currently
underrepresented.
Akhali Taoba reports that in July a delegation from an international
human rights group published the findings of its study on the
condition of ethnic minorities in Georgia. The group concluded that
minorities in Georgia are not persecuted, though individual instances
of discrimination occur. According to recommendations developed by a
group of non-governmental organizations, all branches of the government
should include more representatives of ethnic minorities and the state
should take responsibility for them learning the Georgian language.
Indeed, the teaching of the nation's state language should be given
sufficient attention in the Concept on Civil Integration, but at
the same time it is necessary to implement other projects in regions
dominated by ethnic minorities. For example, the integration of the
population of the Javakheti region should be paid special attention.
The vast majority of inhabitants in this region are ethnic Armenians
and their participation in the public and political life of the
Georgian state is minimal. What's more, these citizens are very
concerned about the pending withdrawal of the Russian military base
in Akhalkalaki. It is necessary to take active steps to convince
residents that they are respected citizens of Georgia and that their
situation will not become worse due to the withdrawal of the base.
Likewise worthy of special attention in the concept are the regulation
of the ethnic conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia and the
restoration of the country's territorial integrity. The Georgian
authorities emphatically state that they intend to resolve these
conflicts only by peaceful means. President Saakashvili presented
the leaders of the separatist South Ossetian government a proposal
approved by various international organizations to grant the region
broad autonomy within the Georgian state. As for Abkhazia, the Georgian
authorities consider the so-called Boden document, drawn up by the
United Nations, as an acceptable solution. In both cases, Georgia is
making significant concessions, which some consider unjustified.
The Georgian government is willing to go against public opinion and
grant significant autonomy to the separatist regions as long as they
return to the Georgian state, but the leaders of these regions react
negatively to these proposals, saying instead that they would prefer
integration into the Russian Federation.
And last but not least, the realization of any concept requires the
mobilization of relevant funds. Without money, any plan, no matter
how good, remains a meaningless piece of paper. Therefore, financing
the efforts foreseen in the civil integration conception should be
a guarded priority for the state budget.
The Messenger, Georgia
Aug 25 2005
On the order of President Mikheil Saakashvili, a special National
Council on Tolerance and Civil Integration has been formed and
charged with developing a national concept and plan of action. The
council will also oversee the fulfillment of the plan and provide
subsequent monitoring. It will be headed by State Minister for Civil
Integration Issues Zinaida Bestaeva and will include Finance Minister
Aleksi Aleksishvili, the President's Parliamentary Secretary Pavle
Kublashvili, Minister of Education and Science Aleksandre Lomaia and
Minster of Economic Development Irakli Chogovadze.
The council is to assert the main directions of the national concept
by September 20. The government, meanwhile, must then approve the
concept following a presentation and recommendations of the council
by February 20, 2006 and present it to Parliament.
In the initial period following the Rose Revolution, civil integration
was an active topic of discussion. The term then referred largely to
overcoming the negative results of the violent overthrow of independent
Georgia's first President Zviad Gamsakhurdia in 1991-92 and restoring
the political and legal rights to the "Zviadists." However, many
pointed out at the time that civil integration could be employed as a
much broader concept and extend to the ongoing ethnic conflicts within
the country. It seems that now the government has chosen this later,
wider interpretation.
The Concept on Tolerance and Civil Integration is aimed at establishing
a "tolerant political culture" and moreover, further involving ethnic
minorities in public and political life, in which they are currently
underrepresented.
Akhali Taoba reports that in July a delegation from an international
human rights group published the findings of its study on the
condition of ethnic minorities in Georgia. The group concluded that
minorities in Georgia are not persecuted, though individual instances
of discrimination occur. According to recommendations developed by a
group of non-governmental organizations, all branches of the government
should include more representatives of ethnic minorities and the state
should take responsibility for them learning the Georgian language.
Indeed, the teaching of the nation's state language should be given
sufficient attention in the Concept on Civil Integration, but at
the same time it is necessary to implement other projects in regions
dominated by ethnic minorities. For example, the integration of the
population of the Javakheti region should be paid special attention.
The vast majority of inhabitants in this region are ethnic Armenians
and their participation in the public and political life of the
Georgian state is minimal. What's more, these citizens are very
concerned about the pending withdrawal of the Russian military base
in Akhalkalaki. It is necessary to take active steps to convince
residents that they are respected citizens of Georgia and that their
situation will not become worse due to the withdrawal of the base.
Likewise worthy of special attention in the concept are the regulation
of the ethnic conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia and the
restoration of the country's territorial integrity. The Georgian
authorities emphatically state that they intend to resolve these
conflicts only by peaceful means. President Saakashvili presented
the leaders of the separatist South Ossetian government a proposal
approved by various international organizations to grant the region
broad autonomy within the Georgian state. As for Abkhazia, the Georgian
authorities consider the so-called Boden document, drawn up by the
United Nations, as an acceptable solution. In both cases, Georgia is
making significant concessions, which some consider unjustified.
The Georgian government is willing to go against public opinion and
grant significant autonomy to the separatist regions as long as they
return to the Georgian state, but the leaders of these regions react
negatively to these proposals, saying instead that they would prefer
integration into the Russian Federation.
And last but not least, the realization of any concept requires the
mobilization of relevant funds. Without money, any plan, no matter
how good, remains a meaningless piece of paper. Therefore, financing
the efforts foreseen in the civil integration conception should be
a guarded priority for the state budget.