Georgia will deal with Meskhetian problem 10 to 14 years more
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Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2002 07:34:18 +0200 (EET)
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Subject: Georgia will deal with Meskhetian problem 10 to 14 years more
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Original sender: Eldar Zeynalov <[email protected]>
Georgia will deal with Meskhetian problem 10 to 14 years more
(Translated from Russian by MINELRES)
AUTHORITIES OF GEORGIA HOPE TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE OF THE MESKHETIAN
TURKS REPATRIATION WITHIN 10-14 YEARS, NINO BURDZHANADZE STATED
BAKU/29.01.02/TURAN:
"For Georgia, Azerbaijan is a very important country, with whom we
have practically no problems or disagreements", told at the press
conference in Baku the Georgian Parliament's speaker Nino Burdzhanadze
who is on official visit in Azerbaijan.
Answering the question about the problems of Azeri population in
Georgia, the speaker told that they have "absolutely the same
problems" as the rest of the country's population. She assured that
the problems for national minorities will never be artificially
created in Georgia. "Normal conditions not only for Azeris but all
minorities is the basis for all Georgia's prosperity, and I know that
the approach towards the people of Georgian ethnicity in Azerbaijan is
the same", she told.
Touching upon the problem of the Abkhaz conflict, Burdzhanadze told
that the parliament's decision about the withdrawal of the Russian
peace-keepres "was not incidental". During the precense of the
peace-keepers in Abkhazia, 1,700 civilians perished there, 1,000
houses have been burned down. Besides, 85 peace-keepers were killed.
The current mandate of the Russian peace-keepers "has been exhausted".
They failed to provide peace and security for refugees. The question
of prolongation of the Russian peace-keepers' presence in the conflict
zone can be considered only on the condition of expansion of their
responsibility zone deeper to Abkhazia. "I hope that Presdient Putin
will perceive our just claims with understanding, and our position on
the expansion of the peace-keepers' responsibility zone will be taken
into account", told Burdzhanadze.
Answering the question about the Georgian authorities' activities to
ensure repatriation of the Meskhetian Turks, speaker told that the
government cannot resolve this issue immediately, because 370
thousands refugees from Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Chechnya are
already in the country. In the meantime, she mentioned that
Meskhetians will be able to return gradually and to settle in any
place in Georgia, "but their conpact residence is out of question",
she stressed, as "other people live now where they used to live
before". In the meantime, she assured that the authorities of Georgia
will resolve the problem of the Meskhetians' repatriation "step by
step", and this process will take 10-14 years.
Commenting on strenghtening the ties between Ankara, Tbilisi and Baku,
Burdzhanadze told that these relations should not "annoy" anybody, for
these relations "are not developed to the harm of any other state" nor
its "legitimate interests".
In his turn, speaker Murtuz Aleskerov told that the participation of
Turkey in regional politics and projects is a stabilizing factor. Hi
considers that Russian military bases in Georgia and Armenia have a
negative impact on the situation in the Caucasus. "We also signed an
agreement with Russia on Gabali station, this is economically
profitable, but, in the end of the day, there should be no foreign
military bases in the Caucausus", Aleskerov told. Answering the
question about the prospects for cooperation between the countries of
the South Caucasus, Aleskerov told that Azerbaijan will not agree to
economic contacts with Armenia before the conflict is settled.
However, Tbilisi and Ankara can decide themselves, as this is their
"internal affair" - whether to cooperate with Armenia or not,
Aleskerov told.
* * *
Azerbaycan Insan Huquqlarini Mudafie Merkezi
The Human Rights Center of Azerbaijan
P.O. Box 31, Baku 370000, Azerbaijan
Phone/fax +994-12-977026
E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]
http://members.tripod.de/hrca
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