OSCE PERMANENT COUNCIL: STATEMENT ON GEORGIA

UNCLAS STATE 129974

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OSCE PGOV PREL GG
SUBJECT: OSCE PERMANENT COUNCIL: STATEMENT ON GEORGIA
(REVISED)

REF: STATE 129756


1. This message updates the statement transmitted reftel.


2. Post is authorized to make the following statement at the
December 11, 2008, meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in
Vienna:

Begin Text:

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

The United States condemns the December 10 attack on our
unarmed OSCE monitors in the Kvemo Khviti area of Georgia.
This was a cowardly and provocative act. We call on all
parties to facilitate a full and immediate investigation into
the incident.

The United States also wishes to call attention to reports of
ongoing violence in the South Ossetian and Abkhaz regions of
Georgia, including the possible firing on December 5 of an
anti-tank guided missile near the Georgian-administered
village of Mereti, east of Tskhinvali. This was the second
such incident in the region, occurring just weeks after a
similar attack on November 21. In addition, EU and UNOMIG
monitors are reporting almost daily incidents targeting
Georgian police along the administrative boundary of the
Georgian region of Abkhazia. We are particularly concerned
about provocations in the vicinity of the Enguri Power
Station, whose joint operation in both Abkhazia and
unoccupied Georgian territory plays a key role in maintaining
some level of connectivity between the populations.

These multiple incidents provide evidence of Russia's
continuing failure to guarantee the security of the areas
under its control. Mr. Chairman, we are concerned incidents
of this sort will exacerbate tensions in the South Ossetian
and Abkhaz regions of Georgia and raise the potential for
renewed violence.

The recent joint ODIHR/HCNM report on human rights in the
war-affected areas of Georgia also indicate that serious
human rights and humanitarian concerns remain in the zone of
conflict. Problems of internally displaced persons,
restrictions on movement across administrative boundaries,
and widespread lawlessness will continue if not promptly
addressed, and underscore the importance of gaining access
for OSCE and EU monitors to the separatist regions.

We continue to believe OSCE and EU monitors must have
unfettered access to the South Ossetian and Abkhaz regions of
Georgia, in hopes they can help prevent further violent
incidents and ensure the protection of local populations.
Such access is also necessary to allow for a meaningful needs
assessment by international experts to ensure all vulnerable
populations receive the assistance they require.

Additionally, we believe the OSCE must help establish an
incident response mechanism to deal with prior and ongoing
violence and human rights abuses, and participate in a
process to ensure the safe and voluntary return of internally
displaced persons, as called for in the Geneva talks on
Georgia. We look forward to constructive discussions on
December 17 and 18, and hope this process will foster
practical cooperation to stabilize the situation in Georgia
and reduce tensions.

The United States will continue to support Georgia's
sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity within
its internationally recognized borders, and will help in all
ways to further peaceful conflict resolution. Toward that
end, we again call on Russia to implement in their entirety
the commitments made in the August 12 and September 8
ceasefire agreements, in particular the return of Russian
forces to their August 7 positions and the free movement of
humanitarian aid, international observers and return of
displaced persons.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
RICE