On February 28, while meeting the media representatives, President of the Georgian-Abkhaz and Ossetian International Movement, Professor Nestan Kirtadze made statements on the new constitutional initiatives on behalf of the movement and openly appealed to Bidzina Ivanishvili, Prime Minister of Georgia and leader of the ruling coalition, to the Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia David Usupashvili , to President Michael Saakashvili and as well as to political leaders of the parliamentary minority.
Georgian-Abkhaz and Ossetian International Movement believes that the current constitutional process should not refrain from protecting interests and granting firm guarantees to our kin: the Abkhaz and the Tskhinvali Ossetians. Certainly, in this we mean a guarantee of paramount importance for the Abkhaz and the Tskhinvali Ossetians which in the form of a declaration on permanent peace, should be enshrined in the main law of Georgia, - the Constitution.
We need peace and the Abkhaz and the Ossetians also need peace as well as the whole region is also thirsting for peace.
Where can this definition be positioned?!
To our thinking, a new paragraph should be inserted into the preamble of the Constitution which will emphasize the tragic reality in present-day Georgia. Alongside with this, a new definition, stipulating permanent peace has to be streamlined with the idea of restoring Georgia's territorial integrity exclusively by means of peaceful, political and legal ways, with involvement of international community.
This will be a declaration of permanent peace on constitutional level which is so necessary for Georgia as well as for the whole region.
This will be recognition of uniqueness of the peaceful way as well as a guarantee which is demanded by our kin - the Abkhaz and the Ossetians.
We all need this in order to restore and maintain peaceful cohabitation with peoples, genetically close to us at least on the social-economic and cultural-academic level.
This is necessary for Georgia in order to intensify the peacekeeping process and move from the declarative mode to realization of practical and large-scale projects.
We believe that this definition has to be enshrined into preamble of the Constitution and the inscription should be formulated by way of broad consensus, - says the new initiative.
"Unfortunately, at the present stage, discussions and talks on the political status, restoration of territorial integrity and all other complex problems in this regard are impossible in fact, for all such efforts may cause more tension and opposition. Georgia's present-day practical agenda should clearly define the issues related to restoring trust and confidence among the peoples as well as the ways of realization of social-economic, cultural-academic and other large-scale projects.
Sadly enough, the issue of territorial integrity has been moved to remote future, yet it needs daily toil, flexible diplomacy and the historic Chance", - Nestan Kirtadze emphasized at the press-conference.
At a special press-conference, Nestan Kirtadze also proposed another initiative and stated that in Georgia's constitution, in the main law of the country, amendments and changes should be entered by way of broad consensus supported by overwhelming majority of Georgia's population and it will certainly give extra level of legitimacy to the country's Constitution.
"We propose this initiative and I appeal to the leaders of the constitutional process to open the opportunities for representatives of civil society, professionals and experts for broader participation in the constitutional process in order to increase the role and responsibilities of civil society before the country. We believe that the new constitutional changes should be adopted through broad consensus of all the stake-holders. "
Georgian-Abkhaz and Ossetian International Movement and its president, Professor Nestan Kirtadze, being one of the active participant of the process of drafting and adopting the Constitution of Georgia in August 25, 1995, expressed her readiness to take active part in the current constitutional process as well.
Nestan Kirtadze, in observance of all protocol formalities, delivered her initiatives to Bidzina Ivanishvili, the prime Minister of Georgia and leader of the majority coalition, to President Michael Saakashvili and Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia, as well as to the leaders of the majority and minority factions.