Our response to the occupation is - no tolerance! - The President of Georgia made this statement. Salome Zourabichvili has released a video address on the 11th anniversary of the August war. The president says Georgia will not tolerate occupation.
"Today is the 11th anniversary of the Russian-Georgian War. The 2008 war remains an open wound for Georgian society. It is an open wound for parents who lost children in this war and children who were raised without fathers as a result of this war. As an ordinary citizen, I bow before the vivid memory of our heroes.
The war is an open wound for those whose home, land, ancestral tombs, shrines have been occupied. Despite this pain and daily abuse, they continue to live heroically along the dividing line. It is our duty, and mine, to stand by them, and to take care of their safety. Our answer to the occupation is simple - non-tolerance!
We will neither tolerate the violation of the rights of Georgians in Gali and Akhalgori, nor the oppression of our Ossetian and Abkhaz citizens, nor the violation of their language and identity.
As we were able to peacefully withdraw Russian military bases from Georgia in 2005, I believe we will be able to end the occupation and establish a new relationship. Germany"s example shows that nothing is permanent, that victory over hopelessness is always possible.
We must be able to mobilize our partners to make conflict resolution both their priority and ours. I will voice this ambition in the near future from the highest UN tribune.
Georgians are not hopeless, so we must also believe that the time will come and Russia will be convinced that war, occupation and the neglect of state borders must be a thing of the past. In today"s world where global threats and challenges threaten us all, stability is essential! Not just for us as a small country, but for any country if it wants to develop and care for its own people.
I have a great responsibility: not to let provocations as much as possible endanger Georgia"s statehood. At the same time, it is necessary to increase the defense capability of our troops so that the tragedy of the war will never be repeated, the protected civilians will move forward and the protected area will provide a basis for sustainable development.
Our empowerment is not directed against anyone. On the contrary, our peaceful policy is firm and irreversible.Our unity is the most powerful tool for resolving existing conflicts peacefully. So I am and will be the main fighter for public consent. Without the consent of Georgian society, it is impossible to reconcile the Abkhazian and Ossetian societies traumatized by war. And this is the only way to finally unite the country. We must all overcome the traces of war in consciousness. Let the lessons of the past be the basis for empowerment. Let"s be focused on the future. All decent nations and societies are united on the issue of war. The issue of war should not be the basis of yet another polarization and division of society, but its containment. To do so, it is necessary to overcome hatred, raise the level of culture and state consciousness. Only unity is a precondition for the future of the state and its ultimate reunification, ”Zurabishvili