Meskhetia: Georgian Repatriates' Press-release
Reply-To: [email protected]
Sender: [email protected]
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Date: Sat, 15 Dec 2001 16:17:32 +0200 (EET)
Message-Id: <[email protected]>
Subject: Meskhetia: Georgian Repatriates' Press-release
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Original sender: Marat Baratashvili <[email protected]>
Meskhetia: Georgian Repatriates' Press-release
Press-release of the Union of Georgian Repatriates
In December, 2001 the NGO Union of Georgian Repatriates has begun
performance of the project "Inter-ethnic dialogues for nonconflict
repatriation". The project is carried out at financial support by the
Council of Europe.
Soon stage by stage and the voluntary repatriation of the deported in
1944 Meskhetian population should begin in Georgia. For past decades
the negative stereotypes have developed about deported Meskhetian
among the multiethnic population of Georgia. Recently false hearings
about potential repatriates are distributed among the people. The
people are confused, also they are under pressure of misinformation .
At the same time both today's inhabitants of Meskhety and deported
Meskhetians still have not had an opportunity of direct dialogue with
each other.
UGR considers it is necessary that repatriation of earlier deported
Meskhetian population should be preceded by the direct and frank
dialogue of the representatives of the sides. In other words: first
dialogue, then repatriation, rather than vice versa. Besides the
dialogue should be held between the representatives of different
categories of the population. Only in such case the preventive effect
will take place. Therefore the technology of specific preventive
dialogues is stipulated in the project.
The wide experience on repatriation of Crimean tatars is saved in
Ukraine in postsoviet epoch. Close co-operation between Ukrainian
NGOs and NGOs of the Crimean tatars is rather important . The
conflicts also became ripe on the Crimean peninsula in connection with
repatriation of the Crimean tatars. But the co-ordinated actions of
NGOs of different ethnic groups have helped to prevent them.
In last years the NGOs play a growing role in formation of a civil
society and democratic construction in Georgia. Therefore exchange of
opinions between the interested NGOs and development of the common
approaches concerning the repatriation of the Meskhetians are
necessary.
On the basis of this, the objectives of the project are:
- To promote strengthening of trust between the representatives of the
deported Meskhetians, on the one hand, and representatives of various
ethnic groups of Georgia - with another.
- To study experience of co-operation of NGOs of Crimean tatars and
Ukrainian NGOs with government and international organisations at
repatriation Crimean tatars in the Ukraine.
- To promote co-ordination of efforts inter-ethnic NGOs of Georgia
and NGOs of the deported Meskhetians, which are directed on the
nonconflict repatriation - integration of the deported Meskhetian
population.
Information about a course of performance of the project will be given
to all interested persons.
Our contacts:
Phone: (995 32) 79 25 10
E-mail: [email protected]
--
==============================================================
MINELRES - a forum for discussion on minorities in Central&Eastern
Europe
Submissions: [email protected]
Subscription/inquiries: [email protected]
List archive: http://www.riga.lv/minelres/archive.htm
==============================================================