The Cost of Human Rights Is Priceless

Commentary on the article “Abkhazia must raise its game on human rights” by Hugh Williamson, Director of Human Rights Watch’s Europe & Central Asia Division, in The Guardian

One of the most negatively biased, skewed, overwhelmingly and excessively cynical articles among the many others that have recently appeared on the Internet about Abkhazia. It is all the more regretful to read as it has been written by the person who represents such an influential international organisation as Human Rights Watch was once considered to be.

Deep disappointment is the only outcome of this perfect demonstration of the author’s prejudiced attitude and his politically motivated approach to the country to which he has recently paid a visit.  

We do not suppose to present counter-arguments to every passage in his piece - we would just like to mention a few points of which Mr. Williamson, Director of Human Rights Watch’s Europe & Central Asia Division, is surely well-aware but to which he prefers not to pay attention, since they are not on the agenda of Georgian authorities, whom he fully supports, forgetting the human rights’ situation today inside Georgia itself.

Human rights are not the exclusive preserve of larger nations — they are equal for all, as has been stated in all the famous covenants, declarations, protocols and resolutions, etc.; every human being has the right to enjoy them, but it seems that nowadays there exists an almost unheard of division whereby some peoples, due to political processes, are exalted and highly respected, whereas the others are deemed to be worthy only of blame, accusations, venom and jibes. Let us recall that Abkhazia suffered a bloody war in 1992-93 and that it was instigated by Georgia; thereafter, the country has suffered years of blockade imposed on all its peoples by the international community (including, for many years during this period, the Russian Federation); furthermore, even today, after Abkhazia’s unexpected recognition by Russia and some other countries, we Abkhazians are continually warned that our republic will be never recognised by other countries, which nevertheless lay upon our country (insultingly styled a “territory” in the said article) the obligation to build a highly developed state with truly democratic society - no easy task, even when no war or economic blockade has been imposed on an emergent state. In the words of Mr. Williamson, we  are expected strictly to follow all international conventions and documents but solely in regard to the residents of so-called ‘Georgian’ nationality (viz. the Mingrelian members of our population).
 No one in Abkhazia denies the respect due to the dignity of all human beings of any nationality living in our country and our society pays great attention to it.  But we face many barriers and circumstances (political, economic, social etc.) which are hard to overcome in the short term in the state of isolation that the country has been kept for so long, and especially when the opinion of the people living in the country is not merely utterly neglected by the international community but often discriminated against in favour of Georgia, which, as stated above, 19 years ago inflicted upon us a war for the base purpose of restoring its already fractured territorial integrity, violating in the process the most important human right of all – each individual Abkhazian’s sacred right to Life. Who, pray, will be held responsible for that crime, instigated on Abkhazia’s own day of infamy, the 14th August 1992? Mr. Williamson even does not even deign to make mention of this crucial event in his hard-hitting article in The Guardian, in which before the whole world he exposed the World Domino Championship, held in Abkhazia a couple of months ago, to his savage mockery. It is really hard to discern what concerned Williamson more, the Domino Championship or the human rights situation, which he has done nothing to improve. Should he not at least have told us how it has been improved or indeed respected in his beloved Georgia? 

The Georgian authorities lose no opportunity to complain at every possible conference or political event around the world about alleged violations on what they call their “occupied territories”, though they never mention that Abkhazia and South Ossetia were gifted to the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic by the  SSR’s Bolshevik leader Josef Stalin (coincidentally Georgian by nationality) and address appeals to the relevant states or their embassies when dance-groups or students from Abkhazia obtain visas to participate in international gatherings. For example, under pressure from the Georgian authorities, visas have been denied even when people are applying to travel outside Abkhazia on medical grounds, which is surely utterly unjust and unheard of in our time. We refrain from commenting on the unjust laws adopted by the Georgian Parliament relating to foreigners crossing the Abkhaz-Russian border, other than to note that these laws make them liable to arrest if ever they step on Georgian territory. Mr. Williamson keeps silent about this. Is this (just maybe) because he approves of such violations and rank discrimination when they affect not just the people of all nationalities resident in Abkhazia (famed for it hospitality) but their guests too?