On the 24th of August 2014 so-called extraordinary presidential elections are being held in the occupied region of Abkhazia. This illegal act represents yet another unsuccessful attempt of disguising ethnic cleansing of hundreds of thousands of people by elements of ostensible democratic governance, reports GHN based on information of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
During the last twenty years people displaced from Georgia's occupied regions are deprived of the right to return to the places of their residence whereas the fundamental rights and freedoms of a small number of population still living in these regions, in particular their civil, economic and social rights, are violated every day by the occupation regimes. Of particular concern are the de-facto regime's statements calling for the harassment, and in some cases, even for the expulsion of ethnic Georgians living in the Abkhazian region.
Provisions of the Ceasefire Agreement continue to be violated in parallel to the grave human rights situation in the occupied regions. International observers, including representatives of the EU Monitoring Mission are denied access to the Abkhazian and Tskhinvali regions to cover the existing situation there. Actions designed to undermine the agreed format and agenda of the International Geneva Discussions continue to be reported hindering the discussion of important issues under the agenda.
The so-called "presidential elections" illegally held in the occupied Abkhazian region on the 24th of August 2014 represent total disrespect and neglect of the fundamental principles of International Law, in particular, of the principle of sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of internationally recognized borders.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry calls on the international community, based on its firm position with respect to Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, to condemn the so-called "presidential elections" illegally held in the Abkhazian region.