Presentation of “Occupation” Project
Thursday, October 27
The presentation summed up the work, implemented by the Commission, during the last one and a half years concerning an issue of essential importance for Georgia - occupation.
The TV project "Occupation” was implemented with the cooperation of the Parliamentary Commission and the Public Broadcaster and with financial support of the Fund of the President of Georgia. Seventeen films were made within the scope of the project, which reflect the fact of occupation, in 14 states. The films are made in 15 countries. They reflect the parallels between fascism, Soviet and current occupations.
"Three years passed after the aggression of 2008 and these three years clearly answered the question of what happened in August, 2008. Today, the opinion of the international community is crystal clear that two regions of Georgia – Abkhazia and Tskhinvali, are occupied by Russian military forces. The term "occupation” is used and confirmed by international organizations, national parliaments and legislative bodies. A number of significant documents are pending to officially recognize and use the term 'occupation',” Bakradze stated.
According to Bakradze, this fact is important in political and legal terms, inasmuch as the inculcation of this term in world political opinion implies that "all attempts by Russia to justify August 2008, to prove that Georgia was the aggressor, and Russia has a peacekeeping function to protect its own citizens, failed and the trend, connected to the term "occupation”, is clear evidence of this fact”.
As the Chairman of the Parliament reasoned, the films carry a significant political signal and the main value of this is that Georgia is not the only example and what happened and still happens in Georgia is in complete compliance with the manner of behavior, expressed by totalitarian states towards small neighboring countries throughout the world.
According to the Chairman of Parliament, the cycle of films evidently reveals that Georgians are not alone and other states as well encounter similar problems. "The films overall reveal as well that this problem ended with the failure of the occupation forces and unification and progress of all those countries, which are in the films. The films are important to get to know the fact that occupation may be grave, long-term but in the end the winner is the side which has truth and justice,” Bakradze stated. He thanked the Parliamentary Commission and the Public Broadcaster for the implementation of this interesting and important project.
The Chairman of the Temporary Commission on Territorial Integrity, Shota Malashkhia and the Director General of the Public Broadcaster, Giorgi Chanturia also addressed the public.
MPs, government members, members of the Supreme Court and the government of Abkhazia Autonomous Republic, the diplomatic corps and ambassadors of various countries, the First Lady of Georgia and the representatives of the society attended the presentation.
The films will be broadcasted from November 7 on Public Broadcaster at 21h00 every day, except Saturdays and Sundays. The films will also be broadcast in the countries where they were made.