Human rights defenders: EU shall regard the war in South Caucasus in its relations with Russia

The Russia's leading human rights organizations demand that the European Union (EU) in its negotiations with Russia stop pretending that there was no war in South Caucasus this August.

This is the topic of the statement made by the Initiative of Russian NGOs for Dialogue with EU on Human Rights and handed over by the authors to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The members of the "Initiative" believe that restart of negotiations about a new partnership and cooperation agreement between the European Union and Russia gives a chance to reach a new level of EU-Russia interaction, beneficial for both parties and the world community as a whole: "Russian society is interested to be regarded as equal interlocutor and partner, and to develop our relations with Europe on principles of law and democracy. The European Union, in turn, should quit the trap of a false choice between 'the real policy' of double standards and appeals to keep Russia in isolation."

The authors of the manifesto emphasize that inadequate reaction of Europe to many years of Russian authorities' behaviour in Chechnya, ignoring other violations of human rights in Russia, inattention to the conflict in Abkhazia and South Ossetia and simplified understanding of processes in Georgia have cleared the way to the August war in South Caucasus, "having invited" both the Georgian leaders and Russian authorities to violently break the international humanitarian law and human rights in the peak phase of the conflict and after it.

The document was signed by the Society "Memorial", Chechen Committee for National Salvation, Moscow Helsinki Group, Centre for Promotion of Democracy and Human Rights, Centre "Demos", Union of Russian Committees of Soldiers' Mothers, Movement "For Human Rights" and other well-known Russian human rights organizations.