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Transitional Justice and Georgia's Conflicts

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Transitional Justice and Georgia's Conflicts May 2009 International Center for Transitional Justice Transitional Justice and Georgia’s Conflicts: Breaking the Silence Magdalena Frichova International Center Transitional Justice and Georgia’s Conflicts: Breaking the Silence for Transitional Justice ICTJ New York 5 Hanover Square, 24th Floor New York, NY 10004 Tel + 1 917 637 3800 Fax + 1 917 637 3900 ICTJ Brussels Blvd. Bischoffsheim 11, 8th floor B-1000 Brussels, Belgium Tel: +32 2 227 6140 Acknowledgements The contextual sections of this report are based mainly on the author’s study of Georgian politics and conflict resolution processes over the past 10 years. She conducted research on transitional justice issues during a visit to Tbilisi, Sukhumi, Gali and the zone of the Georgia- Ossetian conflict, in November and December 2008. The transitional justice analysis and perspective in relation to Georgia’s conflicts was developed further in discussions with rele- vant interlocutors, and with ICTJ Europe Director Dick Oosting who also reviewed the report. ICTJ gratefully acknowledges the support of Zennström Philantropies in producing this report. About the Author Magdalena Frichova is a political and conflict analyst, currently working for International Center for Transitional Justice and International Crisis Group (Crisis Group) in Brussels. She has worked in the Caucasus over the past decade, most recently as the Tbilisi-based Caucasus project director for Crisis Group. Prior to that, she worked for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the High Commissioner on National Minorities and International Alert. About ICTJ The International Center for Transitional Justice assists countries pursuing accountability for past mass atrocity or human rights abuse. ICTJ works in societies emerging from repressive rule or armed conflict, as well as in established democracies where historical injustices or systemic abuse remain unresolved. The use of geographical names in this report should not be interpreted as implying an ICTJ position on the political status of the mentioned locations. © International Center for Transitional Justice 2009. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without full attribution. International Center Transitional Justice and Georgia’s Conflicts: Breaking the Silence for Transitional Justice CONTENTS Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 3 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 2. Post-Soviet Transition and Conflicts: Multiple Legacies of Abuse......................................................................................................................... 8 The Soviet Past ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8 The First Decade of Independence ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 10 After the Rose Revolution ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 11 Conflicts ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 13 The Georgian-Abkhaz and Georgian-Ossetian Conflict................................................................................................................................................................. 14 The Georgian-Russian Conflict and the August 2008 War ...................................................................................................................................................... 18 3. Transitional Justice in Georgia: An Unexplored Approach .................................................................................................................................................. 22 The Search for Peace, Justice and Accountability ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 22 Transitional Justice Mechanisms ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 24 Truth-seeking and Documentation ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 24 Prosecutions ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 27 Reparations .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 28 Building Institutions ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 32 Reconciliation .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 33 4. Opportunities to Engage in Transitional Justice ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 35 Areas for Exploration from a Transitional Justice Perspective ............................................................................................................................................................ 35 Return and Restitution/Compensation in the Georgian-Abkhaz Context ................................................................................................ 35 Documentation: Georgian-Ossetian Zone of Conflict ..................................................................................................................................................................... 35 Restitution and Inter-ethnic Relations in the Georgian-Ossetian Context ............................................................................................... 36 The International Community: The United Nations and the European Union ............................................................................. 36 Internal Georgian Transition ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 36 Next Steps ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 37 5. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 39 BOXES Box 1. Human Rights Abuses in Post-Soviet
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