Georgian Students Abroad Protect Their Votes
These days hundreds of Georgian students, from various countries sent the open letters to the president of Georgia and Nana Devdariani, head of the Central Election Commission, where say express their concern with the November 2, 2003 parliamentary elections.
“We have to admit that the November 2, 2003 parliamentary election has been a greate disappointment for those of us who have been looking forward to the elections that took place”- reads the letter of the students of November 14, 2004 to the President of Georgia.
The letter reads the citizens had a great disappointment in the elections results.
“It is an undisputed fact that the opposition party won the November 2, 2003 parliamentary elections overwhelmingly, but the official reports from the Central Election Committee tells us a completely different story – giving an unprecedented majority of the votes to the pro-government political block For New Georgia and the Revival Union”-reads the letter.
The Georgians abroad demand to annul the results of elections in certain election districts.
Many of them say the reason of their being abroad is the economic hardship in Georgia. “We are here as the economic situation in Georgia is extremely hard; we participated in this election as thought the only way for us to return in our home country is the change of the government”-Natia 35, from California, US wrote us.
Yesterday, a group of Georgian students in Germany, Hamburg arranged a rally protesting against the Georgian government and the election fraud. Approximately fifty students, professors, and businessmen being in Germany expressed their dissatisfaction and declared the results of the parliamentary elections should be annulled otherwise they will demand the resignation of the government.
“We support those who stand in front of the Parliamentary building in Tbilisi, as they are striving to establish democracy in Georgia”-Thea Daraselia, from Hamburg, Germany told Advocacy.Ge
Georgian nationals living in Great Britain and the US, also consider arranging the protest actions. As the Georgian community activist, Vasil Rukhadze wrote Advocacy.Ge rally will be held in New York, in front of the UN House, on Sunday, November 16.
“We express our firm support for the ongoing struggling but democratization process in Georgia”-reads the letter of Georgian Community in the US.
The same type of action, protesting the parliamentary election fraud will be held in London in front of the Georgian Embassy in Great Britain on Sunday, November 16, 2003.
The citizens of Georgia in Great Britain also expressed their support to the protesters in front of the parliamentary building in Tbilisi. “We support peacful protest against Eduard Shevardnadze’s regime and we are against any kind of military violation of the people’s rights to express their opinions through peaceful meetings and demonstrations”-reads the letter of November 14, 2003.
National civil society members developed the joint statement, undermining three main demands for the government: the president and all responsible individuals to acknowledge their responsibility for numerous violations during the parliamentary elections, to annul the results of elections in several election districts and to release Giorgi Mshvenieradze, GYLA observer, who is detained by police of Adjara Autonomous Republic.
The statement is supported by hundreds of Georgian and foreign citizens in Georgia and abroad.
Advocacy.Ge will keep you updated with the development of the events.
