DECREE ISSUED BY THE PRESIDIUM OF THE SUPREME COUNCIL OF ABKHAZIA

On August 14 of 1992, armed troops of unlawfully established State Council of the Republic of Georgia, without prior notification, were dispatched to the Republic of Abkhazia that ceased capital city Sukhumi and occupied part of its territory.

From the very first of hours of invasion the troops of the State Council resort boundless terror and physical annihilation of 100 000 Abkhaz nation. They are ousting non-Georgian population from Abkhazia.  Mil­­itary helicopters, equipped with missile and bombs, as well as tanks and howitzers are used against the peaceful civilians.  The weapons of a mass-destruction “Grad” and others are widely used that are banned by the Geneva Convention of 1949.  The compact settlements of Abkhaz ethnic are being devastated, in particular the villages of Ochamchire and Sukhumi regions. Assassination of Abkhazs and establishment of unbearable condi­­­ti­­ons are aimed at annihilating the Abkhaz nation that comes under the definition of genocide of the 1948 Con­­vention “On Prevention of Offensive Genocide and Measures of Punishment for it”.  Georgian boeviks are kil­­ling children and women only for the ethnic affiliation. They are resorting torture, robbing and raping, including minors; houses, schools, hospitals, museums, recreation centers, administrative buildings are given to arson; the cultural and spiritual heritage of Abkhazia is being devastated.

The State Council of Georgia is not likely to hide its policy of genocide against the Abkhaz people.  On 15 August the chairman of the State Council of Georgia Ed. Shevardnadze on Georgian TV said: “Nothing stops us in fighting for the territorial integrity of our country as it always was done by our great ancestors “.  On 15 August the Commander of Georgian troops G. Karkarashvili declared in Abkhaz TV that he was ready to annihilate all the Abkhazs.  Thus we are witnessing a real plot aimed at genocide, direct aggression and offence that is defined as a crime by Article 3 of the 1948 Convention.  One of the goals of the ongoing aggression is to deprive the Abkhaz people of their historical statehood.  Current Georgian state, even not a member of the UN yet, violated the preamble and Articles 1 and 55 of the UN Charter that secures respect of a big and small nations and supplies the small people with a right of self-determination.

Proceeding from the aforementioned, the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Abkhazia decrees:

To consider as an act of genocide of the Abkhaz people the mass-terror, physical annihilation, torture of war-prisoners and hostages resorted by the troops of the State Council of Georgia.

Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Abkhazia  V. Ardzinba

16 September 1992

(Newspaper “Svobodnaia Abkhazia”, # 2, 1992)