Expressing Support for the Territorial Integrity of Georgia

Floor Speech

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Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution (H. Res. 660) to support the territorial integrity of Georgia. I want to thank my good friends and colleagues Mr. Poe and Mr. Connolly for introducing this excellent resolution, which condemns Russia's ongoing illegal activities along the occupation line in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Mr. Speaker, Russia's invasion and occupation of Georgian territory violates the Helsinki Final Act, as well as the core principles of several multilateral agreements, the Budapest Memorandum, and the United Nations Charter. The United States has not recognized Russia's illegal attempt to separate Abkhazia and South Ossetia from Georgia as legitimate in any way--and this resolution sends a powerful message that in this policy the administration has the full support of Congress. I was in Georgia in August, 2008, arriving about two weeks after the Russian invasion. The human suffering generated by the invasion was immense, with over 192,000 people displaced and several hundred killed. Several of my constituents found themselves trapped behind Russian lines in South Ossetia—we were able to get them out with help from our very capable ambassador, John Tefft, now serving as our ambassador to Russia, and the assistance of another country's diplomatic mission. The Russian occupation of Georgian territory is a festering sore that has not healed in the eight years that have elapsed since the invasion. Mr. Speaker, the resolution notes: ``the Russian Federation is building barbed wire fences and installing, so-called `border signs' and other artificial barriers along the occupation line and depriving the people residing within the occupied regions and in the adjacent areas of their fundamental rights and freedoms.'' Mr. Speaker, I saw this new Iron Curtain with my own eyes in July. I was in Georgia, leading the U.S. Delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, and made a visit to what our embassy calls the occupation line with some of my congressional colleagues. We looked over Russia's fortified line from an observation platform--and what we saw reminded me of the old Soviet Union. The Russian troops came to the checkpoint and made people wait upwards of 12 hours to cross over with foodstuffs and reach people on the other side. A Russian guard used a camera to film me and the other members who were standing on the platform. Tensions were thick. Mr. Speaker, this resolution comes at a timely moment, as Georgia prepares for its parliamentary elections in October. It reminds Georgians as they prepare to go to the polls that the U.S. supports them in their efforts to develop a sovereign, independent, and prosperous country. I thank my good friend Mr. Poe for introducing this resolution in support of Georgia and urge my colleagues to support it.

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