User:Srguan/On Guarantees of Protection of State Sovereignty of Georgia

On Guarantees of Protection of State Sovereignty of Georgia
Created	9 March 1990
Signatories	Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic
Purpose	Assert Georgia's sovereignty and expand one's rights within the reformed Soviet Union Create a basis for the Georgian indpendence

The Resolution of the Georgian Supreme Soviet on On Guarantees of Protection of State Sovereignty of Georgia was a resolution passed by the Supreme Soviet of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic on 9 March 1990. It was passed following the opposition protests outside the government building in Tbilisi on 8 March 1990. It notably declared the 1921 Red Army invasion of Georgia as illegal.

Background

In 1985, new Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev announced his Perestroika programme to reform the Soviet Union. As such, many constituent Soviet republics began to assert their rights in this new rearrangement. The Estonian SSR became the first one to declare its state sovereignty within the USSR on 16 November, 1988. In a resolution "On Union Treaty", it called for a New Union Treaty based on the state sovereignty of Estonia. The other constituent republics followed the steps soon.

Besides, the Gorbachev's Glasnost reform led to the growing demand for a complete independence from the Soviet Union, including in the Georgian SSR. Since 1988, the pro-independence opposition launched mass rallies in the Georgian cities. As such, in November 1988, the opposition mobilized 200 thousand people in Tbilisi to protest against a new Soviet law which gave a right to the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union to pass laws overriding the republican laws. The demonstrations continued and culminated on 9 April 1989, when the Soviet army dispersed the mass protest in Tbilisi, killing several people.

The violent events in Tbilisi discredited the Soviet authorities among Georgians and surged the support for independence. The central Soviet government responded with the cabinet reshuffle in the republic's leadership, replacing its head Jumber Patiashvili with Givi Gumbaridze. The new leadership chose more conciliatory approach towards the independence movement. In February 1990, the Georgian Supreme Soviet adopted its new programme. The document incorporated many of the demands of the pro-independence opposition. It called for a complete political, cultural and economic self-determination and a New Union Treaty with "full sovereignty" to the constituent republics and only a limited role to the central Soviet authorities in defense, foreign policy and "the most important problems of the whole country". It declared all property on the Georgian territory under the republic's ownership to be retained under state control or distributed in the form of private or other type of property. The programme also called for a Georgian diplomatic representation in foreign countries, membership into the United Nations and the creation of Georgian national military units.

Earlier, on 20 June 1989 the Supreme Soviet agreed to the opposition's demand to create a commission for legal and political assessment of the violation of 1920 Russia-Georgia treaty which guaranteed for Georgia's independence from Russia (meaning the 1921 Red Army invasion of Georgia). Its report was presented to the Supreme Soviet and approved on 18 November 1989.

Resolution

The resolution criticized the draft law on President of the Soviet Union and called for a greater sovereignity of the Georgian SSR. Its main points:

• The Georgian Supreme Soviet supports reformation of the Soviet Union, a direction towards a democracy and steps towards increased economic and political sovereignty of the constituent republics.

• The constituent republics are sovereign republics based on the article 70 of the Soviet constitution.

• Georgia should have its own President as the Soviet Union.

• President of Soviet Union should not impede the right of its member states to secede on the pretext of safeguarding the Union’s territorial integrity.

• The constitutional amendments granting the President of the Soviet Union a right to declare the war and state of emergency and presidential rule are unacceptable due to a threat to the sovereignty of its member states in case of such measures.

• The decrees of the President of Soviet Union should be implemented on the territory of constituent republic only in case of approval from its Supreme Soviet.

• Based on a report from the commission on issue of political and legal assessment of the violation of 1920 Russia-Georgia treaty, the 1921 Red Army invasion of Georgia is declared from the legal point of view as a military intervention and occupation with a goal of overthrowing the existing political order, and de facto annexation from political point of view.

• The results of the violation of 1920 Russia-Georgia treaty are declared as invalid and the rights of Georgia recognized by the Soviet Russia should be restored.

• 1921 Russia-Georgia treaty and 1922 Union Treaty are declared as invalid.

• Since the 1922 Union Treaty is declared as invalid, the negotiations should begin on the restoration of the Georgian independence.