16 NGOs joined for the Bucharest Handshaking Marathon for Peace in Georgia (August 13th 2008)

PRESS RELEASE

August 13th 2008

Handshaking Marathon for Peace! Stop the armed conflict in Georgia!

The hereby signing NGOs organized on Wednesday, August 13, 2008, at 19.00hrs, a flash-mob – marathon for peace in Georgia. The participants at this event gathered in two groups – one at Av. Pavel Kiseleff in front of the Romanian Peasant’s Museum and the other at the Arch of Triumph – and they walked towards each other until they reached the Russian Embassy in Bucharest (Sos. Pavel Kiseleff, no. 6). There they shook hands and lighted candles in the memory of the victims of the war in Georgia, asking for the cease of armed conflict in the region.

We, the hereby signing NGOs, were profoundly touched by the situation of innocent people so close to our country. We realized that between the positions sustained by armed forces of Georgia and Russia in this conflict, the voices and wishes of ordinary citizens in Georgia remain unheard. On natural resources lived, until few days ago, ordinary people, who have to start as soon as possible to enjoy the democratic opportunities of determining their own destiny.

Human solidarity, the inviolability of human rights and the respect of sovereignty and territorial integrity of states are the values in basis of which we act. This is the reason for which we call the immediate cease of the armed conflict. We ask the belligerent parts to refrain from any action that might escalade the conflict and to return at the table of negotiations. We urge the involvement of the European Union and international organizations in the peaceful resolution of the conflict in Georgia.

Signing organizations:

Academia de Advocacy

Agenţia de Monitorizare a Presei

Asociaţia Civitas `99

Asociaţia Pentru Comunitate

Asociaţia Pro Democraţia

Asociaţia Smart Projects

Asociaţia Verzii

CENTRAS

Centrul de Resurse pentru participare publică

Centrul Educaţia 2000+

Centrul Euroregional pentru Democraţie

Centrul pentru Jurnalism Indepedent

Centrul pentru Politici Publice

Fundaţia Pentru Dezvoltarea Societăţii Civile

Grupul pentru Dialog Social

Terra Ecologica