Speaker of the Seimas: we need to be sensitive today about the occupation of Georgia

Press release, 14 August 2018

On 14 August 2018, at the opening of Stories Behind Photographs: 10 Years Following Russia’s Military Aggression in Georgia and its Territories, an exhibition organised by the Embassy of Georgia, Viktoras Pranckietis, Speaker of the Seimas, highlighted the need to be sensitive about the ongoing occupation of Georgia.

“The Georgian territories occupied by Russia are characterised by a worsening humanitarian situation and an increasing number of human rights violations, including illegal arrests and restrictions on freedom of movement,” the Speaker said. The barbed wires and the construction of other barriers to increase the physical separation of the occupied territories is a matter of particular concern referred to by the Speaker of the Seimas.

According to Mr Pranckietis, the telling photographs in the exhibition demonstrate the difficult and painful situation of the forcefully displaced ethnic groups in Georgia.

“Lithuania consistently supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia. We are making every effort to keep this issue at the centre of attention of the international community,” Mr Pranckietis, Speaker of the Seimas, said.

At the event, the book sHEROes by a Georgian author Salome Benidze and photographer Dina Oganova as well as an exhibition of the photos from the book was also presented. The book features stories of women affected by the occupation of Georgia.

Photos of the Office of the Seimas (author Džoja Gunda Barysaitė)  

The opening event was also attended by Khatuna Salukvadze, Ambassador of Georgia to the Republic of Lithuania, and Laurynas Kasčiūnas, Member of the Seimas Group for Inter-Parliamentary Relations with Georgia.

Contact person for further information:

Karolina Frolovienė, Spokesperson of the Speaker of the Seimas, tel.:+ 370  5 239 6016,

e-mail: [email protected]