Agression in political discourse must be tamed

Georgia's political awakening since 1990s carries a mark of aggression, that proves hard to shrug off. This aggression clouds and trumps the logic, diverts attention from clarifying country's true objectives and condemns the body politics to the cycle of violent self-destruction. Georgia's 'thinkers' - intelligentsia, politicians, the media - carry the most virulent strain of this phenomenon. The task of true political and civic leadership is to transform the energy this process carries into something more productive, more creative and more sustainable.

The government of President Gamsakhurdia attacked the Imperial monster with vociferousness of a zealot, and did not spare own brethren in doing so. The brethren retaliated in kind - with an adequately dis-proportional response. President Shevardnadze sought to dissipate the anger by ushering in a comfortable inertia of a corrupt free-for-all. That worked for a while, for quite a while, but the political system turned into a farce, economy into rubble and country - into a potemkin village. This became embarrassing in the end...so he was forced to quit. The new generation thought they got it right - through channeling aggression into creation, agressive intents into aggressive institutions - army, police, prosecution. But that has stretched the social fabric to the breaking point. Too much resources were needed for making the convoked image of the best, the brightest, the fastest mover country with the reality. And the catastrophies of internal schysm and war have followed.

What Georgian citizens hear still today, are the voices of revenge, agression and violence. What the body politic needs is self-irony, honesty, judgement and statesmenship in leadership. So far, supply of aggression seems to create its own demand. The real change is what we must demand, and that would go beyond personalities, or, strangely, maybe even beyond institutions.

EU bogged down in Georgia

A picture from EU Monitoring Mission to Georgia (EUMM) official website captures its current predicament perfectly - bogged down in the native mud, it has only low-tech options for finding the way out, and even when such solutions are on offer, the EUMM itself keeps to the sidelines.

The 200-something deployment is huge by pre-August 2008 standards. It was seen as a breakthrough by the Georgian authorities who hoped the EU presence would help mitigate Russia's military stranglehold on two separatist regions - South Ossetia and Abkhazia, now occupied by the Russian forces.

In reality, however, the EUMM is reduced to the role of guarding - with their lives as the Russian Foreign Minister predicted - the Moscow-imposed border between Georgia and its two provinces.

Does Europe really need 200 people to do this meager job? This is a question that the EU is likely to answer negatively. Georgia's calls to further increase EUMM and spread its mandate into S.Ossetia and Abkhazia make sense, but are unlikely to be implemented against Russia's will. Come February - when the contracts for most of the EUMM officers are set to expire - Georgia might see the numbers of monitors diminish.

Russia managed to block the presence of OSCE Monitors in S.Ossetia and is working to further incapacitate a toothles UN presence in Abkhazia (UNOMIG). In 2009, the Georgian authorities might have to face the Russian troops and their armed proteges across a precarious border - and with no witnesses.

Official Communications Act Needed

Some may doubt the sincerity of the Parliamentary Commission to investigate August War, but its hearings shed rare light on functioning of Georgia's political system and, to a great extent, also civil service. The angry brawl at yesterday's hearing was controversial, and thus revealed with more certainty the shortfalls that were only pale contours during the previous, more academic hearings.

It is quite amazing to see how much of the country's policymaking - even (or maybe especially) on strategic matters - is taking place orally, beyond the official bodies, and how much of perception is shaped by hints, nods and the like. It is even more surprising of how little of paper - minutes, notes, memos, official communication - has been produced during these hearings to prove crucial points. The one and only written document to speak of was produced by Mr. Iakobashvili, Minister for Re-integration, and that was a memo drafted by the Russian peacekeeping forces...

If the notes of the meetings are not kept, if the communication is only verbal then the citizens can not receive the information they are entitled to. Of course, there is a need to keep sensitive information under wraps, but at some point, the historian should be able to look back and see what was happening behind the closed doors.

Georgia needs an Official Communications Act right now, which would legally bind the government and the president to keep all records of the meetings and communications, to have them open for the public when they are not classified, and to set a specific date for opening them up fully after a certain period.

Georgia Must Appoint a War Crimes Prosecutor

A voluminous report by the Amnesty International is the latest in the series of independent investigations that documents evidence of violations of the humanitarian law during the Russo-Georgian war in August. Georgia must respond to these allegations by appointing a War Crimes Prosecutor charged with investigating the allegations.

The Amnesty International report details the allegations of indiscriminate use of force targeting civilians by the Georgian Army, as well as multiple counts of indiscriminate targeting of civilians by the Russian Army, failure to protect the civilians on territories occupied by the Russian army and multiple counts of direct attacks, forced displacement, murder, arson and other crimes on part of the South Ossetian militia.

Through its Constitution Georgia not only guarantees human rights standards, but recognizes the supremacy of international law. In addition, Georgia has direct responsibilities under multiple international treaties, as well as under the customary law, to investigate and bring to justice perpetrators of violations of the international humanitarian law.

Georgian authorities made the first positive step by co-operating with AI investigations and commenting on their allegations – something the Russian authorities refrained from doing. As a state which understands fully its responsibilities towards its citizens and the international law, Georgia must now make a second step and appoint the War Crimes Prosecutor.

All cases of alleged violations of the humanitarian law should come under the purview of the Prosecutor. It should be explicitly stated, that these include investigation of crimes allegedly committed by the Georgian Armed Forces. Wherever the direct fact-finding would be impaired by the current political situation on the ground, prosecutor should guarantee the protection of victims and seek international mediation in soliciting victim testimonies for indictment.

Appointing of the specially designated Prosecutor would be a political signal of the commitment to investigate allegations and prosecute crimes. It will also serve as a signal to all victims, irrespective of their ethnicity, that the justice will be served. To be effective, the War Crimes Prosecutor must be endowed with sufficient staff and resources to conduct investigation. The international organizations – such as the EU, the Council of Europe and OSCE – must be ready to assist such effort. They must also bring in a wealth of experience that was generated from the functioning of the national war crimes prosecutors in the Balkans.

Such action from the Georgian state would give a clear signal to country’s citizens and to the wider world as to what kind of state Georgians are trying to build.

Saakashvili Lashes Out at West’s ‘Muted Reaction’

Speaking at a joint news conference with the U.S. Secretary of State on August 15 in Tbilisi, President Saakashvili lashed out at “most of the European countries” for their “muted and quiet” reaction to what he called was Russia’s preparation of Georgia’s invasion in recent months.

In an emotional speech He said those troops attacking Georgia were “barbarians of 21st century.” “All these could have been prevented; we were screaming, shouting to the world that Russia was going to do it,” he said.

Below are extracts from his opening remarks at the news conference:

As we speak now, significant part Georgian territories remain under foreign military occupation.
You might have heard reports that some Russian APCs were dislocated to move closely to the capital and are on halfway between Gori and Tbilisi.

Before focusing on today’s ceasefire agreement, I still would like to draw your attention to the events that preceded the whole invasion and occupation.

Well, when in April in Bucharest Georgia was denied the membership action plan by some members of NATO, I warned western media that it [denial to grant MAP] was asking for trouble. Not only they denied us membership action plan, but they specifically told the world that they are denying Georgia membership action plan because of existing territorial conflicts in Georgia, basically inviting the trouble.

And I told the world this is the worst thing one could say to the Russians that there will be no NATO until there are conflicts and more there are conflicts less there will be offered the NATO.
And immediately after April, immediately after Bucharest – and I can tell you now that Russians perceived Bucharest – and I mentioned it and then some of the western commentators made fun of me, saying this hot-headed Saakashvili tells this rubbish again.

I told them Russia perceives it as new Munich. Bucharest was perceived by them as new Munich. And what happened was that immediately they started build-up of the infrastructure in Abkhazia, immediately they started to bring in railway troops to build railway in depopulated, ethnically cleansed areas of Abkhazia, cynically claiming that they were doing this for humanitarian purposes.

And I shouted to the world that this is for bringing tanks. They built tanks bases all over Abkhazia and in South Ossetia in place of Java.

They started to bring in lots of military specialists, reconnaissance, they brought in paratroopers.
Again we screamed to the world Stop It.

There were some statements from Washington, but I have to tell you, most of the European countries, with some remarkable exceptions, there was pretty muted and quiet reaction and Russians were carefully watching this reaction, they were doing step by step, first some infrastructure, then some additional troops, then some legal acts, then again infrastructure, again some intrusion and wait watching carefully what Europeans have to say, watching carefully what would be a counter-reaction of the international community.

And it really did not follow.

Madam Secretary, whereas we were standing here last time, few weeks ago there was intrusion of Russian planes into the Georgian airspace, just exactly in the lines of South Ossetia.
And you remember as well as I do that then we downplayed, I downplayed it myself – I said, well, they are here just to salute Secretary Rice.

But that time they said: Yes, this is us, we flew there, implying that it was intent to bomb against Georgians and again they watched European reaction – no European countries said anything about it.

So, who invited the trouble here, who invited this arrogance here, who invited these innocent deaths here, not only those people, who perpetrate them, are responsible but also those people, who failed to stop that. Who is now trying to look forth for an excuse saying “you know Georgians might have started it.”

Excuse me, 1,200 tanks came into Georgia within few hours. There is no way you can mobilize those tanks in such a fast period unless you are ready.

There were all these movements on the ground, all around the place. You know, when it’s all started I wanted the world to know, I was going for holidays, my defense minister was going for a holidays. When the things started I had to rush back, cut my holidays short. When the tensions raised I had to summon back our defense minister, most of our officials were gone, most of decision makers I tried to reach were gone for vacations. It was brilliantly selected timing for this intervention.

Unfortunately, today we are looking evil directly in the eye. And today this evil is very strong, very nasty and very dangerous for everybody, not only for us.

That is what we learnt, but together this can be and will be only the first chapter. Let us write the next chapter together and write this historic new chapter of the world for the world.

We want them out. I want the world to know – never ever will Georgia reconcile with occupation of even one square kilometer of its sovereign territory, never ever.

There is a strong force led by former KGB worriers, those tanks that were taken out of Afghanistan, of eastern Europe, now are rolling back again into other countries.

Georgia was the first one to take their hit, but they are on the roll, they are arrogant, they will not stop.

But I can tell you – never ever my small nation of Georgia that has already gone through seventy years of subjugation by these barbarians, of 20th century then and 21st century now in exactly the similar circumstances – in 1921 Russia claimed that Georgia attacked one of its minorities, entered Georgia from the east and occupied Georgia for seventy years and we were in seventy years of communism, slavery and humiliation.

I grew up with the idea that it should never happen again. I wept when Berlin wall came down.
I thought that former KGB people were gone for good. On that one I was wrong.

But on one I was never wrong and I will never be wrong and I will be strong on it together with my people – you saw huge rally in downtown Tbilisi two days ago – never ever we will surrender, never ever we will give up our freedom and independence, never ever we will give any piece of our territory and freedom will go to every part of Georgia, to every ethnic group, to every community in Georgia and we will definitely get rid of these invaders for good. I am totally convinced on that one.