Tskhinvali, South Ossetia - In a speech before the United Nations last month, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili implored world leaders to set up an international investigation to find out the truth about the war in South Ossetia. I couldn't agree more. But I think the results of an honest investigation would reveal a very different "truth" than what President Saakashvili claims.
I know this because I was in Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, on Aug. 7 when Georgian troops marched into the city and killed my friends and neighbors. I huddled with my family in terror for three nights while Saakashvili's tanks and rockets destroyed hundreds of our homes, desecrated cemeteries, gutted schools and hospitals.
I also have good reason not to trust what Saakashvili says. For three days before the attack I had been getting calls from many Georgian friends warning me to get out. They said Saakashvili was planning an attack. Most of the Georgians living in South Ossetia left because they knew what was coming.
On the night of Aug. 7, Saakashvili went on television and assured the frightened civilian population of South Ossetia that he would not attack us. This was long after the time Saakashvili now claims Russians had begun "invading" Georgia.
Ossetians went to bed relieved and thankful for a peaceful night.
Less than two hours later, according to credible international accounts, his artillery, bombers, and three brigades of ground troops unleashed what I can only describe as a fierce hell on our city. In the moment, we knew only our fear as we hid. Afterward I spoke with hundreds of Ossetians to find out what was done to us.
My friend's elderly father tried to douse the flames set by Georgian fire on the home he had built with his hands. His leg was severed by shrapnel from Georgian weapons. He bled to death while his disabled wife crawled from their burning home.
Ossetians saw Georgian tanks firing into basements where women and children hid for safety They saw fleeing families shot down by Georgian snipers. We learned that the Georgian military had used Grad rocket systems and cluster bombs against Tskhinvali.
Yes, I would very much like to see an international commission investigate the truth of what happened.
When I came out from hiding, thanking God that the Russians had saved our lives, I was dismayed by the reaction of the international media to what had happened. There was nothing about Ossetian deaths and the unprovoked horrors inflicted by Saakashvili's military. It made my heart sick.
The truth has been crushed by Georgia's powerful public relations machine as mercilessly as Georgian tanks rolled over the defenseless civilians of Tskhinvali.
I know that Americans are a generous and fair people. But Americans haven't been told the truth about what happened to us. Americans don't understand that Ossetians are an independent, Christian Orthodox people with a deep history in our land. The world talks only about Georgian freedom. What of freedom for my people? Does our suffering, do our voices, mean nothing?
I don't blame the Georgian people for what happened to us. The vast number of Ossetians and Georgians want to live in peace. I blame Georgia's leaders.
Saakashvili has persuaded the world that he is a "beacon" of democracy and openness. But he won't even tell his own people the truth. My Georgian friends weren't allowed to see any Russian news sites during the conflict because all of those sites were blocked by Saakashvili's government.
I know we are a small people, and I make no claim to understanding the experts in geopolitics with their theories and pronouncements about the great powers. But I have fought for women's rights in Ossetia for 12 years and I believe in the truth.
In a recent article, Saakashvili cynically dismissed Ossetian suffering and deaths because, he said, Russia had "lied" about how many of my people were killed by the Georgian military.
It breaks my heart to even engage in this discussion. No one � including Saakashvili � knows how many Ossetians were killed by his Army. I have friends who buried loved ones in their backyards because there were no alternatives. Many people are still missing.
Does Saakashvili believe his vicious attack on a civilian city was justified if he only killed a few hundred rather than a few thousand? Do Americans realize that a military trained and equipped by the US government attacked a civilian population as they slept in their beds? Can they justify sending another billion dollars to Georgia and nothing for those Georgia attacked?
I have made an urgent appeal to the world for humanitarian relief for our people at the website helpossetianow.org. I beg the United States and the world to find out the truth. Please hear our voices.
Magnetonium
Its too pro-Russian, so please sweep it up under the carpet because noone gives a fock. If you know what I mean.
Though this lady is a very credible source, she'll been battling corruption and inequality for years. She's been more pro-Western than most of the other Ossetians until the war.
Magnetonium
Sweep under the carpet the South Ossetian plight. Other than Russia, the world hasnt contributed a penny to help rebuild the devastated Ossetian towns. USA has already pledged big bucks to restore Georgian military. Russia is accused of starting the war. So where's the Ossetian issue in the media? They're people too, right?
Not according to the media. I know there are only 70,000 of South Ossetians, but thats no excuse to ignore it for the media - but pro-Russian media doesnt sell well to the public, does it?
Arbiter
I read this article the other day. It pretty much confirms what I had already supposed about the conflict based on knowing a little about the region and generally being a contrarian. Initial western media reports on matters outside the west are always heavily slanted towards simplistic paradigms and cliches like the big bad bully attacking the defenseless neighbor; or the evil, corrupt ruler cheating his way to victory in an election. Only well after the fact, when most people have already formed strong opinions on the issue based on sources of dubious objectivity, do things like this inevitably start to trickle out. By that point most people aren't listening, and most of the rest don't want to hear anything that doesn't agree with what they already believe.
It is what it is... just one more reason not to put power in the hands of the people if you ask me.
Lira
quote:
Originally posted by HardTranceProd
By Lira Tskhovrebova
Didn't know Lira was a given name :p
quote:
Originally posted by HardTranceProd
My friend's elderly father tried to douse the flames set by Georgian fire on the home he had built with his hands. His leg was severed by shrapnel from Georgian weapons. He bled to death while his disabled wife crawled from their burning home.
quote:
Originally posted by HardTranceProd
It breaks my heart to even engage in this discussion. No one � including Saakashvili � knows how many Ossetians were killed by his Army. I have friends who buried loved ones in their backyards because there were no alternatives. Many people are still missing.
I realise I can't even imagine how painful a war must be when I read this kind of thing :(
Chryz707
"The truth has been crushed by Georgia's powerful public relations machine as mercilessly as Georgian tanks rolled over the defenseless civilians of Tskhinvali"
This isnt the Powerful Georgian PR machine, this is the American backed PR Machine... Yes its a Tradgedy and wrong what happened there.
Trancer-X
quote:
Originally posted by Chryz707
"The truth has been crushed by Georgia's powerful public relations machine as mercilessly as Georgian tanks rolled over the defenseless civilians of Tskhinvali"
This isnt the Powerful Georgian PR machine, this is the American backed PR Machine... Yes its a Tradgedy and wrong what happened there.
Fox news didn't exactly want to air the truth, either.
Watch them cut these two off when they begin to elaborate upon what really happened in South Ossetia.
The Georgian conflict did bring out the hypocricy of the West. What would America etc have done had Serbia sent in tanks to Kosovo following their declaration of independence?
I do have my doubts about Russia in general, and am quite concerned with the nationalist direction the country seems to be headed (seems to take a lot of things personally and doesn't like their pride being hurt) but in this instance, they reacted exactly the same the West would have done (have done) where their interests were threatened (even tho in this case the "interests" are nationalistic)
