The wolf that ate Georgia – Guardian.Co.Uk

Civilians are still suffering in Georgia and it is imperative for the world community to promote a lasting solution

Antonio Cassese guardian.co.uk, Monday 1 September 2008 08.00 BST

In Phaedrus's well-known fable of the wolf and the lamb, the wolf could easily have eaten the lamb without a word, but prefers to set out his "reasons". First, he scolds the lamb for muddying his drinking water (even though the wolf was upstream). Then he argues that last year the lamb had called him bad names (but the lamb was only six months old). The wolf then snarls that if it was not the lamb, it was his father; after that, he immediately moves into action.

The wolf's "justifications" for his evil action were a luxury that he allowed himself. At present, the United Nations Charter legally binds wolf-states – that is, the Great Powers – to offer justifications for their use of armed violence. This is all the more necessary for the Security Council's five permanent members because, aside from condemnation by public opinion, no sanctions are available against them for any serious breach of the charter.

Russia has set forth various reasons to justify its armed intervention in Georgia where the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia are nonetheless under Georgian sovereignty. Russia argues that its invasion was aimed at (1) stopping Georgia's aggression against South Ossetians; (2) ending ethnic cleansing, genocide, and war crimes committed by Georgia there; (3) protecting Russian nationals; and (4) defending South Ossetians on the basis of the peace-keeping agreement signed by Boris Yeltsin and Eduard Shevardnadze in 1992.

None of these legal grounds holds water. By sending its troops to South Ossetia, Georgia no doubt was politically reckless, but it did not breach any international rule, however nominal its sovereignty may be. Nor do genocide or ethnic cleansing seem to have occurred; if war crimes were perpetrated, they do not justify a military invasion. Moreover, South Ossetians have Russian nationality only because Russia recently bestowed it on them unilaterally. Finally, the 1992 agreement authorises only monitoring of internal tensions, not massive use of military force.

Hence, as in Phaedrus's fable, the Kremlin's "justifications" are empty. Russia has breached Article 2 of the UN Charter, which enjoins member states to "refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state."

There are several morals to the tale. First, when a lamb like Georgia gets smart and requests the protection of another wolf – in this case Nato – he must be careful, for every wolf guards his territory and is bent on "protecting" all those lambs that fall under his "jurisdiction".

Second, although Great Powers are de facto unbound by international rules on the use of force, they abide by a sort of unwritten "agreement between scoundrels" to behave similarly. The west violated that agreement in 1999 in Kosovo: Nato powers first attacked Kosovo and Belgrade, in breach of the UN Charter (although they were morally justified to do so, because there was a need to stop the serious atrocities underway); the west then promoted and blessed Kosovo's secession. As a result of that perilous precedent, Russia no longer feels bound by the unwritten agreement.

Finally, because it is mostly civilians that have suffered and are still suffering in Georgia, it is imperative for the world community to promote a lasting solution, as is stipulated in the agreement promoted by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. But a lasting solution is nowhere in sight, because Russian forces, in blatant breach of that agreement – and of international customary law – remain in many parts of Georgia beyond Abkhazia and South Ossetia. These two regions have now proclaimed their independence, and Moscow has given its blessing to a secession that is likely to be the stepping stone to incorporation by Russia.

Georgia has taken the path that lambs (small countries) normally choose when facing wolves (major powers), brandishing law as a weapon. It has instituted legal proceedings against Russia before both the International Court of Justice for alleged violations of the UN Convention on Racial Discrimination and the European Court of Human Rights for alleged breaches of Articles 2 (right to life) and 3 (prohibiting inhuman and degrading treatment) of the European Convention on Human Rights. Because Georgia is a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, it could have requested the ICC Prosecutor to investigate Russia's allegations of war crimes and genocide as well as its own allegations of Russian crimes. Strangely, it has not done so, though, fortunately, the ICC Prosecutor has announced that he is keeping the situation in Georgia "under analysis".

Plainly, by itself the law may not be able to offer the right solution in such a complex and dangerous situation. Only politics and diplomacy can offer a lasting solution. Nevertheless, with both sides claiming the mantle of international law, authoritative legal decisions about these issues might perhaps push the parties to reach a lasting agreement.

Antonio Cassese, the first President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and later the chairperson of the United Nations' International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur, teaches law at the University of Florence.

Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2008.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/sep/01/georgia.russia1

Russian computer game acts out new Georgia war

By Denis Dyomkin

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian computer game simulating a new war between Russia and Georgia, in which NATO-member Poland backs a fresh bid by Tbilisi to take back its rebel regions, is to hit shops soon.

Russia fought a short war with U.S. ally Georgia in August after Tbilisi sent troops to re-take the Russian-backed breakaway region of South Ossetia, sparking an outcry in the West.

In the computer game "Confrontation -- Peace Enforcement," which will go on sale in Russia next month, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili gets support from unnamed Western powers and decides to launch another attack to seize back South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

"NATO does not stay out of it, pushing Poland forward as its representative and Ukraine blockades the Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol," according to the description of the game supplied by its creators on Friday.

"Russia cannot remain out of it and launches a strike in response," said the game's creators, two Russian software and multimedia companies.

Russia's Black Sea fleet rents a base in Ukraine's Crimean port of Sevastopol, a source of tension with Kiev. The armies of Russia, Poland, Georgia and Abkhazia take part in the war game.

The title of the game is a reference to the way President Dmitry Medvedev described Russia's actions in Georgia -- an operation to enforce peace.

The war with Georgia, Moscow's biggest military operation outside its borders since the collapse of the Soviet Union, drove relations with the United States to a post-Cold War low.

The Kremlin complained that the West had supported and helped arm Georgia and thus undermined stability in the Caucasus, a key transport route for oil and gas from the Caspian Sea and an area Russia sees as its sphere of influence.

Since the war, tensions have remained high in Georgia with shooting incidents and explosions along the de-facto borders between the Russian supported rebel regions -- which Moscow recognized as independent states -- and Georgia proper.

But the makers of "Confrontation -- Peace Enforcement" said the game should not be taken too seriously.

"Politics are politics and a game is a game. These things should not be confused," Alexander Dmitrevsky, the business development director at one of the game's makers, Russobit-M, told Reuters.

More than 20,000 Georgians are still displaced from the fighting, though Amnesty International estimates that up to 200,000 fled from both sides last August. A final death toll from the conflict has not been independently established.

(Reporting by Denis Dyomkin; writing by Conor Sweeney; Editing by Richard Balmforth)

source: http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE4AK64D20081121

I have been to "buffer zones"

Story by Rusudan Tsiskreli

photos: Goga Chanadiri

Yesterday 14 of October I visited the villages that just one week ago were in "buffer zone".
I saw Karaleti, Tkviavi, Tedznisi, Megvrekisi and Ergneti.
In Karaleti, Tkviavi and Tedznisi many houses across the main road are burned. All are robbed. Locals, who did not leave their houses, said that this was mostly done by Ossetian militias. Russians never interfere. But after Russians left Gori, they started preventing looting in buffer zones too.
First of all, after passing Gori we entered Karaleti, which was so frequently mentioned in news. Burned houses across the road... In the center there was building where just several flats were burned. Window frames were missing. People were looking out of the windows, looking at the workers on street and at us. In front of building were lieing several metal window frames and workers were installing them back to their places.
We drove off from Karaleti to Tkviavi. There we saw EU monitoring mission from france in front of burned house. The owner of the house, an old man had been being interviewed by monitors. Many neighbours gethered around, everybody wanted to gain more attention to their problems - burned or looted houses. We continued our way to Ergneti.
Megvrekisi and Ergneti are complitly burned. In Ergneti is our block post. Just in the middle of the village. In 500 meters are russians and ossetians are located. There are still bombs and ours are exploding them. We heard a sound. We meet several men and one woman there.. they are left houseless. They don't complain.... woman told us how her husband was killed but absolutely without emotions. Seems they lost ability of expressing feelings. Men were sitting in the street by their lorry even joking. "We live like Gipsys. Here in car we have sleeping bags and sleep here."
Then we drove to Megvrekisi. There people had returned. Most houses were burned or bombed. We met several people there. We were told story about one old ossetian woman, who was married to a Georgian in this village. Ossetians killed her brutally and her corpse remained in her yard.
Then some neighbors burred her in her own garden. We saw the grave.
People were complaining, they need more attention from government. Waiting for the commission to count their loses. They are trying to save left harvest. Some of them live at neighbors places which have survived, others - in the ruins of their homes.
We met 103 years old woman. Her house was complitely burned, she lost everything except her hope and sense of humor. Her youngest son told us his story. He studied in Tbilisi, afterwards he moved to Tskhinvali, where he got house and made a good carrier. In the 91-92-ies' war he lost everything and went to Tbilisi as a refugee. According to his words at that time the attitude to refugees in Tbilisi was good. Everybody tried to help, but it changed after Abkhazia war, when in east Georgia came up to 300 000 refugees. After some time in Tbilisi, he moved back to village Megvrekisi, he managed to build a new house, but now he lost everything again. He was telling his story without emotions, as he was telling not his own but someone other's story. They suffered too much to have a luxury of emotions.
Afterwards he took out of ruins hidden bottle of vine, gathered some grapes and apologized that can't serve us better according to the traditions of hospitality. He had to look up for glass in neighborhood. Only one glass could be found.
We drank to their health. After we gave some warm clothes, which we took with us, to them. It was clear that they were much richer then we before war. Their houses were big and very nice. It was clear even by ruins, but now they were thankful even to our modest help.
Young man said that his garden of apples had survived, but he has no boxes, nothing to gather the apples in. In other villages we saw boxes but their apple gardens were bombed. People try to collect survived potatoes and onion. Even if it is very dangerous. There are many unknown unexploded mines around... 4 caws had been exploded on them already.
Few people didn't leave village during the Russian occupation.

They said that they were hiding all time or in cellars either in the gardens. Several people, who were suspected having a relation to our forces were executed. The most part of the population escaped when the Russians entered through the gardens and forests. They walked to the village Igoeti, which is approximately in 45 km away. After they were picked up and moved to Tbilisi or Kakheti refugee camps. They learned who was alive and who died only when they returned.
We left village Megvrekisi and drove to Tkviavi - a big village which was almost deserted during occupation and people had just returned. Here many houses survived, but most of them were robbed. So they returned to empty houses... but still some of them remain homeless. Here people are complaining more then in Megvrekisi, seems they still have power to complain. Everybody was asking how government is going to help them. Who remained in village during occupation say the same story...
Ossetians were behaving like animals and at first russians were not preventing them to do so. Afterwards Russians started preventing looters and executing them. But it didn't help much. Most of the gardens were bombed, too few harvest survived.. people are sitting outside of burned and looted houses and discussing who is guilty. Opinions are very different.
We visited house of f0rmer governer of this region Mikhail Kareli. His father remains there. House is not on the main road, and in the neighborhood it's the only burned house. Kareli started with fighting against smuggling and finished by becaming the only chief of smugglers. But in neighborhood everybody is loyal to him - it is Kareli's neighborhood, everybody there are having relative ties.
In the yard I saw many boxes, so needed in Megvrekisi...
We left village on sunset. It was such beautiful sunset in black, burned fields...
When we drove through Karaleti, work there had been finished. New, white, metal frames installed in the backround of the black from fire wall