Georgia, Ossetia and Public Opinion

If the people of the world are being asked to judge the actions of the Russian Federation through press reports based on the information that is presented to them, then it would be a good idea to begin from a viewpoint whereby the international media presents the truth and not some half-baked subjective attempt to package the story in a way that is hostile to Moscow.

Photo: Georgia, Ossetia and Public Opinion

Georgia, Ossetia and Public Opinion

For a start, Moscow has been careful to inform the world media through a tireless campaign from its press attaches at its Embassies, whereby the Russian Foreign Ministry has provided detailed information as to Moscow’s constant attempts to broker a peace deal in South Ossetia, constantly stressing the need to satisfy both Tblissi (Georgia) and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia). Where has this information appeared in a single western news outlet? It has been systematically ignored in a massive attempt at misinformation.

Secondly, hours after it announced a ceasefire, Georgia instructed its peacekeeping forces to attack the Russian peacekeepers in the area, an act which raises questions as to the sanity of Georgia’s President Mikhail Saakashvili and more seriously, to the intentions of Washington, which along with Tel Aviv, has hundreds of military advisors supporting the Georgian armed forces. How could this attack not have received approval from the puppet-master who pulls Saakashvili’s strings?

Russia’s actions before the conflict broke out were under the sphere of a legitimate and legally backed peacekeeping force and its reaction to this cowardly act of murder by the Georgian armed forces continues to be that of a peace-keeper, while at the same time providing humanitarian aid for the growing number of refugees. Hospitals have been set up and Moscow has approved billions of RUR for a rebuilding fund, given that the Georgia military exacted tremendous damage on residential areas in Tskhinvali and the surrounding area.

Let the people of the world judge the actions for what they are, not what they are wrongly reported as being. When President Bush condemned Moscow’s reaction is unacceptable, was he then giving his tacit support to the acts of ethnic cleansing carried out by Georgian troops in the early hours of their cowardly back-stabbing attack under cover of night and salvoes of missiles aimed at the heart of civilian residential areas in the capital?

When President Bush and Secretary of State Rice condemn Moscow, are they then giving their approval to the murder of 2.000 civilians by Tblissi and the internal dislocation of 40.000 others? Do they then approve of Tblissi’s announcing a ceasefire and then launching a massive attack against civilians?

Given their track record, what with the acts of torture by the CIA, the concentration camp at Guantanamo, the illegal act of butchery in Iraq, Lynndie England and her friends "just having fun" torturing people at Abu Ghraib, it would not be in the least surprising that in condemning Moscow, Bush and Rice do give their approval to ethnic cleansing against Russians. After all, what to expect from this pair and their regime?

However, one can only hope that someone in Washington has a brain and that this brain sees very clearly the situation for what it is, namely a very ugly and cowardly attack by a frustrated Tblissi, using military forces against civilians, then attacking ambulances and doctors as they came to help the victims, and documented cases of war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated by Georgia’s armed forces.

Let the people of the world judge events based on this true version of events, not the nonsense being reported in a biased and unfree western press. The fact of the matter is that Moscow is right and has done everything it possibly could to avoid conflict. The ones who started it were the Georgians, who now go whining to NATO.

NATO would do very well to remain silent and mind its own business, specially after lying about its expansion eastwards. Moscow is not afraid of NATO and has the capacity to neutralise any military situation to its advantage. However, it is not Moscow that is spoiling for a fight.