Medvedev for Prez in Abkhazia!
90% of voters in breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia cast their ballots to Dimitry Medvedev in the Russia’s presidential elections, the Abkhaz and South Ossetian sources reported on March 3. The South Ossetian Press and Information Committee said Medvedev garnered 90.24% of votes in the region. Voter turnout in South Ossetia was not reported. (Georgia Online)
What a great idea! Now I think Norway should start holding elections in Sweden and Iceland too. Boosts the numbers, no doubt. And to the Abkhazians and South Ossetians: Who are you? Once you managed to get rid of the Georgians by ethnic cleansing, you vote for a Russian president? I doubt the Akhazians / S-Ossetians understand what kind of Cocoo they vote into their aledged nest.
This is the Russian imperialistic totalitarian democracy in action, handing out Russian passports to the Abkhazians and South Ossetians to get votes; probably by promising them a bright future in tourism. After all the Abkhazians have proved their abilities of displacing huge numbers of people in the past.
posted by Eistein G. at 10:40 pm
9 Comments:
At least this says something about how badly Georgia have treated Abkhazia up through out the years, if the Abkhazians prefer Russia's "imperialistic totalitarian democracy," as you call it, to living with their Georgian "brothers" to the south.
I think the situation is a bit more complex. Ethnic cleansing don't bring out my sympathy for the Abkhazians. They hardly got better treatment in the Sovietera from the Russians. More over, my main concern is Russia.
To anonymous:
I undesrtand that only russians can reflect like you do.
Continue to believe all the lies about this and many other Russian-Georgian-related issues. Oversimplify the facts and problems, show how kind Russia is and how bad all the others, specially Georgians. And imagine how interesting it will be to read your comments.
Another anonymous...
Do you know what the problem with this site is? I doesn't mention a single Abkhazian grievance against Georgia - not a single one! If one reads this site, one gets the impression that Abkhazians suddenly woke up one day with a malignant voice from Russia in their heads and started hating Georgia and Georgians for no reason what so ever. If I might be allowed to paraphrase you Mr writer'n, I actually think the situation is a bit more complex than than that.
As for Mr/Ms anonymous here, who insinuates that I "believe all the lies about this and many other Russian-Georgian related issues," before he/she has seen me utter even a single argument relating to these issues, and otherwise puts words in my mouth which are not mine, I have this to say: it is attitudes like yours who ensure that this conflict remains unsolved.
Anonymous 1: Why not enlighten us all, and write about how ill the Abkhazians have been treated, by whom, and why? And how this makes massmurder and etninc cleansing legitimate?
To anonymous 1:
Firstly: I am not going to argue with you (you say what you say, I get message how I get it).
Secondly: I'm deeply concerned and interested precisely in Georgian-Abkhazian relations (not in russian politics in addisjon). Would you like to know why?: Many reasons, but I can tell you one: because I have abkhazians i my family, and I know what they say and feel. And I am aware what other Abkhazians say, those outside of my family. There are to sides in everything,don't you agree?
That's why I suggest you not to oversimplify the problem.
Another anonimous
Well, if you both are concerned about not oversimplifying things, then you should certainly consider changing the extreme one-sidedness of this blog.
As for your comments Mr writer'n, I do not, of course, imply that one atrocity justifies another. I merely assert that "mass murder" and "ethnic cleansing" perpetrated by the Abkhazians and their allies was in large part a reaction to similar behavior from the Georgian side in the first part of the War, which you, incidentally, leave completely out of your account.
As for your concern about Russia this is understandable, however, you are making a grand mistake in completely conflating the conflict between Georgians and Abkhazians with the conflict between Georgia and Russia. Fact is, and this is a plain fact, that the root causes of the Abkhazian-Georgian conflict lie not in Russia, but in the historical relationship between Georgians and Abkhazians for the last 120 years or so. By blaming everything on Russia, the Georgians (and their supporters like you) refuse to admit that the Georgian side has any blame for conflict at all, a position which hardly is a good starting point for future peace and national reconciliation.
Anonymous said: "I merely assert that "mass murder" and "ethnic cleansing" perpetrated by the Abkhazians and their allies was in large part a reaction to similar behavior from the Georgian side in the first part of the War, which you, incidentally, leave completely out of your account."
I base my arguments on the OSCE BUDAPEST SUMMIT DECLARATION. (citing:)
“They expressed their deep concern over “ethnic cleansing”, the massive expulsion of people, predominantly Georgian, from their living areas and the deaths of large numbers of innocent civilians”.
(http://www.osce.org/documents/mcs/1994/12/4048_en.pdf)
Besides that, the Sukhumi massacre where separatists and what we today would call professional terrorists, among them Shamil Basajev supported by Russian Spetznaz, murdered a huge number of Georgians.This is verified by Helsinki Human Rights Watch Reports and documentation submitted for the review to United Nations and Hague War Crimes Tribunal.
Moreover I don't think the relationship between the Georgians and the Abkhazians is the main issue here. The Abkhazians is a diverse group consisting of both christians and moslems which has been able to live together with the Georgians for a long time. Of course there must have been some disputes, but Georgia is well known for being able to maintain peaceful living with a multitude of etnic minorities. Of course the orthodox community have been dominant. But back to the real issue here: It serves no purpose to dig into past conflicts during the Soviet era. There is no need to bring Beria and Stalin, as Georgians into it, as they also treated Georgians likewise bad.
The Russian involvement is the real issue. Without them the separatist wouldnt have managed to drive the majority of the Abkhaz population out of the country. The fact that Russia has recognized Abkhazia as Georgian territory is also interesting.
The spokesperson for the Russian Duma said yesterday: "Its imperativ for us to secure our investments in Abkhazia". She also referred to importance of the Olympic games in Sochi. So what we have here is Russian imperialism taking advantage of the separatist Abkhazian to gain more land for their future empire. The separatists are only victimes in this scenario.
As for this blog being biased: It is about politics, and it is written as a political contribution. It is not a newspaper ( are they really objective?) I have been accused of being biased before, but the opponents have so far not bothered to argue against my views. It is easier to just slam it. I have invited people to write their version and views, but they have been quiet. So as long as there are no other arguments than mine, it will of course be very biased. I welcome a debate, but not about what happened during the Ottoman empire or the Soviet era. I think what needs to be adressed is the situation today, and especially Russias role in it. There are signs of a potential future conflict between Norway and Russia regarding fish and gas in the Barentssea which also will involve EU (see Solanas threat evaluation regarding the global warming and possible access to huge gas reserves closer to the north pole). How Russia acts in relation to Tchechenya, Ukraine, Baltikum, Moldova / Transdienestre, and Abkhazia / South Ossetia is the way we should expect them to act also in other upcoming conflict areas important to Europe. Therfore the conflict in Abkhazia is much more than a fight between the Georgians and the Abkhazian separatists.
To anonymous,
The Georgian side did not perpetrate "ethnic cleansing" of Abkhazians. THere were cruelties on the both sides, from the begining.
THere is no similarity (anonymous used this word) between "the first" part of the war and what happend after.
Both sides need to apologise, to forgive each other. Both sides need to do a lot.
But as long as there are only the extremists who get a huge support from Russians, there will not be possible to improve.
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