Subscribe to RSSWhat an unbalanced world we live in
Despite the major global event of the Olympics kicking off in Beijing, we have another global event going on that couldn’t be any more different from the values and statements of the Olympic Games.
in Georgia, specifically in the South Ossetia and now the Abkhazia regions, a conflict (or even war now, according to the Georgian parliament) is kicking off between Russian Forces (both forces stationed in the aforementioned regions and Russia-based troops) and Georgian troops.
To avoid a huge blog post detailing the history of such a conflict, I’d encourage readers to take read up on the situation before continuing. Despite me linking you to wikipedia, I feel the article is actually pretty well written and accurate.
Whilst the war, I believe, is a matter that should be resolved by all parties involved and not outside influences like the US or Great Britain, I feel that it is important that the International Community takes heed of what is going on.
The major western parties have swiftly moved to show their support for Georgia and condemned the Russian activities as ‘criminal’. They have called on Russia to halt it’s ‘unfair, criminal and disproportionate’ assault on Georgia’s sovereignty. I think it’s important to remember some of the facts here.
- South Ossetians do not want to be part of Georgia and have been pushing for independence form Georgia since 1991.
- There are over 70,000 South Ossetians who have accepted Russian passports, therefore making them de facto Russian citizens.
- Georgia, despite a ceasefire agreement on the 6th August, launched a major assault on the capital city of South Ossetia on the 7th August with unconfirmed reports of casualties.
- Georgia have been accused of targeting civilian amenities in the region, including hospitals in South Ossetia.
Georgia are not smelling of roses right now but since they have close ties with the West, specifically the United States, it’s no wonder that the Bush Administration haven’t condemned their actions as ‘illegal’ or disproportionate towards the South Ossetians.
Enter the Russians. It’s in almost every countries mandate to protect their sovereignty and their citizens. To know that Russian peacekeepers were killed (and allegedy deliberately targeted by Georgians), surely that’s a cause for the Russians to get involved. Moreso, the majority of South Ossetians and Abkhazian’s hold Russian passports, therefore are citizens of Russia, it is within Russia’s mandate to protect them and fight for their liberties.
Whilst it is obvious that the Georgian military is nothing compared to the Russian forces, let’s cast our mind back to when Israel conducted their war with Lebanon about 3 years ago. Not only did Israel completely outnumber the Lebanese, they constantly bombarded them with munitions that the International Community has long since considered illegal. Did the West then come out and label Israel’s actions as ‘disproportionate’ or ‘illegal’? No. They supported them.
People who believe claims for World Peace will lead to something and misguided. Sorry to sound so doom and gloom but how can world peace be achieved when double standards exist throughout the world. Russia and the US have bad enough relations as it is (especially with regards to the Iranian situation) but by the threats that the US have made towards Russia regarding future relations over this conflict, it can only serve to decrease the likelihood that we are going to see a stable and thriving Europe.
Especially when we consider factors such as the US’ proposed ‘Missile Shield’ in the baltic states.
