Dave Osler has a fine post on the Georgia/Russia pissing competition here - http://www.davidosler.com/2008/08/south_ossetia_the_left_doesnt.html#comments
For a informative but deeply skewed opinion, check Greater Surbitan here - http://greatersurbiton.wordpress.com/
Looking at the conflict, now in the thoes of ceasefires rather than T72 shells, it appears to me Georgia intended to reverse the ethnic cleansing of South Ossetia and recent Russian bullying whilst Russia was deemed distracted and weakened and being confident of US support. It was a miscalculation of considerable proportions. It might be an attempt at 'la glorie' to combat growing cynicism at the 'Rose revolution' but it has left Georgia weakened. Stories of Georgian atrocities uttered by the Butchers of Gronzy are difficult to give credence to but clearly, Georgian actions caused a wave of refugees across the border.
Marko's corralation between Operation Storm and the situation now is prescient, possibly for different reasons to which he raised it. Both are military attempts to rectify ethnic cleansing by a stronger power via invasion and seemly enforced expulsion of the now dominant ethnic community. I can only speak of one particular example. A very good friend of mine who is a quarter Serb told of her extended family's expulsion (evacuation) from the Krajina, fearful and hurried. These people were not radical nationalists and had not been involved in the ethnic cleansing during the founding of the RSK yet they were still made to flee their homes. This is no apologia for the greater Serbian project, merely a reminder that such 'corrections', even at the behest of saving Bihac from a fate like Srebrenica's, have victims, innocent victims. Being trapped under the cogs of Geo-politics is an horrific fate, one we should not forget nor rationalise away.
Update - The evacuation of the Krajina was carried out by the RSK (Ta, Mike Baresic)
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3 comments:
Greetings Socialrepublican, I just wanted to point out that the Serbs from so-called "Krajina" were not "forcibly expelled," but rather were evacuated by their own leadership according to a pre-existing evacuation plan. The Serbs used this modus operandi throughout the wars of the former Yugoslavia. The Serb leadership evacuated Serb populations from (1) Western Slavonia in May 1995; (2) "Krajina" in August 1995; (3) Sarajevo and Ilidza in March 1996; and (4) Kosovo in June 1999. Cheers
yes, mike is right.
many indeed were forcibly expelled, but by their own nationalist leaders.
the situation in georgia, and particularly the behaviour of russia closely resembles the behaviour of milosevic and the JNA in the war in Croatia in 1991.
also the fact that non serbs were 'etnhically cleansed' to artificially create homogeneous serbian territories which then claim the right to self determination.
in fact, many things in Putin's strategy resemble serbia during Milosevic. there is a big difference, that is serbia was never so powerful as russia.
this may sound as a compliment to milosevic and his gang...
I believe putin is even more dangerous.
as we discussed on another subject, analogies and comparisons are not always helpful, but the fact is that I have this feeling of deja vu and it disturbs me.
it also disturbs me that too many people find it natural that a strong state has territorial pretensions over his weak neighbours, it disturbs me how many people take russia's word at face value and that there is a tendency for relativisation known as 'nobody is innocent' etc...
please note that this is not directed against you, I am just sharing my aprehension (not being a native english speaker, I am always afraid to be miss-interpreted for not being clear enough)
Not a bother, Sarah.
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