World | Other World Stories
Let's face it: Georgia is occupied
Whatever Moscow says or whatever Washington would like Moscow to say, Georgia is under occupation.
- By Tom Clifford, Deputy Managing Editor
- Published: 23:58 August 15, 2008
- Image Credit: AP
- Abkhazian separatist soldiers stand in front of the debris of a Georgian military base in the village of Azhara in Kodori Gorge on Thursday. The foreign minister of Russia said Georgia could "forget about" reclaiming its two breakaway provinces.
Sarp/Georgia Border: Whatever Moscow says or whatever Washington would like Moscow to say, Georgia is under occupation.
Russian tanks may not be rolling down the streets of Tbilisi and they don't have to. Georgia no longer has access to the Black Sea, its army is in refugee camps or gathering as partisans in the hills. Georgian army is not even a minor threat to Russian dominance. It seems that the Russian irregulars, Chechens and Abkhazians know this better than US President George W. Bush or French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
"European Union", they spit out with contempt as I showed them my identification papers. With guns pointed at us, they said: "Get back to the European Union. This is Russian land, Russia rules here. Georgian army gone..."
We heard that Abkhazian irregulars had been looting nearby and we tried to get into villages to see the evidence. Young men, the irregulars, in jeans, baseball caps and bandanas pointed their guns at us and told us to go back. I was in Georgia but it was "Russian land".
Related Links
- Russian troops remain in Georgia
- 118,000 displaced, UN says
- Bush warns Russia against bullying and intimidating neighbours
- Running for their lives in Georgia
- Condoleezza Rice in Georgia for peace talks
- Russia receives signed ceasefire pact from Georgia
- US demands Russia pulls troops out of Georgia
- Russia signs Georgia ceasefire deal
- Georgian refugees bring tales of atrocities
- Russia to 'pull out of Gori'
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