Georgia's rearguard action in face of Amnesty report

[cal04]

Source: The independent

Fresh witness accounts have undermined Georgia's portrayal of its onslaught on the breakaway territory of South Ossetia as a purely defensive operation, and prompted authorities to launch a fightback to counter allegations that it is rewriting the history of its six-day war with Russia.

Amnesty International will today be the latest to challenge the Georgian narrative in an authoritative 76-page report which accuses Georgia and Russia of war crimes during the short, sharp war triggered by the Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili on 7 August. The war, ended by French mediation after Russia invaded Georgia proper in a land, sea and air assault, triggered the most serious crisis in international relations since the Cold War.

The Amnesty report specifically accuses Georgian forces of having committed "indiscriminate attacks" on 7 August "causing deaths and injuries among South Ossetian civilians and considerable damage to civilian objects". It says: "Serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law were committed by all sides."

Ryan Grist, the head of the international monitoring group during the conflict, told The Independent that when the war started the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali "did still contain women and children" who should have been protected from the conflict which had built up over months.

Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/georgias...

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http://www.amnesty.org.uk/uploads/documents/doc_18989.p...
CIVILIANS IN THE LINE OF FIRE
THE GEORGIA-RUSSIA CONFLICT

[felinetta]

1. McCain: We are all Georgians! Idiot! It was pretty much known

from the start that Georgia was the instigator.

[LincolnRepublican]

2. Georgia Butchered Its Own People

And, the U.S. response of unconditional support and $1 billion worth of aid for a country responsible for state sponsored murder is reprehensible.

[LynnTheDem]

3. "war triggered by the Georgian President" ...Guess we're all Russians now.

And "told ya so".



http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...