According to a tradition which was born under Mikheil Saakashvili’s presidency, the five-day-war is called in Georgia the “Russian aggression.” They start to mark its anniversary on August 7th, when (according to the official Tbilisi version) Ossetian artillery began to bomb Georgian villages in South Ossetia. Of course, the Ossetian and Russian sides have their own chronology. According to them, on August 1st Georgian snipers killed six soldiers of the Ossetian self-defense units; and after that, “an explosive escalation” began in the region. However, this time all the main events were held in Tbilisi on August 8th – the day of the artillery attacks on Tskhinvali by the Georgian army. The key event was the wreath-laying ceremony at the graves of Georgian soldiers in the Mukhatgverd Cemetery in Tbilisi’s suburbs.
It is notable that, on the same day, the remains of 12 soldiers who were killed in 1993 at Babusher Sukhumi Airport were reburied. They were identified due to high-techn innovations. The Abkhaz side showed its goodwill and contributed a great deal to the process.
In reburying the remains of soldiers who died 22 years ago on the anniversary of the start of the military conflict of 2008, official Tbilisi admitted an indissoluble connection between the two conflicts – the Georgian-Abkhazian and the Georgian-Ossetian ones – which haven’t ended, as there are no peacemaking treaties between the sides.
All the leaders of the country participated in the commemorative ceremony at the Mukhatgverd Cemetery – the President, the Prime Minister, the head of the parliament, all the ministers, all the members of the Headquarters, and representatives of parliamentary factions. MPs from the ruling coalition Georgian Dream and Mikheil Saakashvili’s party the United National Movement laid wreaths separately, stressing their confrontations, including those about the reason for the war, as the current authorities used to accuse the former president of provoking the war.
However, this time the majority of accusations were directed against Russia, combined with urges “to make peace with our Abkhaz and Ossetian brothers.” “The occupation is going on, but our government is trying to stop it with a reasonable policy,” Premier Irakli Garibashvili said, promising that he and his team “would take a principled position, and the Georgian people would never reconcile themselves to life without the Abkhazians and the Ossetians.” It should be noted that the statement by the real head of the country (according to the Constitution, he has full power) has an accent which differs from the idea of “territorial integrity” and “life without Abkhazia and South Ossetia.”
“Life without the Abkhazians and the Ossetians” sound different and in a peacemaking manner.
“There is no alternative to peace, and our common life is possible only through peaceful means,” the head of the government admitted, hinting at direct negotiations with the leaders of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Defense Minister Tinatin Khidasheli had a more radical opinion than the Premier, as always. According to her, for future victory “it is necessary to define who an enemy is, who a friend is, and where the country is going.” Khidasheli decided this for herself long ago, heavily criticizing Moscow.
President Giorgi Margvelashvili also urged the country to unite peacefully. “Georgia should be united not by hostilities, but by love and friendship,” the head of state said. “Our country will be a united state not at expense of people’s lives, but due to a united policy.”
The Minister of Justice, Tea Tsulukiani, reported that all materials on criminal cases during the conflict were sent to the Hague Court for investigation. “They will start hearings if they find that our investigation is insufficient,” the minister said.
Regarding the investigation by the Georgian Prosecution, it started after the change of power in the country and initially was aimed at accusing Mikheil Saakashvili. However, soon it came to a standstill, as the opposition accused the government of “playing into Moscow’s hand.”
Considering the latest statements by the former President of Georgia (who is now the head of the Odessa Region), he hoped that the events over Ukraine would have convinced the Georgians that he was right about the problem of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. However, it happened the opposite way.
Citizens of the country, which has suffered many military conflicts during the last 25 years, have finally understood that war and intransigence are the way to nowhere; and hopes for “an almighty wise friend” who lived somewhere in the north of the Atlantic Ocean were absolutely useless. They need negotiations and compromises with everybody.
The Interior Ministry and the Defense Ministry of Georgia published specific data on the number of Georgians killed, according to which 228 peaceful residents of the Georgian origin were killed on August 8-12, 2008; 1747 people were injured, and 30,000 became refugees. 169 soldiers and 14 policemen were killed during the military activities.
