sábado, 30 de agosto de 2008

Weekly Digest HRW




Georgia: Satellite Images Show Destruction, Ethnic Attacks
Russia Should Investigate, Prosecute Crimes
(New York, August 29, 2008) – Recent satellite images released by the UN program UNOSAT confirm the widespread torching of ethnic Georgian villages inside South Ossetia, Human Rights Watch said today. Detailed analysis of the damage depicted in five ethnic Georgian villages shows the destruction of these villages around the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali, was caused by intentional burning and not armed combat.Read more Satellite Imagery


Mexico: Supreme Court Upholds Mexico City Abortion Law
Landmark Decision Confirms Right to an Abortion up to 12th Week of Gestation
(Mexico City, August 28, 2008) – In a historic decision today, the Mexican Supreme Court ruled that Mexico City’s law decriminalizing abortion during the first 12 weeks of gestation is constitutional. In a publicly broadcast proceeding, the court voted 8-to-3 in favor of upholding the Mexico City law, which came into force in 2007. A written decision is expected from the court within days.Read more


EU: Protect Civilians in Gori District
Security of Civilians Should Be Central to Summit Discussions on Russia
(Tbilisi, August 28, 2008) – The European Union should act to protect Georgian civilians from continued attacks by Ossetian militias and opportunistic violence, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch called on the European Union to use its unprecedented summit on Russia on September 1 to make a plan for ensuring protection for civilians in Georgia. Read more

viernes, 29 de agosto de 2008

Putin´s Interview: There is a link between the war and the US elections



Putin Asserts Link Between U.S. Election and Georgia War
By Philip P. Pan and Jonathan FinerWashington Post Foreign ServiceFriday, August 29, 2008; A06
MOSCOW, Aug. 29 -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he had reason to think U.S. personnel were in the combat zone during the recent war in Georgia, adding that if confirmed, their presence suggested "someone in the United States" provoked the conflict to help one of the candidates in the American presidential race.
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili called the claim "ridiculous," likening it to Putin saying that "extraterrestrials were also there."
In Putin's first extended remarks defending Russia's military intervention in Georgia, which has drawn international condemnation, he blamed the Bush administration for failing to stop Georgian leaders from launching the Aug. 7 attack on the breakaway province of South Ossetia that sparked the war.
Speaking on CNN, Putin argued that the U.S. policy of training and supplying weapons to the Georgian army had emboldened the country to abandon long-standing negotiations over the future of South Ossetia and to try instead to seize the region by force, an assault that resulted in the deaths of Russian soldiers stationed there as peacekeepers.
Putin suggested that U.S. military advisers were working with Georgian forces that clashed with the Russian army, a prospect he described as "very dangerous."
"Even during the Cold War, during the harsh confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States, we always avoided direct clashes between our civilians, even more so between our military personnel," he said in the interview, portions of which were also broadcast on Russian national television. "Ordinary experts, even if they teach military affairs, should not do so in combat zones, but in training areas and training centers," he added.
Putin said he based his assertions on information provided to him by the Russian military, but he offered no evidence and cautioned that his "suspicions" required further confirmation.
Earlier in the day, a senior Russian military official said at a news briefing that Russian troops had recovered an American passport in the rubble of a village near the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali, where a Georgian special forces unit had been based during the war.
"What was the purpose of that gentleman being among the special forces, and what is he doing today, I so far cannot answer," said Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy chief of the general staff, holding up an enlarged color photocopy of the passport. He identified its owner as Michael Lee White, a resident of Houston, born in 1967, state-owned Vesti television reported.
Saakashvili, in an interview Friday morning with The Washington Post, dismissed the passport report as "typical tricks."
"I wish we had Americans and American weapons, but it's not the case," he said. "They are living in a parallel world, with a parallel perception. If you say a lie in Russia, it becomes the truth the next day on TV."
In Washington, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Putin's allegations were "patently false" and sounded "not rational." She added: "It also sounds like his defense officials who said they believe this to be true are giving him really bad advice."
Saakashvili said that American military training provided to Georgia's army in recent years had focused on peacekeeping and counterinsurgency warfare.
Fewer than 100 U.S. military advisers were said to have been stationed in Georgia before the war began, and they have kept a low profile since Russian tanks and bombers routed Georgian forces in a five-day campaign that left them in control of about a third of Georgian territory.
Putin said that if U.S. citizens were present in the combat zone, they would have been "performing official duties, and they may only do this on orders from their supervisors, not at their own initiative."
"If my conjecture is confirmed, then it raises the suspicion that someone in the United States deliberately created this conflict in order to worsen the situation and create an advantage . . . for one of the candidates for the post of president of the United States," he said. "And if this is a fact, it is nothing other than the use of so-called administrative resources in a domestic political struggle, and in the worst, bloodiest form as well."
When the CNN correspondent, Matthew Chance, expressed skepticism, Putin argued that the Bush administration faced difficulties in the Middle East and Afghanistan, as well as economic difficulties.
"A small, victorious war is needed," Putin said. "And if you don't succeed, it's possible to shift the blame on us, turn us into the enemy against the backdrop of rah-rah patriotism to rally the country again around certain political forces. I am surprised that you are surprised at what I say. It's obvious."
Putin did not specify which U.S. presidential candidate he believed the Georgian crisis was intended to help, but the official RIA-Novosti news agency quoted experts as saying it had boosted the campaign of the presumptive Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain.
Asked whether the war had strained his personal relationship with President Bush, Putin replied: "Of course, it undermined our relationship, the relationship between the nations above all."
Putin said he told Bush in a conversation at the Olympic Games in Beijing that Georgia had attacked South Ossetia and that the Russian government had been unable to contact the Georgian leadership. "George responded to me -- I have already talked about this publicly -- that no one wants war," Putin said. "We had hoped that the U.S. administration would intervene in the conflict and stop the aggressive actions of the Georgian leadership. None of this happened." As a result, he said, Russia was forced to respond militarily. "We are a peace-loving nation . . . but if someone believes they can come to kill us, using our own land as a cemetery, then these people should reflect on the implications of such policies."
At the United Nations, the United States and European governments condemned Russia in a public meeting of the Security Council, saying its recognition of Georgia's breakaway provinces had undermined efforts to reach an agreement on a U.N. resolution endorsing a cease-fire. The United States and France called for the establishment of a U.N. fact-finding mission to probe reports of human rights abuses during the conflict. They also pressed Russia to complete its withdrawal from Georgian territory and to provide access for humanitarian aid workers in South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Finer reported from Tbilisi, Georgia. Staff writer Colum Lynch at the United Nations contributed to this report.





August 29, 2008
Putin Suggests U.S. Provocation in Georgia Clash
By CLIFFORD J. LEVY
MOSCOW — As Russia struggled to rally international support for its military action in Georgia, Vladimir V. Putin, the country’s paramount leader, lashed out at the United States on Thursday, contending that the White House may have orchestrated the conflict to benefit one of the candidates in the American presidential election.
Mr. Putin’s comments in a television interview, his most extensive to date on Russia’s decision to send troops into Georgia earlier this month, sought to present the military operation as a response to brazen, cold war-style provocations by the United States. In tones that seemed alternately angry and mischievous, he suggested that the Bush administration may have tried to create a crisis that would influence American voters in the choice of a successor to President Bush.
“The suspicion would arise that someone in the United States created this conflict on purpose to stir up the situation and to create an advantage for one of the candidates in the competitive race for the presidency in the United States,” Mr. Putin said in an interview with CNN.
He added, “They needed a small victorious war.”
Mr. Putin did not specify which candidate he had in mind, but there was no doubt that he was referring to Senator John McCain, the Republican. Mr. McCain is loathed in the Kremlin because he has a close relationship with Georgia’s president, Mikheil Saakashvili, and has called for imposing stiff penalties on Russia, including throwing it out of the Group of 8 industrialized nations.
Mr. Putin offered scant evidence to support his assertion, and the White House called his comments absurd. But they underscored the depth of the rift between Moscow and Washington over the Georgia crisis, which flared three weeks ago when the Georgian military tried to reclaim a breakaway enclave allied with Russia. They also suggested that the Russian leader was deeply concerned about the possibility that Mr. McCain, widely viewed here as having a strong bias against Russia, could become president.
Only last spring, Mr. Putin, the president at the time, held a summit meeting with Mr. Bush in which the two expressed personal affection for each other and sought to smooth over tensions in the bilateral relationship.
Russia has been struggling to persuade the outside world to back its action in Georgia. On Thursday, China and four other countries meeting with Russia for the annual summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a security alliance, declined to back Russia’s military action in a joint communiqué.
Mr. Putin’s interview came after his protégé, President Dmitri A. Medvedev, spoke to several foreign news outlets this week as part of a concerted move by the Kremlin to counter Georgia’s public relations offensive in the international media. Mr. Medvedev’s tone was less harsh, though he also criticized the West.
On Thursday, Mr. Putin, now prime minister, also said Russian defense officials believed that United States citizens were in the conflict area supporting the Georgian military when it attacked the separatist region of South Ossetia.
“Even during the cold war, during the time of tough confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States, we have always avoided direct clashes between our civilians, let alone our servicemen,” Mr. Putin said. “We have serious reasons to believe that directly, in the combat zone, citizens of the United States were present.”
“If the facts are confirmed,” he added, “that United States citizens were present in the combat zone, that means only one thing — that they could be there only on the direct instruction of their leadership. And if this is so, then it means that American citizens are in the combat zone, performing their duties, and they can only do that following a direct order from their leader, and not on their own initiative.”
In Washington, the White House spokeswoman, Dana M. Perino, dismissed Mr. Putin’s remarks. “To suggest that the United States orchestrated this on behalf of a political candidate just sounds not rational,” she said.
She added, “It also sounds like his defense officials who said they believe this to be true are giving him really bad advice.”
A senior Russian defense official, Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, said at a news conference in Moscow on Thursday that Russian forces had found a United States passport in a ruined building near Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia. The position, he said, had been occupied by Georgian Interior Ministry forces.
“What was the gentleman’s purpose of being among the special forces and what he is doing today, I so far cannot answer,” General Nogovitsyn said, holding up what he said was a color copy of the passport. He said members of the Georgian unit had been killed, and the building destroyed.
When the war broke out, the United States had about 130 military trainers in Georgia preparing Georgian troops for service in Iraq. The American Embassy in Tbilisi said these trainers were not involved in the fighting; about 100 remain and are assisting with the delivery of aid to Georgia that is arriving on military planes and ships.
General Nogovitsyn said the passport was in the name of Michael Lee White of Texas, but gave no information on whether Russians believed that he was a member of the United States military. The United States Embassy in Georgia told The Associated Press that it had no information on the matter.
Mr. Putin said in the CNN interview that Russia had thought that the United States would prevent Georgia from attacking South Ossetia, but suggested that he now believed that the Bush administration encouraged Mr. Saakashvili to send in his military.
“The American side in fact armed and trained the Georgian Army,” Mr. Putin said. “Why hold years of difficult talks and seek complex compromise solutions in interethnic conflicts? It’s easier to arm one of the sides and push it into the murder of the other side, and it’s over. It seemed like an easy solution. The thing is, it turns out that it’s not always so.”
The Georgia conflict has become a flash point in the United States presidential campaign, with Senator McCain assailing what he refers to as “revanchist Russia” and asserting that he is far more qualified to handle such a crisis than the Democratic candidate, Senator Barack Obama.
Mr. McCain has long been friendly with Mr. Saakashvili, who has said he talks to Mr. McCain regularly. Mr. McCain’s top foreign policy adviser, Randy Scheunemann, has worked as a lobbyist on behalf of the Georgian government, and Mr. McCain’s wife, Cindy, traveled to the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, this week on a humanitarian aid mission.
All these ties, combined with Mr. McCain’s criticism of Russia, have earned him a kind of notoriety in Moscow. When Parliament passed a resolution this week urging that Russia recognize the independence of the two breakaway enclaves, some lawmakers not only praised the courage of the South Ossetians, but also threw a few barbs at Mr. McCain.
Andrew E. Kramer contributed reporting.

martes, 26 de agosto de 2008

where China goes next


Monday, Aug. 25, 2008
Where China Goes Next
By Simon Elegant / Beijing
With the Chinese media gushing over the success of the Olympics, the latest issue of Southern Window — a highbrow news magazine with a circulation of 500,000 — caught my eye. The cover illustration features a couple of law textbooks and a teacher with a wooden pointer giving instruction to a businessman and a government official. The coverline: "Rule of Law Starts With Limitation of Power." Sounds boring? In China, it's almost revolutionary.
The Chinese Communist Party wasn't explicitly mentioned, but since it holds virtually all of the power in China, the articles were clearly about how to limit the party's all-pervasive reach and allow the Chinese people some wiggle room. Anything that touches on limiting the power of the party is extremely sensitive — and often very dangerous. So amid the euphoria of the Olympics, it was pretty gutsy of Southern Window to publish stories with headlines like, "When Administrative Power Obstructs the Law" and "Putting 'Boxing Gloves' on Police Powers."
The magazine's editors have fired an opening shot in a debate that started the moment the closing ceremony's last firework exploded: What now for China? Will party hardliners, emboldened by the world's timid response to their brutal pre-Games crackdown on dissent, continue to tighten their grip on power? Or will the spirit of volunteerism and community that arose after the May earthquake in Sichuan be revived? Could reform-minded party officials — like those who approved the publication of Southern Window's special issue — gain ground in their drive to loosen control over areas such as the courts and the media?
Not all Chinese are asking those questions at this very minute; many are basking in the residual glow from all those fireworks and gold medals. Despite numerous controversies ahead of the Games — turmoil over the Olympic torch relay, the bloody suppression of Tibetan riots in March, and so on — the Games went spectacularly smoothly. Senior party cadres can give themselves a pat on the back for a job well done.
Not for long, though. It is hard to exaggerate just how important the answers to those fundamental questions will be for China. Chinese society has reached a point where maintaining the status quo is simply not an option. Beijing is barely able to keep a lid on the tremendous social dislocation caused by the country's pell-mell economic growth over the past 30 years, and the consequent misery suffered by untold millions — the unemployed, the landless, tens of millions of migrant workers laboring under inhuman conditions, the countless victims of widespread corruption. Government officials have acknowledged that up to hundreds of so-called mass incidents occur every day. These often violent eruptions of frustration occasionally threaten to spread into chaos; as the Olympics loomed, they were more tightly controlled, or often simply ignored by the media. Now that the Games are over, it's a good bet that the turmoil will resurface.
"There are serious issues that have been accumulating, including ethnic problems in Tibet and Xinjiang, as well as social issues and conflicts that have been temporarily covered up by force to guarantee a 'successful Olympics,' " says He Weifang, a Peking University law professor and reform advocate. "I cannot predict whether there will be an immediate outbreak of all these problems after the Olympics. But there will be an outbreak if the government does not take steps to tackle the domestic problems."
For President Hu Jintao, who made the successful staging of the Games the centerpiece of his presidency, a moment of truth looms. He will face mounting pressure to loosen the party's grip on power. Nicholas Bequelin, China researcher for Human Rights Watch in New York City, believes the pre-Olympics tightening of controls is actually contributing to rising social discord. "The pressure is building in the pressure cooker, and there's no current avenue for it to be released. I believe we will see many calls both inside and outside the party to put some sort of reforms on the agenda again," Bequelin says.
Nor is the pressure for change coming only from the marginalized. Those who have benefited the most from China's booming economy, in the swelling urban middle class, are also increasingly pushing the authorities to grant them more rights and freedoms. It's a contagious process. Last year's protests by thousands of citizens in the coastal city of Xiamen against plans to build a billion-dollar chemical factory ultimately forced the cancellation of the project. And the protests directly sparked copycat demonstrations against planned mega-projects in Shanghai as well as Chengdu in Sichuan province, which occurred just a few days before the earthquake devastated the region in May. "Chinese are trying to get government off their backs," says Bequelin. "This has nothing to do with the legitimacy of the Communist Party or debates about political systems."
The Games taught us that pressure from the outside world on issues like human rights and civil society has little effect on Beijing. Now it's up to the Chinese people to take matters into their own hands and really begin the building of the new China.

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lunes, 25 de agosto de 2008

The view from Ukraine: V. Yushchenko


Georgia and The Stakes For Ukraine
By Victor Yushchenko

Monday, August 25, 2008; A17
KYIV, Ukraine -- The conflict in Georgia revealed problems that extend well beyond our region. Recent events have made clear how perilous it is for the international community to ignore "frozen conflicts." The issues of breakaway regions in newly independent states are complex; too often, they have been treated as bargaining chips in geopolitical games. But such "games" result in the loss of human lives, humanitarian disasters, economic ruin and the collapse of international security guarantees.
Ukraine has become a hostage in the war waged by Russia. This has prompted Ukrainian authorities and all of our country's people, including those living in the Crimea, to ponder the dangers emanating from the fact that the Russian Black Sea fleet is based on our territory.
The tragic events in Georgia also exposed the lack of effective preventive mechanisms by the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and other international organizations.
We in Ukraine hope that the Russian Federation will heed the opinion of the global community so that the issues at hand can be settled through negotiations. We want an end to the looting and destruction of Georgian infrastructure. We must do everything possible to prevent provocations and avoid further massacres.
The ongoing conflict between Russia and Georgia affects my country's interests. Military operations have taken place close to our borders, and the Russian Black Sea fleet was directly involved. The question of Ukraine's national security was acutely raised. Given the activities of the Russian fleet, I had to issue a decree regulating its functioning on the territory of Ukraine.
Under these circumstances, Ukraine could not stay silent. We, along with other nations, engaged to seek resolution of the conflict. From the first day of hostilities, Ukraine called for an immediate cease-fire by all parties and dispatched humanitarian aid to victims regardless of their ethnicity.
Ukraine upheld its firm support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia.
On Aug. 12, I, together with my colleagues from the three Baltic states and Poland, visited Tbilisi. Our proposals seeking a solution to the conflict were in harmony with the European Union settlement plan. We highly praise the efforts of the United States and the E.U. presidency, led by the French, to achieve a cease-fire. Their actions proved efficient in putting a halt to war and bloodshed.
Ukraine favors a wider international representation in the peacekeeping force in the conflict area. A new multilateral format mandated by the United Nations or the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is the only way to guarantee security in the conflict zone.
I strongly hope that that plan will be strictly implemented by the conflicting parties. We are ready to join international efforts to provide relief and help victims resume their peaceful lives. Ukraine also stands ready to take part in the U.N. or OSCE missions by sending peacekeepers.
It is clear that in addition to the political dimensions of issues involving breakaway regions, we need to cope with the social and economic aspects of this phenomenon. Many of these provinces are beyond the control of the respective governments or the international community. In many cases, the absence of monitoring has turned these territories into havens for smuggling as well as illegal trafficking in arms, people and drugs. Corruption and human-rights abuses are rampant. These areas are marked by their lack of democratic electoral procedures and their unfree or biased media. The ethnic dimension of the problem is often exaggerated to help conceal the criminal practices.
Moreover, an area home to such activities poses a threat to the prosperity and development of adjacent nations. Official authorities are compelled to counter attacks from separatist paramilitaries. But they are not always successful. Before large-scale combat erupted in Georgia, Russian peacekeepers failed to prevent the shelling of Georgian territory by South Ossetian separatists. Indeed, that activity intensified in the days before the greater conflict.
This weekend Ukraine celebrated the anniversary of its independence. This conflict has proved once again that the best means of ensuring the national security of Ukraine and other countries is to participate in the collective security system of free democratic nations, exemplified today by NATO. In accordance with national legislation and its foreign policy priorities, Ukraine will continue following the path of Euro-Atlantic integration. This is the path of democracy, freedom and independence.
The writer is president of Ukraine.

sábado, 23 de agosto de 2008

Russia Never Wanted a War By M. Gorbachev


August 20, 2008
Op-Ed Contributor
Russia Never Wanted a War
By MIKHAIL GORBACHEV
Moscow
THE acute phase of the crisis provoked by the Georgian forces’ assault on Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, is now behind us. But how can one erase from memory the horrifying scenes of the nighttime rocket attack on a peaceful town, the razing of entire city blocks, the deaths of people taking cover in basements, the destruction of ancient monuments and ancestral graves?
Russia did not want this crisis. The Russian leadership is in a strong enough position domestically; it did not need a little victorious war. Russia was dragged into the fray by the recklessness of the Georgian president, Mikheil Saakashvili. He would not have dared to attack without outside support. Once he did, Russia could not afford inaction.
The decision by the Russian president, Dmitri Medvedev, to now cease hostilities was the right move by a responsible leader. The Russian president acted calmly, confidently and firmly. Anyone who expected confusion in Moscow was disappointed.
The planners of this campaign clearly wanted to make sure that, whatever the outcome, Russia would be blamed for worsening the situation. The West then mounted a propaganda attack against Russia, with the American news media leading the way.
The news coverage has been far from fair and balanced, especially during the first days of the crisis. Tskhinvali was in smoking ruins and thousands of people were fleeing — before any Russian troops arrived. Yet Russia was already being accused of aggression; news reports were often an embarrassing recitation of the Georgian leader’s deceptive statements.
It is still not quite clear whether the West was aware of Mr. Saakashvili’s plans to invade South Ossetia, and this is a serious matter. What is clear is that Western assistance in training Georgian troops and shipping large supplies of arms had been pushing the region toward war rather than peace.
If this military misadventure was a surprise for the Georgian leader’s foreign patrons, so much the worse. It looks like a classic wag-the-dog story.
Mr. Saakashvili had been lavished with praise for being a staunch American ally and a real democrat — and for helping out in Iraq. Now America’s friend has wrought disorder, and all of us — the Europeans and, most important, the region’s innocent civilians — must pick up the pieces.
Those who rush to judgment on what’s happening in the Caucasus, or those who seek influence there, should first have at least some idea of this region’s complexities. The Ossetians live both in Georgia and in Russia. The region is a patchwork of ethnic groups living in close proximity. Therefore, all talk of “this is our land,” “we are liberating our land,” is meaningless. We must think about the people who live on the land.
The problems of the Caucasus region cannot be solved by force. That has been tried more than once in the past two decades, and it has always boomeranged.
What is needed is a legally binding agreement not to use force. Mr. Saakashvili has repeatedly refused to sign such an agreement, for reasons that have now become abundantly clear.
The West would be wise to help achieve such an agreement now. If, instead, it chooses to blame Russia and re-arm Georgia, as American officials are suggesting, a new crisis will be inevitable. In that case, expect the worst.
In recent days, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and President Bush have been promising to isolate Russia. Some American politicians have threatened to expel it from the Group of 8 industrialized nations, to abolish the NATO-Russia Council and to keep Russia out of the World Trade Organization.
These are empty threats. For some time now, Russians have been wondering: If our opinion counts for nothing in those institutions, do we really need them? Just to sit at the nicely set dinner table and listen to lectures?
Indeed, Russia has long been told to simply accept the facts. Here’s the independence of Kosovo for you. Here’s the abrogation of the Antiballistic Missile Treaty, and the American decision to place missile defenses in neighboring countries. Here’s the unending expansion of NATO. All of these moves have been set against the backdrop of sweet talk about partnership. Why would anyone put up with such a charade?
There is much talk now in the United States about rethinking relations with Russia. One thing that should definitely be rethought: the habit of talking to Russia in a condescending way, without regard for its positions and interests.
Our two countries could develop a serious agenda for genuine, rather than token, cooperation. Many Americans, as well as Russians, understand the need for this. But is the same true of the political leaders?
A bipartisan commission led by Senator Chuck Hagel and former Senator Gary Hart has recently been established at Harvard to report on American-Russian relations to Congress and the next president. It includes serious people, and, judging by the commission’s early statements, its members understand the importance of Russia and the importance of constructive bilateral relations.
But the members of this commission should be careful. Their mandate is to present “policy recommendations for a new administration to advance America’s national interests in relations with Russia.” If that alone is the goal, then I doubt that much good will come out of it. If, however, the commission is ready to also consider the interests of the other side and of common security, it may actually help rebuild trust between Russia and the United States and allow them to start doing useful work together.
Mikhail Gorbachev is the former president of the Soviet Union. This article was translated by Pavel Palazhchenko from the Russian.

HRW weekly digest





August 15th - August 22nd, 2008
China: Hosting Olympics a Catalyst for Human Rights Abuses
IOC and World Leaders Fail to Challenge Great Leap Backward for Rights in China

(New York, August 22, 2008) – The hosting of the 2008 Beijing Olympics has set back the clock for the respect of human rights in the People’s Republic of China, Human Rights Watch said ahead of the Games’ closing ceremony in Beijing on Sunday, August 24. Read more

Georgia: Civilians Killed by Russian Cluster Bomb 'Duds'
More Attacks Confirmed; Unexploded Ordnance Threatens Many
(Tbilisi, August 21, 2008) – Georgian and Russian authorities should take urgent measures to protect the civilian population in Georgian villages from unexploded ordnance left by Russian attacks, Human Rights Watch said today. Read more Photo Essays

Mongolia: Protect Rights of North Korean Migrant Workers
Conduct Investigations in Facilities Where North Koreans Work

(New York, August 20, 2008) – The Mongolian government should protect the human and labor rights of North Koreans coming to Mongolia to work, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to Mongolia’s minister of social welfare and labor.Read more

US: End Beating of Children in Public Schools
Abusive, Discriminatory Punishment Undermines Education
(Dallas, August 20, 2008) – More than 200,000 US public school students were punished by beatings during the 2006-2007 school year, Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union said in a joint report released today.Read more Audio Clip Interactive Graphic
Syria: Wives of Islamist Suspects Detained, Whereabouts Unknown
Authorities Have Not Said Why the Women Were Detained
(New York, August 18, 2008) – The Syrian government should immediately release three women detained by state authorities since July 31, 2008, unless they have evidence that these women have committed criminal offenses and intend to try them for these, Human Rights Watch said today. Read more
Colombia: Bomb at Party Kills Many Civilians
FARC Should Stop Indefensible Attacks
(Washington, DC, August 18, 2008) – The bombing of a party in Ituango, Colombia, is an indefensible attack on civilians and the perpetrators should be prosecuted, Human Rights Watch said today.Read more
India: Repeal Armed Forces Special Powers Act
50th Anniversary of Law Allowing Shoot-to-Kill, Other Serious Abuses
(New York, August 18, 2008) – India’s Armed Forces Special Powers Act has been used to violate fundamental freedoms for 50 years and should be repealed, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.Read more

China: Olympic Sponsors Ignore Human Rights Abuses
TOP Sponsors Should Back Introduction of a Permanent Olympic Rights Monitor
(New York, August 19, 2008) – The major corporate sponsors of the Beijing Olympics have failed to uphold their own principles of corporate social responsibility. Sponsors have failed to speak out about human rights abuses linked to the Beijing Games, and should be prepared to support the establishment of a permanent body inside the International Olympic Committee to monitor rights abuses at future Olympics.Read more

Georgia: International Groups Should Send Missions
Investigate Violations and Protect Civilians
(Tbilisi, August 18, 2008) – Mounting evidence that Russian and Georgian military used armed force unlawfully during the South Ossetian conflict highlights the need for international fact-finding missions in Georgia.Read more

Russia/Georgia: Militias Attack Civilians in Gori Region
Russia Should Curb Militias and Allow in Humanitarian Aid
(Tbilisi, August 17, 2008) – Russian authorities should immediately take steps to end Ossetian militia attacks on ethnic Georgians in the Gori district of Georgia. The Russian military should also ensure safe passage for civilians wishing to leave the region and for humanitarian aid agencies to enter.Read more

Turkey: Support Justice in Darfur
Turkey Should Reject Calls to Suspend the ICC Investigation
(New York, August 15, 2008) – The Turkish government should reject efforts by Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir to secure a suspension of the International Criminal Court’s investigation against him. Turkey should also convey a clear message that Khartoum must not respond to the investigation with retaliation against civilians, peacekeepers, or humanitarian workers.Read more

viernes, 22 de agosto de 2008

Georgia: Civilians Killed by Russian Cluster Bomb ‘Duds’



HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
Georgia: Civilians Killed by Russian Cluster Bomb ‘Duds’
More Attacks Confirmed; Unexploded Ordnance Threatens Many
(Tbilisi, August 21, 2008) – Georgian and Russian authorities should take urgent measures to protect the civilian population in Georgian villages from unexploded ordnance left by Russian attacks, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch researchers documented additional Russian cluster munitions attacks during the conflict in Georgia, refuting Russia’s earlier denials that it used the weapon.Human Rights Watch researchers saw and photographed unexploded submunitions from cluster munitions in and around the villages of Shindisi, in the Gori district of Georgia. Residents from Shindisi and the nearby Pkhvenisi village told Human Rights Watch researchers there are hundreds of unexploded submunitions in the area. Submunition “duds” are highly dangerous and can explode if picked up or otherwise disturbed. “Many people have died because of Russia’s use of cluster munitions in Georgia, even as Moscow denied it had used this barbaric weapon,” said Marc Garlasco, senior military analyst at Human Rights Watch. “Many more people could be killed or wounded unless Russia allows professional demining organizations to enter at once to clean the affected areas.” Witnesses told Human Rights Watch that on August 8, 2008, Russian air strikes on Georgian armored units located near Shindisi and Pkhvenisi were followed by extensive cluster munition strikes that killed at least one civilian and injured another in Shindisi. At least two more civilians were killed and five wounded in the following days when they handled unexploded submunitions, including an incident 10 days after the initial strikes. As of August 20, Shindisi and Pkhvenisi areas remain under Russian control.
Human Rights Watch called upon Russia to immediately stop using cluster munitions, weapons so dangerous to civilians that more than 100 nations have agreed to ban their use. Human Rights Watch also called on Russia to provide precise strike data on its cluster attacks in order to facilitate cleanup of areas contaminated by submunitions. Human Rights Watch called on Georgia to undertake an immediate risk education program for its population, including radio and television announcements about the dangers of submunitions. In Shindisi, Human Rights Watch researchers saw unexploded dual purpose (anti-armor and antipersonnel) submunitions, commonly known as Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munition (DPICM) submunitions. “Highly dangerous unexploded bomblets now litter farms, roads, and pathways in Shindisi and Pkhvenisi,” said Garlasco. “People remaining in these areas don’t realize the dangers these submunitions pose and are at serious risk of injury or death if they handle, or even approach, the bomblets.” Human Rights Watch first reported on Russian use of cluster munitions in Georgia on August 15, after it identified strikes on Gori and Ruisi on August 12 that killed at least 11 civilians and injured dozens more. Russia subsequently denied any use of cluster munitions. Colonel General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy head of the Russian General Staff, stated on August 15, “We did not use cluster bombs, and what’s more, there was absolutely no necessity to do so.” Zura Tatrishvili, 62, showed Human Rights Watch researchers an unexploded submunition that he had picked up without realizing that just touching it could make it explode. “We were playing with them, as were the Georgian soldiers,” said Tatrishvili. “It was only when one of the bombs exploded after a soldier threw it that we understood that they were dangerous.” Even now, Tatrishvili continues to keep his livestock in a pen with unexploded submunitions, demonstrating the need for clearance as well as education.
Georgia. These submunition "duds" are highly dangerous and can explode if picked up or otherwise disturbed.
During the attack on August 8 in Shindisi, Vano Gogidze, 45, was killed and his relative, Dato Gogidze, 39, was injured. Also in Shindisi, Ramaz Arabashvili, 40, was killed and four people were wounded when a submunition that they had gathered from a field exploded on August 10. On August 18, in Pkhvenisi, Veliko Bedianashvili, 70, died when a submunition exploded in his hand. “There are so many of these lying around. The fields are full of them,” said his son, Durmiskhan Bedianashvili. Zviad Geladze, 38, showed Human Rights Watch researchers fields contaminated with submunitions. He estimated the submunitions covered an area extending at least one kilometer through his farm. The fields are full of produce ready to harvest. Because humanitarian agencies continue to lack access to much of the Gori region, fields like Geladze’s may provide residents of the region with their only food source. Cluster munitions contain dozens or hundreds of smaller submunitions or bomblets and cause unacceptable humanitarian harm in two ways. First, their broad-area effect kills and injures civilians indiscriminately during strikes. Second, many submunitions do not explode, becoming de facto landmines that cause civilian casualties for months or years to come. Under international humanitarian law, indiscriminate attacks including attacks in populated areas with weapons that cannot be targeted solely at military targets are prohibited. Russia has an obligation not only to cease any such attacks, but also to take all necessary measures now to ensure the safety of the civilian population in areas over which it exercises effective control. Human Rights Watch called on Georgia, which is known to have cluster munitions in its stockpiles, to join the international move to ban the use of cluster munitions and to publicly undertake not to use such weapons in this conflict. Human RIghts Watch has also called on Russia to join the convention. Neither Russia nor Georgia was part of the Oslo Process launched in February 2007 to develop a new international treaty banning cluster munitions.
In May 2008, 107 nations adopted the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which comprehensively bans the use, production, trade and stockpiling of the weapon. It will be open for signature in Oslo on December 3.
Related Material
Georgia: International Groups Should Send MissionsPress Release, August 18, 2008
Russia/Georgia: Militias Attack Civilians in Gori RegionPress Release, August 17, 2008
Q & A: Violence in South OssetiaQuestions and Answers, August 15, 2008
Georgia: Russian Cluster Bombs Kill CiviliansPress Release, August 15, 2008
Georgian Villages in South Ossetia Burnt, LootedPress Release, August 13, 2008
Safe Corridor Urgently Needed for Civilians in Gori DistrictPress Release, August 13, 2008
Georgia/Russia: Use of Rocket Systems Can Harm CiviliansPress Release, August 12, 2008
Georgia/Russia: Update on Casualties and Displaced CiviliansPress Release, August 10, 2008
Georgia/Russia: Do Not Attack Civilians in South OssetiaPress Release, August 9, 2008
More of Human Rights Watch's work on GeorgiaCountry Page
More of Human Rights Watch's work on RussiaCountry Page

China wins a gold medal for repression


Games Behind Bars


With harsh treatment of two elderly women seeking to protest, China wins a gold medal for repression.
Friday, August 22, 2008; A16
WE HAVE tried hard, since the Olympic Games began 14 days ago, to maintain a positive Olympic spirit. We understand how important the Games are to many Chinese, and we've been rooting for the Games' success. We didn't dwell on the Chinese decision, made "in the national interest," to keep a little girl off camera and have her dub a singing performance for the opening ceremony while another girl lip-synced because the singer was deemed not cute enough to be presented. We didn't really care about the phony fireworks, and we passed over China's decision to have Han Chinese dress up in ethnic costumes rather than allow members of the actual minority groups to participate. We marveled at Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt and tried not to think about the fact that China had set aside three areas for political protest and then refused to grant anyone a permit to protest there.
Then came the news of Wu Dianyuan and Wang Xiuying, and to be honest, it has put our Olympic spirit to the test. The elderly women had been seeking permission from the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau to protest against officials' evicting them from their homes in 2001. The security bureau apparently became tired of their asking for permission to protest and this week informed the women that they had been sentenced to a year of "reeducation through labor." Whether the sentence is carried out apparently depends on how they behave from now on, and on the whims of the police. Ms. Wu is 79 years old. Ms. Wang is 77, blind in one eye and nearly blind in the other.
What should we make of a government that considers sending two frail old women to a labor camp for seeking permission to peacefully protest? Yes, we can hear the apologists chiming in: The Chinese people are freer today than they were during the lunatic days of the Cultural Revolution, different countries develop in different ways, America isn't perfect, and so forth and so on. All that is true, and, at some point, it also seems irrelevant. When they were seeking to host the Games, Chinese officials promised to use the Olympics to expand freedom of expression and "benefit the further development of our human rights cause," as Beijing's mayor said. Now we know the promise was a lie.
The International Olympic Committee consistently has enabled and excused Beijing as it has broken promises and moved backward on human rights. Recently, an IOC spokeswoman managed to acknowledge that "to date, what had been announced publicly doesn't appear in reality to be happening, and a number of questions are being asked." We hope that before IOC President Jacques Rogge shows up at the closing ceremony to proclaim the Games a great success, he insists on hearing some answers. At a minimum, he should skip the ceremony if Ms. Wang and Ms. Wu aren't permitted to protest and are not given a reprieve from their despicable one-year sentence.

jueves, 21 de agosto de 2008

China’s Rise Goes Beyond Gold Medals


August 21, 2008
Op-Ed Columnist
China’s Rise Goes Beyond Gold Medals
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
BEIJING
China is on track to displace the United States as the winner of the most Olympic gold medals this year. Get used to it.
Today, it’s the athletic surge that dazzles us, but China will leave a similar outsize footprint in the arts, in business, in science, in education.
The world we are familiar with, dominated by America and Europe, is a historical anomaly. Until the 1400s, the largest economies in the world were China and India, and forecasters then might have assumed that they would be the ones to colonize the Americas — meaning that by all rights this newspaper should be printed in Chinese or perhaps Hindi.
But then China and India both began to fall apart at just the time that Europe began to rise. China’s per-capita income was actually lower, adjusted for inflation, in the 1950s than it had been at the end of the Song Dynasty in the 1270s.
Now the world is reverting to its normal state — a powerful Asia — and we will have to adjust. Just as many Americans know their red wines and easily distinguish a Manet from a Monet, our children will become connoisseurs of pu-er tea and will know the difference between guanxi and Guangxi, the Qin and the Qing. When angry, they may even insult each other as “turtle’s eggs.”
During the rise of the West, Chinese culture constantly had to adapt. When the first Westerners arrived and brought their faith in the Virgin Mary, China didn’t have an equivalent female figure to work miracles — so Guan Yin, the God of Mercy, underwent a sex change and became the Goddess of Mercy.
Now it will be our turn to scramble to compete with a rising Asia.
This transition to Chinese dominance will be a difficult process for the entire international community, made more so by China’s prickly nationalism. China still sees the world through the prism of guochi, or national humiliation, and among some young Chinese success sometimes seems to have produced not so much national self-confidence as cockiness.
China’s intelligence agencies are becoming more aggressive in targeting America, including corporate secrets, and the Chinese military is busily funding new efforts to poke holes in American military pre-eminence. These include space weapons, cyberwarfare and technologies to threaten American aircraft carrier groups.
President Bush was roundly criticized for attending the Beijing Olympics, but, in retrospect, I think he was right to attend. The most important bilateral relationship in the world in the coming years will be the one between China and the United States, and Mr. Bush won enormous good will from the Chinese people by showing up.
Having won that political capital, though, Mr. Bush didn’t spend it. Mr. Bush should have spoken out more forcefully on behalf of human rights, including urging Beijing to stop shipping the weapons used for genocide in Darfur.
It’s a difficult balance to get right, but China’s determination to top the gold medal charts — and its overwhelming efforts to find and train the best athletes — bespeaks a larger desire for international respect and legitimacy. We can use that desire also to shame and coax better behavior out of China’s leaders.
When the Chinese government sentences two frail women in their late 70s to labor camp because they applied to hold a legal protest during the Olympics, as it just has, then that is an outrage to be addressed not by “silent diplomacy” but by pointing it out.
We also must recognize that informal pressures are becoming increasingly important. The most important figure in China-U.S. relations today isn’t the ambassador for either country; it is Yao Ming, the basketball player — and David Stern, the commissioner of the N.B.A., is second. The biggest force for democratization isn’t the Group of 7 governments, but is the millions of Chinese who study in the West and return — sometimes with green cards or blue passports, but always with greater expectations of freedom. China’s rise is sustained in part by the way the Communist Party has grudgingly, sometimes incompetently, adapted to these pressures for change.
On this visit, I dropped by the home of Bao Tong, a former senior Communist Party official who spent seven years in prison for challenging the hard-liners during the Tiananmen democracy movement. The guards who monitor him 24/7 let me through when I showed my Olympic press credentials.
Mr. Bao noted that Communist leaders used to actually believe in Communism; now they simply believe in Communist Party rule. He recalled that hard-liners used to fret about the danger of “peaceful evolution,” meaning a gradual shift to a Western-style political and economic system. “Now, in fact, what we have is peaceful evolution,” he noted.
That flexibility is one of China’s great strengths, and it’s one reason that the most important thing going on in the world today is the rise of China — in the Olympics and in almost every other facet of life.
I invite you to comment on this column on my blog, www.nytimes.com/ontheground, and join me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/kristof.

miércoles, 20 de agosto de 2008

Human Rights Abuses in China



China: Olympic Sponsors Ignore Human Rights Abuses
TOP Sponsors Should Back Introduction of a Permanent Olympic Rights Monitor
(New York, August 19, 2008) – The major corporate sponsors of the Beijing Olympics have failed to uphold their own principles of corporate social responsibility, Human Rights Watch said today. Sponsors have failed to speak out – either individually or collectively – about human rights abuses linked to the Beijing Games, and should be prepared to support the establishment of a permanent body inside the International Olympic Committee to monitor rights abuses at future Olympics.Read more

martes, 19 de agosto de 2008

Weekly Digest Human Rights Watch


Georgia: International Groups Should Send Missions
Investigate Violations and Protect Civilians
(Tbilisi, August 18, 2008) – Mounting evidence that Russian and Georgian military used armed force unlawfully during the South Ossetian conflict highlights the need for international fact-finding missions in Georgia, Human Rights Watch said today. Ongoing militia attacks and a growing humanitarian crisis also indicate the urgent need for the deployment of a mission to enhance civilian protection.Read more
Russia/Georgia: Militias Attack Civilians in Gori Region
Russia Should Curb Militias and Allow in Humanitarian Aid
(Tbilisi, August 17, 2008) – Russian authorities should immediately take steps to end Ossetian militia attacks on ethnic Georgians in the Gori district of Georgia, Human Rights Watch said today. The Russian military should also ensure safe passage for civilians wishing to leave the region and for humanitarian aid agencies to enter.Read more
Georgia: Russian Cluster Bombs Kill Civilians
Stop Using Weapon Banned by 107 Nations
(Tbilisi, August 15, 2008) – Human Rights Watch researchers have uncovered evidence that Russian aircraft dropped cluster bombs in populated areas in Georgia, killing at least 11 civilians and injuring dozens, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch called upon Russia to immediately stop using cluster bombs, weapons so dangerous to civilians that more than 100 nations have agreed to ban their use. Read more
India: Repeal Armed Forces Special Powers Act
50th Anniversary of Law Allowing Shoot-to-Kill, Other Serious Abuses
(New York, August 18, 2008) – India’s Armed Forces Special Powers Act has been used to violate fundamental freedoms for 50 years and should be repealed, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.Read more
Commentary: "The show trial in Guantánamo"
By Carol Chodroff
(Aug. 12, 2008) "A young man once captured a live bird in his hands and asked his wiser elder whether the bird was alive or dead. If the old man said 'alive,' the young man would have crushed his hands together to kill the bird and prove the old man wrong. If the old man said 'dead,' the young man would have opened his hands and let the bird fly free. But when asked if the bird was alive or dead, the old man replied, 'Young man, the bird's life is in your hands.'" Read more
Colombia: Bomb at Party Kills Many Civilians
FARC Should Stop Indefensible Attacks
(Washington, DC, August 18, 2008) – The bombing of a party in Ituango, Colombia, is an indefensible attack on civilians and the perpetrators should be prosecuted, Human Rights Watch said today.Read more
Syria: Wives of Islamist Suspects Detained, Whereabouts Unknown
"Being married to an Islamist or to a criminal suspect is not a crime”
(New York, August 18, 2008) – The Syrian government should immediately release three women detained by state authorities since July 31, 2008, unless they have evidence that these women have committed criminal offenses and intend to try them for these, Human Rights Watch said today. Read more

viernes, 15 de agosto de 2008

And this is the view of a russian journalist: Free press?


A Free Press? Not This Time.

By Olga Ivanova

Friday, August 15, 2008; A21
I wish I could fly back to Russia. I have been in the United States for a year, and I am studying and working here to get experience in American journalism, known worldwide for its independence and professionalism. But in recent days it has felt as though I am too late, that the journalism of Watergate is well behind us and that reporting is no longer fair and balanced.
For years I have respected American newspapers for being independent. But no longer. Coverage of the conflict between Russia and Georgia has been unprofessional, to say the least. I was surprised and disappointed that the world's media immediately took the side of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili last week.
American newspapers have run story after story about how "evil" Russia invaded a sovereign neighboring state. Many accounts made it seem as though the conflict was started by an aggressive Russia invading the Georgian territory of South Ossetia. Some said that South Ossetia's capital, Tskhinvali, was destroyed by the Russian army. Little attention was paid to the chronology of events, the facts underlying the conflict.
Last week, Georgia's president invaded South Ossetia during the night, much as Adolf Hitler invaded Russia in 1941. Within hours, Georgian troops destroyed Tskhinvali, a city of 100,000, and they killed more than 2,000 civilians. Almost all of the people who died that night were Russian citizens. They chose to become citizens of Russia years ago, when Georgia refused to recognize South Ossetia as a non-Georgian territory.
The truth is that, in this case, Russian aggression actually made some sense. Russia defended its citizens.
Yet American newspapers published stories that omitted mention of the Georgian invasion. And American media as a whole have been disturbingly pro-Georgian. The lead photograph on the front page of Sunday's Post showed two men -- one dead, the other crying -- amid ruins in Gori, Georgia. Many other images could have been used. Monday's Wall Street Journal, for example, contained several stories about the conflict and even an op-ed by Saakashvili. Where was the Russian response?
I understand why the Georgian government would block access to Russian media Web sites. I understand why Russian media would present events in a light that favors Moscow's actions. But American media are not supposed to do the equivalent.
The much-revered American principle of a free press guarantees access to an independent source of information. It is supposed to mean that nobody takes a side, that journalists give readers the facts and let them draw their own conclusions. The Georgian president quickly became a chief newsmaker for Western media outlets, yet little could be found to explain the Russian side.
It's hard to understand how and why the terrible situation between Georgia and Russia has played out this way. Everything seemed too clear for the journalists writing about the conflict: Big, evil Russia tried to destroy small, democratic Georgia.
And the American media's willingness to choose sides provoked Russian media outlets. Russian newspapers did not waste time reminding readers that the true evil was the United States and that Washington was ultimately responsible for the conflict in Ossetia and Georgia.
Beyond the slanted coverage, I am also concerned about the lack of information on the number of civilians killed and wounded. How should we know which accounts to trust?
Over the past week, American media have achieved one thing for sure: They have lost prestige among a generation of young Russians who believed that America is a country of true, uncorrupted, independent information. Many Russian youths come to the United States for college and then go back to Russia to help build our own democracy. Russians believe in democracy. But I don't know whether many Russians will ever trust American media reports again.
U.S. newspapers have lost esteem among Russian journalists as well. These reporters have long looked to American newspapers as icons of quality journalism. They are supposed to stand for truth and serve the people's interests. But whose interests did newspapers serve by publishing stories in the best traditions of the Cold War?
I think that both the Russian and Georgian governments attacked civilians. I blame the governments for this war. But I am also saddened by the unfair coverage of the conflict from Russian and American media. If this is what freedom of the press looks like, then I no longer want to believe in this freedom. I prefer to stay neutral and independent, just like a professional journalist has to do.
The writer, a master's degree candidate at Duquesne University, is an intern at The Post.

An Answer to President Saakashvili of Georgia

I Am Not Georgian
I have staked my country's fate on the West's rhetoric about democracy and liberty. As Georgians come under attack, we must ask: If the West is not with us, who is it with? If the line is not drawn now, when will it be drawn? We cannot allow Georgia to become the first victim of a new world order as imagined by Moscow.
Mikhail Saakashvili

President of Georgia


Dear President Saakashvili:
I know you didn't write to Stumped, but I hope you won't mind my taking the liberty of addressing the questions you raised in the final paragraph of your Steve Clemons has blogged, Washington has enabled your recklessness with its over-the-top rhetoric about democracy and liberty.
At the same time, Russian grievances are justified. The West stabbed Russia in the back when it started expanding NATO eastward, without regard to the facts that 1) NATO is perceived by Russians to be a military alliance created to, well, contain Russia; and 2) we had assured Russia, after the Berlin Wall came down and Moscow agreed to peacefully pull out hundreds of thousands of troops from Eastern Germany, that the West wouldn't encroach on its interests. And now we are establishing anti-missile systems in Poland and the Czech Republic (after unceremoniously abrogating the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty) and encouraging former Soviet republics like yours to join NATO.
It's madness. And as much as I can appreciate your parochial at-any-cost desire to be a part of the club, NATO promiscuity and our vindictive yet cavalier treatment of a weakened Russia is harming your long-term security interests as much as ours.
The post-Cold War imperative should have been to create a new collective security arrangement for all of Eastern Europe, outside of the old alliance created to take on Russia. Instead, by admitting Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, NATO started creating a hierarchy of states in which Russia might have some right to meddle. Instead of being in the same category of independent nations as Poland, Georgia then found itself on the outside, its exclusion from NATO suddenly more meaningful. Didn't we signal to Russia that it has more leeway to meddle in former Soviet republics than it does in former Warsaw Pact nations? And once the Baltic republics joined NATO, didn't that signal to Moscow, by process of elimination, that former Soviet republics like the Ukraine and Georgia were still part of a Russian sphere of influence? Where does this charade end? Only when every country bordering Russia is a full-fledged member of NATO? In the meantime, hasn't NATO expansion made smaller republics like yours more vulnerable? And how destabilizing is it for a concerned Russia to witness its neighbors' slow transition from longshot candidate to full-fledged NATO member? Advertising that a country's bid to join the military alliance will be considered so many months or years out is an invitation for Moscow to act quicker rather than later if it is upset at the realignment.
In an op-ed in yesterday's Wall Street Journal that could have been written by your hired consultants (oh wait, it probably was), Senator John McCain invoked John Kennedy's famous acknowledgment of Berlin's Cold War status as freedom's frontline when he said: "We are all Georgians now."
Not so fast, I say...
-- Andres Martinez

Machtpoker am Kaukasus




Konflikt in Georgien
Machtpoker am Kaukasus

Zwar ist die Situation in Georgien blitzschnell eskaliert, doch der Konflikt hat eine lange Geschichte. Südossetien und Abchasien wollen die Unabhängigkeit. Und mit Russland haben die Regionen einen mächtigen Verbündeten. Hintergründe zum Thema von tagesschau.de.
Konflikt am Kaukasus
Saakaschwili zwischen allen Stühlen

Russland hat den Rücktritt von Georgiens Präsident Saakaschwili gefordert - und auch im Westen hat er gehörig an Akzeptanz verloren. Doch die Georgier stehen noch hinter ihm. Wie berechtigt sind die Vorwürfe, er sei ein Kriegstreiber und welche Verantwortung trägt der Westen? [mehr]
Der Konflikt am Kaukasus [Tibet Sinha, WDR].
Friedenstruppe denkbar [C. Plass, HR-Hörfunkstudio Brüssel].
Fragen und Antworten
Konflikt in Georgien - wer trägt die Schuld?

Worum geht es bei dem Konflikt in Georgien eigentlich genau? Was hat Russland mit der Sache zu tun? Welche Interessen verfolgen die USA? Und droht jetzt ein neuer Kalter Krieg? tagesschau.de hat Fragen und Antworten zum Krieg am Kaukasus zusammengestellt. [mehr]
Öl-Pipelines: Wirtschaftlicher Faktor im Georgien-Krieg.
Auswirkungen des Krieges [C. Nagel, ARD Moskau].



US-Interessen in Georgien
Öl-Transitland von überragender Bedeutung

Der rhetorische Schlagabtausch zwischen Moskau und Washington im Kaukasus-Konflikt erinnerte an den Kalten Krieg. So warf Russland den USA vor, Georgien sei ein Satellitenstaat. Konfliktstoff birgt vor allem Georgiens überragende Bedeutung beim Öl-Transit. Ralph Sina berichtet. [mehr]
US-Interessen in Georgien [Ralph Sina, WDR Washington].
Konflikt im Südkaukasus
Die Lunte am Pulverfass hat Feuer gefangen

Das militärische Vorgehen Russlands gegen Georgien ist Konsequenz der Moskauer Kaukasus-Politik seit dem 19. Jahrhundert - dass es so weit kommen konnte, liegt auch am Umgang der Georgier mit den Minderheiten auf ihrem Territorium. Und an der Annäherung an die NATO, die Moskau erzürnt. [mehr]
Grafik: Truppenstärken Russlands und Georgiens im Vergleich.
Rächt sich Russland im Kaukasus fürs Kosovo? (14.05.08).
Die Region Abchasien [Thomas Roth, ARD Moskau].
Informationspolitik im Konfliktgebiet
Propagandaschlacht im Kaukasus

Nicht erst seit Beginn des Krieges im Kaukasus wurde auch ein Kampf um Informationen ausgefochten. Dabei war den Beteiligten jedes Mittel recht: Falschmeldungen, Manipulationen, Hackerangriffe im Netz und sogar ein inszenierter Anschlag, bei dem Verletzte in Kauf genommen wurden. [mehr]
Krieg in Georgien: Kaum verlässliche Informationen.
Hintergrund
Bewaffnete Konflikte in der Ex-Sowjetunion

Seit dem Zerfall der Sowjetunion im Jahr 1991 sind auf dem riesigen Gebiet immer wieder bewaffnete Konflikte ausgebrochen. Keiner hat die Region insgesamt destabilisiert, aber es ist auch noch keiner dauerhaft gelöst worden. [mehr]
Fragen und Antworten
Konflikt in Georgien - wer trägt die Schuld?
Worum geht es bei dem Konflikt in Georgien eigentlich genau? Was hat Russland mit der Sache zu tun? Welche Interessen verfolgen die USA? Und droht jetzt ein neuer Kalter Krieg? tagesschau.de hat Fragen und Antworten zum Krieg am Kaukasus zusammengestellt.
Wer war schuld an der Eskalation?
Es gibt auf diese Frage keine eindeutige Antwort. Südossetien liegt in einer unübersichtlichen Bergregion, zwischen den Dörfern der Osseten gibt es auch von Georgiern bewohnte Orte. Zum Zeitpunkt der Eskalation gab es keine Berichte unabhängiger Beobachter aus der Region. Georgien behauptet, es habe mit seinem Angriff auf Südossetien nur auf Provokationen der Separatisten und auf die massive Unterstützung Moskaus für die Rebellen reagiert. Die Südosseten und Russen beteuern, die Gewalt sei zuerst von Georgien ausgegangen. Fest steht, dass alle Beteiligten den Konflikt in den vergangenen Wochen und Monaten eher geschürt als entschärft haben: Provokationen gab es sowohl von georgischer als auch von ossetischer als auch von russischer Seite.
Was will Südossetien?
Südossetien will sich in erster Linie von Georgien abspalten. Es wirft der Führung in Tiflis andauernde Unterdrückung seiner Bewohner vor. Ähnlich liegt der Fall in der abtrünnigen Region Abchasien. Die südossetischen Separatisten scheinen dabei einem Anschluss an Russland nicht abgeneigt, denn im benachbarten russischen Nordossetien lebt die gleiche Volksgruppe. Abchasien scheint eher eine völlige Unabhängigkeit anzustreben, unter dem schützenden Mantel des großen Nachbarn Russland.
Warum wehrt sich Georgien überhaupt gegen die Unabhängigkeit Südossetiens?
Wirtschaftlich hat Südossetien wenig zu bieten: Inoffiziell sind 60 Prozent der Bevölkerung arbeitslos, es wird lediglich ein bisschen Obst, Getreide und Wein angebaut. Warum also wegen einer solchen Region Krieg führen? "Georgien ist besorgt um die Einheit des Landes", sagt WDR-Korrespondentin Christina Nagel. Das Land, das etwa so groß wie Bayern ist, könne sich nicht erlauben, auf eine Region zu verzichten. "Ließe man Südossetien ziehen, müsste man auch Abchasien gehen lassen, das ebenfalls nach Unabhängigkeit strebt. Abchasien ist allerdings - anders als Südossetien - wirtschaftlich und strategisch durchaus interessant", so Nagel. In Georgien gibt es zudem zahlreiche weitere Minderheiten, die sich um Autonomie bemühen könnten.
Was sind die Ursprünge des Konflikts?
Als Anfang der neunziger Jahre die Sowjetunion zerfiel, sagte sich nicht nur Georgien von Russland los - in Georgien selbst konnte sich der Nationalismus ungehemmt entfalten und Südossetien und Abchasien erklärten sich unabhängig. In beide Regionen marschierte die georgische Armee ein - doch Abchasien und Südossetien erhielten Unterstützung von Russland, das seinen Einfluss in der Region wahren wollte. In Abchasien unterlagen die Georgier nach einem einjährigen Krieg mit tausenden Toten. In Südossetien wurde 1992 ein Waffenstillstand unterzeichnet, der 2004 erneuert wurde. Auch in diesem Konflikt wurden hunderte Menschen getötet und Tausende vertrieben. Südossetien und Abchasien sind international nicht anerkannt, sondern gelten weiter als Teil Georgiens.
In Abchasien und Südossetien sind seither Friedenstruppen aus russischen Soldaten stationiert. In Abchasien werden diese von einer UN-Mission überwacht, in Ossetien stehen sie unter OSZE-Führung. Georgien beschuldigte die Friedenssoldaten immer wieder, sich nicht neutral zu verhalten.
Warum hat sich Russland jetzt eingemischt?
Russland ist seit Jahren bemüht, seinen Einfluss in dem Gebiet zu wahren. Es unterstützt Abchasien und Südossetien wirtschaftlich und verteilt seit 2002 unter völkerrechtlich fragwürdigen Umständen Pässe an die Bevölkerung dort. Im aktuellen Konflikt sprach die Regierung in Moskau davon, ihre Staatsbürger im Südkaukasus beschützen zu müssen. Das ist einer der Gründe.
Zudem will Moskau verhindern, dass Georgien in die NATO aufgenommen wird und somit das Verteidigungsbündnis direkt an die sensible Südflanke Russlands heranrückt. Auf einen Beitritt Georgiens drängen insbesondere die USA. Die NATO hatte im April die Grundsatzentscheidung getroffen, die Ex-Sowjetrepublik aufzunehmen. Bedingung war jedoch, dass die Konflikte mit Abchasien und Südossetien beigelegt sind - und zwar auf friedlichem Weg.
Warum ist den USA und Europa die Ausrichtung Georgiens auf den Westen so wichtig?
Es gibt dafür viele verschiedene Gründe - einer von ihnen ist die Energieversorgung. Durch Georgien führen wichtige Öl- und Gas-Pipelines, vom Kaspischen Meer bis zum Mittelmeer. Damit wird der Westen unabhängiger von der einzig anderen Möglichkeit: der Lieferung durch Russland. Für die USA ist das Land auch wegen der Nähe zum Iran interessant. Außerdem stellt US-Präsident George W. Bush Georgien gerne als leuchtendes Beispiel für die Demokratisierung auf dem Gebiet der ehemaligen Sowjetunion dar.



[Bildunterschrift: Verlauf der für den Westen so wichtigen Leitungen zwischen Mittelmeer und Kaspischem Meer: In rot eingezeichnet die Öl-Pipeline, in blau die Gas-Pipeline. ]

Droht nun ein neuer Kalter Krieg?
Eher nein. Nach Einschätzung des Kaukasus-Experten Ekkehard Maaß wird der Westen zwar den diplomatischen Druck erhöhen und Moskau eventuell auch mit Sanktionen drohen. "Aber Europas Interesse an russischer Energie und an der russischen Wirtschaft" sei so groß, dass der Druck seiner Einschätzung nach nicht lange aufrechterhalten werde, sagte er dem Deutschlandradio. Ähnlich äußerte sich auch Uwe Halbach von der Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik in den Tagesthemen. Der Konflikt zwischen dem Westen und Russland würde sich nur dann deutlich verschärfen, sollte Moskau Georgien tatsächlich besetzen. Diese Möglichkeit sei jedoch so gut wie ausgeschlossen.
Zusammengestellt von Sarah Welk, tagesschau.de
Propagandaschlacht im Kaukasus.
Öl-Pipelines: Wirtschaftlicher Faktor im Georgien-Krieg.
Georgien: Öl-Transitland von überragender Bedeutung.
Auswirkungen des Krieges [C. Nagel, ARD Moskau].

Weltatlas: Georgien [FlashHTML] .