Et Tu, Nino?

Of course, there are parts of this with which I do not agree, but even so:

Analogies between Georgia and the states of western Europe are difficult to maintain: it is precisely because the Euro-Atlantic community has reached a maturity in its mutual relationships that so many of us in Georgia want to be part of it.
But bear with me, please, on this.

Imagine if, last year, Britain and Spain had gone to war over Gibraltar and a report commissioned by the European Union into the conflict had just been published. It said Spain fired the first shots, in a clear breach of international law, and that Britain's response – to invade Spain and to sponsor ethnic cleansing by Gibraltarian militias – was equally illegal.

Of course, in these circumstances, however unlikely, Gordon Brown and Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero would be finished as politicians before the first news agency flashed its conclusions. The House of Commons and the Cortes would be in permanent session with parliamentarians of all sides demanding explanations, apologies and further resignations. The civil societies of both lands would be alive with debate about how to ensure such foolhardy and reckless acts were never to be repeated.
But what if the BBC or TVE did not mention the report or simply said the other country was to blame? What if the Daily Mail, or even the Guardian, branded anyone who tried to explain what was really said as an agent of the Spanish government, while ABC or El Mundo did the opposite in Spain?

A small number of people might be able to read the EU's report in the original German, but as internet access is restricted to inner London and Madrid, even German speakers have trouble sourcing it. How can you protest about your government's policies when you are not told what they are? You cannot.

And that is the reality in today's Georgia and Russia. A report into the 2008 war between our two countries has now been published. In any democratic and free country political leaders would have resigned out of shame before they faced ejection in ignominy. But in both lands it has been hailed as a government victory.

As a Georgian I have to confess I am not too surprised about Russia. But as a leader of the Rose Revolution that was carried out to create a democratic Georgia and end corruption – both political and financial – this situation makes me angry.

The Tagliavini report states in black and white that our armed forces broke international law in firing first and attacking peacekeeping troops. Our president – the man who gave the illegal order to launch the attack – simply says it does not. Our media do not call him out as a liar, but repeat his propaganda word for word.

I saw Mikheil Saakashvili days before he launched that attack. In response to his broad hints that he was about to start shelling Tskhinvali I told him such a course of action would be madness. He ignored me then and had his minions label me as promoting Russian interests when I later told the world of our conversation.
That lie, too, was repeated verbatim by our media. The irony that their chief was the one who gave the Russians the opportunity they had so long desired to occupy Georgia and threaten the fabric of our independence was either lost on them or ignored, like every other inconvenient fact.

Heidi Tagliavini's report rightly condemns the use of nationalist and xenophobic rhetoric by politicians in the run-up to the war; we in Georgia were deluged with it throughout 2008. But that political sewage also required a sewer, and that was found in a Georgian broadcast media that, at a national level, is under the complete control of the government.

Tbilisi has a thriving media and some internet access and opposition voices can get a hearing in newspapers and cable TV. But for two-thirds of the country, our three national TV channels are the only mass media available. And all are directed by the president's inner circle.

Our public television channel is explicitly government controlled. The second station is partly owned by a government MP and, it has been said, if it had been in Berlin and not Tbilisi Germans would still think they had won the war. Our third station used to be independent but was seized by special forces in 2007 and later handed over to cronies of the regime.

All of that needs to change if Georgia is to have the checks and balances of informed public debate that would put a break on a repeat performance of August 2008. Today, basing his argument on the lie that somehow he had no choice, Saakashvili boasts he would indeed do the same again if he got the chance. Every day he stays in office is truly a game of Russian roulette for our country.

Tagliavini's report shows the Russian and Georgian regimes were well matched. Authoritarian, dangerous and ultimately reckless in their approach to human life.

The west's leverage with Russia is limited but with Georgia is great. EU and US money are now vital to our economy. It's time western taxpayers insisted that it was not being used to prop up authoritarianism and it is time for Saakashvili to pay the price his responsibility demands and to go.