<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Georgia: EU must do justice, says Russian envoy
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I REFER to Tuesday's column by Mr Gwynne Dyer, 'Georgia's scripted sabre-rattling'.
In my view, this column provides an excellent example of objective and high-quality journalistic analysis, based on solid factual foundation.
One year has passed since the tragic events in South Ossetia and yet only now is the truth emerging from piles of disinformation and lies.
At the dawn of Aug 8 last year, Georgian military units attacked South Ossetia.
It happened just several hours after mutual agreement had been reached to hold talks to resolve the conflict.
The Georgian side used heavy artillery, Grad rocket systems and SU-25 attack planes.
As a result of indiscriminate shelling by the Georgian side, dozens of civilians and Russian peacekeepers were killed and hundreds were wounded. Large portions of Tskhinvali - the capital of South Ossetia - were literally levelled.
After massive artillery preparation, Georgian tanks and infantry units crossed the border and started moving towards Tskhinvali.
During that raid, the Georgian military used 'scorched earth' tactics. There are numerous witnesses of war crimes committed by the Georgian military against civilians. As an illustration, Georgian soldiers threw hand grenades into basements of residential blocks where civilians tried to hide.
One of the most gruesome episodes of that raid was the murder of wounded Russian peacekeepers, physically unable to protect themselves, by their Georgian counterparts.
I recall television footage of an aged woman, crying and saying to the cameraman: 'They were like Nazis, they just wanted us all dead.'
I may seem a little emotional about that, but I think it is understandable - the overwhelming majority of South Ossetians are Russian citizens.
In those circumstances, our President, whose duty, according to the country's Constitution, is to protect the lives and interests of his fellow citizens, had no other option but to order a military counter-offensive.
Military actions of the Russian Federation were also fully in compliance with the fundamental right of self-defence included in Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.
It is my hope that the European Union Commission will take all witnesses into account and document all crimes and atrocities committed by the Georgian military in South Ossetia - to date, there are more than 3,300 such reports.
It is also my hope that final justice will be done and the Georgian leadership, guilty of this act of international genocide, will be taken to court and prosecuted.
Andrey Rozhkov
Ambassador of Russia to Singapore
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I REFER to Tuesday's column by Mr Gwynne Dyer, 'Georgia's scripted sabre-rattling'.
In my view, this column provides an excellent example of objective and high-quality journalistic analysis, based on solid factual foundation.
One year has passed since the tragic events in South Ossetia and yet only now is the truth emerging from piles of disinformation and lies.
At the dawn of Aug 8 last year, Georgian military units attacked South Ossetia.
It happened just several hours after mutual agreement had been reached to hold talks to resolve the conflict.
The Georgian side used heavy artillery, Grad rocket systems and SU-25 attack planes.
As a result of indiscriminate shelling by the Georgian side, dozens of civilians and Russian peacekeepers were killed and hundreds were wounded. Large portions of Tskhinvali - the capital of South Ossetia - were literally levelled.
After massive artillery preparation, Georgian tanks and infantry units crossed the border and started moving towards Tskhinvali.
During that raid, the Georgian military used 'scorched earth' tactics. There are numerous witnesses of war crimes committed by the Georgian military against civilians. As an illustration, Georgian soldiers threw hand grenades into basements of residential blocks where civilians tried to hide.
One of the most gruesome episodes of that raid was the murder of wounded Russian peacekeepers, physically unable to protect themselves, by their Georgian counterparts.
I recall television footage of an aged woman, crying and saying to the cameraman: 'They were like Nazis, they just wanted us all dead.'
I may seem a little emotional about that, but I think it is understandable - the overwhelming majority of South Ossetians are Russian citizens.
In those circumstances, our President, whose duty, according to the country's Constitution, is to protect the lives and interests of his fellow citizens, had no other option but to order a military counter-offensive.
Military actions of the Russian Federation were also fully in compliance with the fundamental right of self-defence included in Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.
It is my hope that the European Union Commission will take all witnesses into account and document all crimes and atrocities committed by the Georgian military in South Ossetia - to date, there are more than 3,300 such reports.
It is also my hope that final justice will be done and the Georgian leadership, guilty of this act of international genocide, will be taken to court and prosecuted.
Andrey Rozhkov
Ambassador of Russia to Singapore
