(no subject)
I have a fairly unique outlook on the Georgian conflict, because I think that people from the Caucasus should be ethnically cleansed, perhaps with the exception of the Ossetians and the Armenians. Abkhazia used to have a huge Georgian minority but they were driven out by a coalition of hill-monkeys lead by Shamil Basaev in 1992. The same sort of people that wanted Abkhazia independent wanted basically all of the Caucasus independent.
The strangest bit of this is that Abkhazia remains a popular tourist destination among Russians. It's cheaper to go there and stay than Sochi to the north. My ex-girlfriend Marina has pictures of her holiday there in 2003, when she went with her mother. You can get wine here that says 'made in Abkhazia'.
http://www.blacksea-tours.ru/gagra/amra.html
Here are some accounts of what the Abkhazians did to Georgians during their initial struggle for independence:
Sukhumi massacre:
Placing their hopes on the ceasefire, a large number of civilians remained in the city. The separatists and their allies started to sweep through the streets of Sukhumi rounding up all civilians that they found. Men, women and children were executed in the streets, on the roads inside their own apartments, houses and back yards. According to the witnesses many people became objects of torture, children were killed in front of their parents, parents - in front of their children. (Wikipedia)
When Abkhaz entered my house, they took me and my seven year old son outside. After forcing us to kneel, they took my son and shot him right in front of me. After they grabbed me by hair and took me to the nearby well. An Abkhaz soldier forced me to look down that well; there I saw three younger man and couple of elderly woman who were standing soaking in water naked. They were screaming and crying while Abkhaz were dumping dead corpses on them. After that, they threw a grenade there and placed more people inside. I was forced again to kneel in front of the dead corpses. One of the soldiers took his knife and took the eye out from one of the dead near me. Then he started to rub my lips and face with that decapitated eye. I could not take it any longer and fainted. They left me there in a pile of corpses.
- Chervonnaia, Svetlana Mikhailovna. Conflict in the Caucasus: Georgia, Abkhazia, and the Russian Shadow. p 87, Fall of Gagra.
Gagra massacre:
As it became apparent that Georgian forces would not hold Gagra, thousands of Georgian civilians fled to the villages of Gantiadi and Leselidze, immediately north of the town. Within the days that followed, the villages too fell compounded by the flight of refugees to the Russian border. The Russian border guards allowed part of Georgian civilians and military personnel to cross the border, and then transported them to Georgia proper.... Those Georgians who remained in Gagra and the surrounding villages were subjected to a violent reprisal campaign orchestrated by Basayev and Abkhaz militants... According to several accounts, one hundred Georgians were herded into the central stadium in Gagra where they were decapitated and their heads used as footballs in a soccer match. - Wikipedia
My husband Sergo was dragged and tightened to the tree. An abkhaz woman named Zoya Tsvizba brought a tray with lots of salt on it. She took the knife and started to inflict wounds on my husband. Afterwards, she threw handful of salt onto my husbands exposed wounds. They tortured him like that for ten minutes. Afterwards, they forced a young Georgian boy (they killed him after) to dig a whole with the tractor. They placed my husband in this whole and buried him alive. The only thing I remember him saying before he was covered with the gravel and sand was: “Dali take care of the kids!
Chervonnaia, Svetlana Mikhailovna. Conflict in the Caucasus: Georgia, Abkhazia, and the Russian Shadow. Gothic Image Publications, 1994
The Georgian elite might be considered Bush cronies (Bush'es backers want to scare the 'near abroad' into buying military bases, the State Dept. wants the countries in NATO). However, many of them are also... libertarians!! The leading securities firm in the country is called Galt & Taggart Securities.
The strangest bit of this is that Abkhazia remains a popular tourist destination among Russians. It's cheaper to go there and stay than Sochi to the north. My ex-girlfriend Marina has pictures of her holiday there in 2003, when she went with her mother. You can get wine here that says 'made in Abkhazia'.
http://www.blacksea-tours.ru/gagra/amra.html
Here are some accounts of what the Abkhazians did to Georgians during their initial struggle for independence:
Sukhumi massacre:
Placing their hopes on the ceasefire, a large number of civilians remained in the city. The separatists and their allies started to sweep through the streets of Sukhumi rounding up all civilians that they found. Men, women and children were executed in the streets, on the roads inside their own apartments, houses and back yards. According to the witnesses many people became objects of torture, children were killed in front of their parents, parents - in front of their children. (Wikipedia)
When Abkhaz entered my house, they took me and my seven year old son outside. After forcing us to kneel, they took my son and shot him right in front of me. After they grabbed me by hair and took me to the nearby well. An Abkhaz soldier forced me to look down that well; there I saw three younger man and couple of elderly woman who were standing soaking in water naked. They were screaming and crying while Abkhaz were dumping dead corpses on them. After that, they threw a grenade there and placed more people inside. I was forced again to kneel in front of the dead corpses. One of the soldiers took his knife and took the eye out from one of the dead near me. Then he started to rub my lips and face with that decapitated eye. I could not take it any longer and fainted. They left me there in a pile of corpses.
- Chervonnaia, Svetlana Mikhailovna. Conflict in the Caucasus: Georgia, Abkhazia, and the Russian Shadow. p 87, Fall of Gagra.
Gagra massacre:
As it became apparent that Georgian forces would not hold Gagra, thousands of Georgian civilians fled to the villages of Gantiadi and Leselidze, immediately north of the town. Within the days that followed, the villages too fell compounded by the flight of refugees to the Russian border. The Russian border guards allowed part of Georgian civilians and military personnel to cross the border, and then transported them to Georgia proper.... Those Georgians who remained in Gagra and the surrounding villages were subjected to a violent reprisal campaign orchestrated by Basayev and Abkhaz militants... According to several accounts, one hundred Georgians were herded into the central stadium in Gagra where they were decapitated and their heads used as footballs in a soccer match. - Wikipedia
My husband Sergo was dragged and tightened to the tree. An abkhaz woman named Zoya Tsvizba brought a tray with lots of salt on it. She took the knife and started to inflict wounds on my husband. Afterwards, she threw handful of salt onto my husbands exposed wounds. They tortured him like that for ten minutes. Afterwards, they forced a young Georgian boy (they killed him after) to dig a whole with the tractor. They placed my husband in this whole and buried him alive. The only thing I remember him saying before he was covered with the gravel and sand was: “Dali take care of the kids!
Chervonnaia, Svetlana Mikhailovna. Conflict in the Caucasus: Georgia, Abkhazia, and the Russian Shadow. Gothic Image Publications, 1994
The Georgian elite might be considered Bush cronies (Bush'es backers want to scare the 'near abroad' into buying military bases, the State Dept. wants the countries in NATO). However, many of them are also... libertarians!! The leading securities firm in the country is called Galt & Taggart Securities.