Ruling party: “vital” to conduct “public legal process” over 2008 war

The Political Council of the ruling Georgian Dream party on Tuesday said it was “vital” to conduct a “public legal process” over the 2008 war and ensure the domestic public “learns who committed a grave treason against the country and its citizens” during the time of the conflict for the purpose of “establishing a long-term peace and stability” in Georgia.

The statement commented on an interview of Radio Liberty’s Georgian Service with Heidi Tagliavini, the head of the International Investigative Commission that held an inquiry into the war.

The Tagliavini Report is equivalent to a verdict for the National Movement [opposition party that was in power at the time of the war]. However, it was clear from the outset, given the journalist’s questions and positions, that the media hostile to the present Government and supportive of the collective National Movement were not driven by a desire to remind the public of this report but by a completely opposite goal. Radio Liberty wanted to obtain a new, different position about the August war from Heidi Tagliavini, which would soften the extremely grave report written years ago”, the statement said.

“However, this attempt proved unsuccessful. It turned out that Tagliavini’s position remained unchanged years later, and she countered all of the journalist’s attempts to somehow justify the National Movement’s treasonous actions of 16 years ago with well-reasoned arguments”, the statement continued.

Tagliavini was commissioned by the European Union to prepare the report on the war.

The Georgian Dream release said Russia’s acceptance of the resulting document had been “completely understandable” as it had evaluated Russia’s military intervention “as a response to the armed conflict initiated by the Georgian side”.

The report also said Russia had the legal right to enter the territory of Georgia.

The fact that Saakashvili’s actions created the legal basis for Russia’s military intervention was clearly reiterated by Tagliavini in her interview with Radio Liberty. Furthermore, Tagliavini stressed that Russia was granted emergency legitimacy to enter Georgia due to the attack on peacekeeping forces, who were operating in the Tskhinvali region under a mandate confirmed by the Georgian side”, the statement noted.

“In contrast to Russia’s position, there is no explanation for the actions of the Saakashvili government. According to Tagliavini’s report, the then authorities of Georgia carried out a massive armed attack on Tskhinvali on August 7. In doing so, they provided the Russian Federation with a legal basis for its invasion of Georgia, which Russia took advantage of and initiated a retaliatory military operation, leading to the occupation of Georgian territories”, the party statement added.

“The Saakashvili regime’s acceptance of a document containing such evidence and conclusions clearly proves that these people have committed grave treason against their own country and people, first by creating the corresponding evidence and then by confirming the conclusion”, it also claimed.

The ruling party also said Saakashvili and other officials of the UNM Government had “openly stated following the of the war that the authorities of Georgia at that time had made the decision to restore constitutional order in the Tskhinvali Region”.

On August 7-8, Saakashvili and his regime’s propagandist media actively disseminated information about the success of the offensive operation and the capture of successive settlements while confirming the lack of Russian interference in the hostilities. Clearly, Saakashvili should have had a thorough understanding of Russia’s response to the aforementioned actions; therefore, we must conclude that this was part of a premeditated plan”, the statement continued.

The ruling party further claimed that the imprisoned former President had “deliberately done everything to bring the Russian army back into the country” with the conflict.

“The collective National Movement states that talking about the start of the 2008 War is an offence and it should remain a taboo topic. Against this backdrop, we cannot fail to recall that they admitted starting the 2008 war first by signing the resolution of the Council of Europe and then by accepting the Tagliavini Report, while also declaring Russia’s military intervention as a retaliatory and legally justified action”, GD noted.

The statement further claimed that Saakashvili’s plans since 2004 were “easy to decipher and the Russian authorities did not lose sight of this”, and pointed out that despite four years of “incessant” provocations, Russia did not have the legal basis to enter Georgia, so it “refrained from starting a war”.

Saakashvili and his protectors realised that much more aggressive and large-scale actions were needed to achieve the goal. According to the Tagliavini Report, Saakashvili’s government created such a moment on 7 August 2008, when, as a result of the artillery bombardment of Tskhinvali, Russia was given free rein and Russian troops entered Georgia. We would like to remind the public once again that this factual circumstance is accepted by the National Movement itself, which first signed the resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and then agreed with the Tagliavini Report”, the statement said.

The ruling party alleged that Saakashvili’s “reckless actions” in August 2008 had been “not a result of his psychological instability, but rather the outcome of an externally commissioned and carefully planned treason”.

“We have a situation where there are former authorities that have admitted to starting the 2008 war, that is, committing treason against one’s own country and people, and this political force is still driven by the desire to return to power. We believe that under these conditions, the legal non-assessment of the committed crime is tantamount to a crime in its own right”, GD statement alleged.

The party said in its conclusion that “time has come for the perpetrators to be held accountable to the full extent of the constitution and the law” over the conflict.