resistancegeorgia

Sunday, April 12, 2009

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Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Saying NO to Russian Imperialism

Saying NO to Russian Imperialism

Is the shortest way to piece

By Irakli Kakabadze

Unfortunately, Russia is continuing on the path of military imperialism, even almost 20 years after the Cold War. Today, it has announced official troops deployment to the Georgian provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and has vowed not to from its occupation of Georgia.

I am not a supporter of Mikheil Saakashvili, nor am I in any way associated with his government. So, I am not a promoter of particular political group. And everyone in Georgia knows about this. But on the question of Russian occupation and militaristic imperialism every progressive person has the same position. Russian military aggression is very bad for peace in the region and from the standpoint of conflict resolution it delays the direct dialogue between Georgians, Ossetians and Abkhaz. Yes, we know we have to solve problems there and guarantee the security to Abkhaz and Ossetians, but this problem needs to be solved by the parties themselves with the assistance of more impartial third parties: like European Union, for instance. Russians always had their imperial interests in the Caucasus and they are in no way an impartial side.

We advocate creation of “Peace Zones” in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which is going to totally demilitarize those areas under the auspices of EU. Militarism and imperialism are not going to solve this problem. Peace by peaceful means is the only response to the crisis. Russian military has no history of peace keeping, it has the history of keeping different pieces of territory under their control. Here in 21^st century we need to say no to the centuries old patterns of imperialism and military conquest.

In recent statements both, Georgian President Saakashvili and even Abkhaz leader Sergei Bagapsh have supported the idea of demilitarized zones in conflict areas. These are encouraging statements- but the only problem remaining now is the presence of Russian military in the region. This is the factor that is hindering peace. Now the international community needs to get more involved to turn the Southern Caucasus into International Zone of Peace, where there is no place for militaristic aggression and murder of innocent civilians.

Peace Zones for Georgia

Irakli Zurab Kakabadze

Peace Zones for Georgia

A Real Way out of conflict

It is only a month since the world watched a bloody confrontation unfold between Georgia and Russia over South Ossetia. The conflict was sparked by a miscalculation on the part of Mikhail Saakashvili, President of Georgia, who apparently felt emboldened by perceived US backing, despite State Department warnings not to provoke Russia. Russian President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin responded, predictably, in a crushing display of force and aggression. This lopsided struggle is only one in a long history of lopsided struggles that Georgians would wish to be over with once and for all.

The Georgian-Russian situation is an extremely difficult conflict to solve: Georgia will continue to assert its territorial integrity and independence from Russia, which dominated it for the last 200 years; at the same time Russia feels threatened by the increasing prospect of its near abroad being comprised of NATO countries. Both parties have legitimate security concerns. While the Russian response to the Georgian action in South Ossetia was largely disproportionate, it is hard to imagine that future actions will be any less vehement as long as the West is intent on making a show of bringing Georgia and Ukraine swiftly into NATO.

Neither the Russian approach – aggression and occupation of an independent state – nor the Western approach – NATO as an enforcer—will work. Unfortunately the Russian-NATO polemic is the one dominating our international policy debate. And little has been discussed, thus far, about a concept that has been around for a decade. Suggested in 1997 by Dr. Johan Galtung, founder of Oslo Peace Institute, the South Caucasian countries of Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia would form a demilitarized Peace Zone. Today we should look toward creating a Peace Zone in the two breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Former US Ambassador John W. McDonald has advocated creating Peace Zones in Abkhazia and South Ossetia for already 5 years. He was trying to convince Russians, Georgians, The US and international community that this is the best way out of this crisis. Now it is clear that he has been right. Russians and Georgians must put down their arms, disperse their armies and establish a process for community-based dialogue to foster peace-building between the parties. International peacekeepers, that include neither Russians nor the US, would maintain the peace as the dialogue for lasting conflict resolution proceeds. European Union is a most suitable peace keeper in this region, because it does not have such a big self interest.

Both the EU and OSCE are already playing an active role in trying to resolve the current crisis, and together with the UN they are the ones who can bring an end to the conflict by being guarantors of the Peace Zones in the separatist regions. Both the US and Russia can play an active roles in promoting peace zones. American energy interests would be protected in the Peace Zones, and Russian security interests would not be threatened by a NATO military force established in the Caucasus.

Peace by Peaceful Means, the phrase belongs to Dr. Johan Galtung, is the key to solve this problem. Militarism and imperialism will never bring peace. In this case Peace Zone is a win-win solution and military confrontation is a loss for everyone involved.

*The author is a visiting fellow at the Peace Studies Program at Cornell University. Former Editor in Chief of “Peace Times” magazine and the author of “Inside the Revolution of the Roses” and "Russian Troops in Abkhazia: Peacekeeping, or Keeping Both Pieces?" He is based in Ithaca, NY.