GEORGIA UPDATE
WEEKLY EDITION • 16 August 2012
A Publication of the Government of Georgia
www.georgiaupdate.gov.ge
TOP STORIES

Russia Admits Invasion of Georgia Was Long-Planned; Moscow Illegally Trained Militia for Years

Occupied S. Ossetia to Demolish Georgian Villages in Continuation of Ethnic Cleansing

Courts Fine Georgian Dream Leaders for Failing to Redeposit Millions Withdrawn in Cash

After Rising to Over $1 Billion in 2011, Foreign Direct Investment in Georgia Continues to Rise

Tourism Arrivals in Georgia Soar by 54%

Georgian Athletes Return With 7 Medals from London Olympics
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
“President Saakashvili's ruling party has a lead in
all independently-funded and well-respected
polls. But Mr. Ivanishvili has already said he does
not accept these figures, and has refused to sign
a pledge to accept the outcome of the election
peacefully. This has led to fears the opposition
may dispute the results and provoke unrest.”
♦ BBC report on the Georgian elections, Aug. 8
US Senator Richard Lugar visited Georgia last weekend to attend the naming
ceremony for a US-funded biological research facility in Tbilisi. The Central Public
Health Reference Laboratory was named after Senator Lugar to honor his efforts to
safeguard the world from stockpiles of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons.
“Now we have launched defense cooperation programs with the United States,
which is a historic deed for Georgia—we could not have even imagined this
several years ago,” said President Saakashvili at the ceremony. Senator Lugar said
the lab will serve to safeguard “biosafety and security” as the two countries seek to
“remedy the risks posed by the massive stockpile of chemical, nuclear and biological
knowledge and material amassed throughout the former Soviet Union.”
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ON GEORGIA
LE FIGARO: Putin admits having planned the war in Georgia
“The introduction of temporary must-carry and
must-offer regulation in the pre-election period
has been an important positive step, allowing a
larger share of the population to access TV
stations with news coverage that is critical of
the government, balancing the national progovernment channels.”
♦ Transparency International report released Aug. 10
“More darkly, some politicians…try to win
support through intolerance towards religious,
ethnic, or sexual minorities; to be Georgian,
they imply, is to be orthodox Christian. In
contrast, the ruling party speaks of a
more inclusive version of Georgian nationalism
which it projects externally, as when describing
Georgia’s aspirations to join NATO, or its
turbulent relationship with Russia.”
♦ The Economist, Aug. 9
ELECTION MILESTONES
WASHINGTON POST: Editorial–Take that, Mr. Tandem
AFP: Russia prepared for Georgia war, trained militiamen–Putin
BBC NEWS: Georgia election–battle for the country's heart
THE ECONOMIST: Bread and circuses
EU OBSERVER: Russia remains grave danger for its neighbors
JAMESTOWN: Putin confirms the invasion of Georgia was preplanned
CONSERVATIVE HOME: It is time for Britain to recognize the Russian
occupation of Georgia
NEWSWEEK: Don’t miss the Khvanchkara!
Sep. 1: Deadline for parties to submit candidate lists
to Central Election Commission (CEC)
Sep. 24: Deadline for local observers to apply for
CEC accreditation to monitor elections
Sep. 21: Deadline for international observers to
apply for CEC accreditation to monitor elections
Sep. 28: Deadline for media to apply for CEC
accreditation
Oct. 1: Election day
Oct. 15: Runoff elections, if necessary, for
majoritarian seats in Parliament
GEORGIA UPDATE: WEEKLY EDITION
www.georgiaupdate.gov.ge
PAGE 2
TOP STORIES
Russia Admits Invasion of Georgia Was Long-Planned; Moscow
Illegally Trained Militia for Years
President Putin acknowledged last week that Russia’s 2008 invasion
of Georgia had been planned as early as 2006 and that Moscow had
trained militiamen in S. Ossetia. Putin's confession confirms Georgia’s
longstanding assertion that the Kremlin started the 2008 conflict. The
admission contradicts Russia’s earlier claim that it acted in response to
a surprise attack from Georgia and that its invasion aimed to prevent a
genocide. It also underscores the premeditated nature of the invasion
and highlights Moscow's utter disregard for international law. “Such a
confession never happened before and it’s a paradox that even today
some people are arguing about who was the aggressor,” said Georgian
National Security Advisor Giga Bokeria.
“There was a plan, it's no secret in my opinion,” Putin said in remarks to
Russian media. “It’s within the framework of this plan that the Russian
side acted. It was prepared by the General Staff at the end of 2006 or
the beginning of 2007. It was approved by me, agreed with me." He
added that within the framework of this plan, S. Ossetian militia were
trained by Russian military specialists; Putin noted that the men proved
very helpful during the conflict.
Putin's open admission of the long-term, pre-meditated nature of the
2008 invasion offers critical insight into the conflict. His statements
confirm Georgia's long-standing position that Russia's armed incursion
into Georgia in August 2008 constituted a premeditated act of
aggression against a sovereign nation. They also echo a statement
made in November 2011 by then-President Dmitry Medvedev that the
invasion was intended to counter Georgia's NATO ambitions. “We
have simply calmed some of our neighbors down by showing them that
they should behave correctly in respect of Russia and in respect of
neighboring small states,” he said then. “And for some of our partners,
including for the North Atlantic Alliance, it was a signal that before taking
a decision about expansion of the Alliance, one should at first
think about the geopolitical stability. I deem these [issues] to be the
major lessons of those developments in 2008.”
Putin admission that S. Ossetian militias acted as an integral part of
Russian military plan also means that Russia’s political and military
leadership is legally responsible for acts of ethnic cleansing against
Georgian and mass marauding inside and outside of S. Ossetia.
LE FIGARO: Putin admits having planned the war in Georgia
JAMESTOWN: Putin Confirms the Invasion of Georgia Was Preplanned
Occupied S. Ossetia to Demolish Georgian Villages in Continuation
of Ethnic Cleansing
Occupied S. Ossetia will demolish villages from which ethnic Georgians
were ethnically cleansed during and after Russia’s 2008 invasion of
Georgia. The proxy leader of the occupied territory, Leonid Tibilov, said
that houses in previously Georgian-populated villages, which were
damaged during the fighting or torched afterwards by militias, would be
torn down. “We plan to clear these villages. These ruins, of course, do
not look very good,” Tibilov said in comments published by the website
of Russia’s Rustavi-2 TV station. He also said the villages would be
stripped of their Georgian names. “These names do not need to be
conserved because the settlements will not exist.”
Georgian officials described the plan as a continuation of wartime ethnic
cleansing and blamed S.Ossetia’s backer Russia. “The destruction of
the remaining villages is a continuation of the policy of ethnic cleansing,”
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergi Kapanadze said. Added the Foreign
Ministry in a statement: “All responsibility for ethnic cleansing as well as
for the acts that pursue an objective of making it irreversible rests with
the Russian Federation under the international law. The Tskhinvali
region/South Ossetia, together with Abkhazia remain under Russia's
illegal military occupation and are governed by the occupation regime.”
AFP: Rebel South Ossetia "to demolish Georgian villages
RADIO FREE EUROPE: S. Ossetia to Demolish Georgian Villages
Georgian Athletes Return With 7 Medals from London Olympics
Georgian athletes won a silver and two bronze medals during the final weekend
of the London Games and returned to Georgia to celebrate with President
Saakashvili (above). With just 35 athletes, the Georgian team took home seven
medals, ranking it together with Mexico in 39th place. The total is the most ever
won at the Games by Georgia, which first sent athletes as an independent state
to the Summer Olympics in 1996 in Atlanta.
Courts Fine Georgian Dream Leaders After They Fail to Redeposit
Millions Withdrawn in Cash
Tbilisi City Court imposed multi-million-dollar fines on Georgian Dream
leaders Bidzina Ivanishvili and Kakha Kaladze after they withdrew
millions in US, European, and Georgian currency from their accounts
and refused to detail how it would be spent. Georgia is required by
international regulations to track cash withdrawals of over 30,000 GEL
in order to safeguard against money laundering and illicit activities such
as drug dealing and arms smuggling. As political actors in Georgia,
Ivanishvili and Kaladze also must abide by financial transparency rules
monitored by the State Audit Office (SAO). The SAO asked the two
Georgian Dream leaders to redeposit the funds into their accounts and
make payments using normal means such as credit cards and wire
transfers. “In the context of political financing, the circulation of large
amount of cash in a campaign period poses a threat to the state’s ability
to track campaign spending and enforce electoral legislation,” the SAO
said in a statement. “The current campaign period already has seen the
use of dozens of offshore vehicles and intricate schemes meant to
evade campaign finance limits. The circulation of vast quantities of cash
further subverts the integrity of Georgia’s electoral and campaign
finance legislation.”
CIVIL GEORGIA: Court Upholds Fines for Ivanishvili, Kaladze
After Rising to Over $1 Billion in 2011, FDI Continues to Rise
Foreign direct investment in Georgia rose 37% year-on-year in 2011 to
over $1.1 billion, Geostat announced yesterday. The figure is revised
upwards from preliminary data that had FDI at $980 million. Companies
registered in the Netherlands led the pack with $241 million, followed by
Azerbaijan ($138 million), Denmark ($97.2 million), Turkey ($75.5
million), Russia ($55.4 million), and the UK ($55 million). According to
Geostat’s preliminary data, FDI in the first quarter of 2012 reached
$269.3 million, a 28.4% increase from 2011.
CIVIL GEORGIA: Geostat—2011 FDI $1.1 Billion
Tourism Arrivals in Georgia Soar by 54%
The number of foreigners visiting Georgia reached 2.211 million in the
first half of 2012, a 54% increase from the same period last year. July's
numbers were even more robust, with 520,707 visitors, a 56% rise over
2011. Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Iran boasted the most
arrivals, while the greatest increases came from Turkey (126%), Russia
(91%) and Poland (81%). The Georgian edition of Forbes Magazine,
meanwhile, reported this week that the number of hotel beds in Georgia
has grown by 50% since 2009.
TREND: Foreigners Visiting Georgia Increase by 54%
GEORGIA UPDATE: WEEKLY EDITION
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PAGE 3
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ON GEORGIA
LE FIGARO: Putin admits having planned the war in Georgia
Contrary to what Moscow had always claimed—that the military
offensive launched on August 8, 2008, had been a response to
Tbilisi’s surprise attack on S Ossetia 24 hours earlier—the Georgian
war was planned by the Russian General Staff almost two years
before the events. Shattering previous statements that, until the war,
Moscow maintained only “peacekeepers” in the separatist regions,
Putin also acknowledged for the first time that the Russian military had
for more than two years trained local militiamen before the offensive
against the regime in Tbilisi, in total violation of international laws. The
military expert Pavel Felgenhauer is one of the few who predicted the
war in 2008. Today, he again is sounding the alarm.
www.lefigaro.fr
WASHINGTON POST: Editorial–Take that, Mr. Tandem
Putin reignited the long dispute about who started the war. Russia
says that Georgia started shooting first. Georgia says that Russia
provoked the conflict. Putin acknowledged approving a war
contingency plan for Georgia in 2007, a year before hostilities
began. He also confirmed that Russia trained separatist fighters in the
breakaway enclave of South Ossetia, where the conflict first broke out,
while also stationing peacekeeping forces there. Putin seemed to be
saying that Russia was eager and ready to give a bloody nose
to Georgia, which had become a major recipient of U.S. aid.
www.washingtonpost.com
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE: Russia prepared for Georgia war,
trained militiamen–Putin
Speaking on the fourth anniversary of the war, Putin said he had
approved the contingency plan to counter a possible attack from
Georgia months before the conflict broke out. Putin's confession
immediately led Georgia to accuse the Kremlin of starting the brief but
bloody war on 2008. "There was a plan, it's no secret in my opinion,"
Putin said at the Kremlin in televised remarks. "It's within the
framework of this plan that the Russian side acted. It was prepared by
the General Staff at the end of 2006 or the beginning of
2007." Georgia said Putin's revealing comments proved that the
Kremlin was responsible for the conflict.
www.afp.org
BBC NEWS: Georgia election–battle for the country’s heart
President Saakashvili's ruling party has a lead in all independentlyfunded and well-respected polls. But Mr. Ivanishvili has already said
that he does not accept these figures, and has refused to sign a
pledge to accept the outcome of the election peacefully. This has led
to fears that the opposition may dispute the results and provoke
unrest. With memories still fresh of the war-torn and crimeridden 1990s, President Saakashvili's team has brought an
unprecedented period of stability and economic growth. And his
government is open and tolerant towards religious, sexual and ethnic
diversity—compared to which some of Mr Ivanishvili's colleagues are
worryingly nationalistic
www.bbc.co.uk
THE ECONOMIST: Bread and circuses
When Mr. Ivanishvili entered politics in October last year, he spoke in
quasi-messianic terms of how he would revolutionise Georgian
democracy within two years. He recently proclaimed that “everything is
developing the way I planned”—even though few Georgians know
what he has in mind. More darkly, some politicians, particularly
amongst Mr. Ivanishvili’s colleagues, try to win support through
intolerance towards religious, ethnic, or sexual minorities; to be
Georgian, they imply, is to be orthodox Christian. In contrast, the ruling
party speaks of a more inclusive version of Georgian nationalism
which it projects externally, as when describing Georgia’s aspirations
to join NATO, or its turbulent relationship with Russia.
www.economist.com
Under the aegis of NATO’s “Partnership for Peace” program, servicemen
from five NATO countries underwent special training this summer in
Georgia to learn to fight in mountainous regions.
EU OBSERVER: Russia remains grave danger for its neighbors
“The current Russian government is becoming more and more disdainful
of the EU’s opinion and openly shedding any pretence of respect for
international law,” says Salomé Samadashvili, Georgia's ambassador to
the EU. “They are [becoming] even more dangerous to neighbors like
us.” She noted that Russian training of Ossetian paramilitaries and Putin’s
2006 premeditation of the war belie its line that Russia attacked
Georgia because Sakaashvili fired first. “Clearly, after everything else
failed to remove a pro-Western government from power, they moved to
the measure of last resort—full scale invasion,” she said.
www.euobserver.com
JAMESTOWN: Putin confirms invasion of Georgia was preplanned
Putin and Medvedev have revealed a great deal: that the invasion of
Georgia in August 2008 was indeed a preplanned aggression and that socalled “Russian peacekeepers” in S. Ossetia and Abkhazia were in fact
the vanguard of the invading forces that were in blatant violation of
Russia’s international obligations and were training and arming the
separatist forces. Putin’s admission of the prewar integration of
the Ossetian separatist militias into the Russian General Staff war plan
puts into question the integrity of the independent EU war report, written
by Swiss diplomat Heidi Tagliavini, that accused the Georgians of starting
the war and attacking Russian “peacekeepers,” which, according to
Tagliavini, warranted a Russian military response.
www.jamestown.org
CONSERVATIVE HOME: Time for UK to recognize Russian occupation
It is time the United Kingdom recognises the presence of Russian soldiers
on Georgia’s territory for what it is: an occupation. Doing so will place the
appropriate amount of pressure on Moscow to live up to its legal
responsibilities as an occupying power. British recognition of the Russian
occupation would not immediately change the situation on the ground and
the Russians probably couldn’t care less, but it would mean a lot to
the Georgian people and it would demonstrate Britain’s support for
Georgia in a conflict most in the West have long forgotten.
www.conservativehome.blogs.com
NEWSWEEK: Don’t miss the Khvanchkara!
Georgia’s winemakers thumbed their noses at the Russian embargo,
declaring their product to be “freedom wine.” They built modern wineries,
replacing Soviet-era metal barrels and corroded cisterns with the best
Western equipment. They also invited French and Italian experts in to
consult on how to turn Georgia into a paradise for wine tourists. Their
foresight has paid off handsomely: in 2011 wine-related tourism was up
39% from the year before. The scenery and architecture of Georgia's wine
country recall Tuscany, but with fewer tourists and far cheaper
restaurants. Ancient monasteries dot the landscape. A new highway, lined
by sycamores, cuts through famous wine region of Kakheti.
www.thedailybeast.com