Images from localities in Georgia, affected by the 2008 war, have been presented at an exhibition opened on August 7 at the Interethnic Relations Bureau. A documentary film containing images from the regions affected by military actions, as well as testimonies of local people has also been shown during the event organized by the Georgian Embassy in the Republic of Moldova, IPN reports.
Merab Antadze, Ambassador of Georgia to the Republic of Moldova, says this is a tragic date as Georgia marks 11 years since Russia's invasion and aggression. As a result of operation, 20% of the Georgian territory was occupied and about one hundred thousand refugees from Tvhinvali region, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, where military operations took place, left their houses. "On August 7, when Russian tanks entered Georgia, a hot phase of military operations began, because this military action was prepared many years," said the ambassador.
According to him, when the military operations started and the fire was opened on Georgian villages, if the Georgian military hadn’t been well prepared, Russia would have reached the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. One of their goals was to overthrow the government which was inconvenient because it managed to achieve economic, political and other results. The diplomat also says that the support of Western partners, including the US, was very important. Merab Antadze mentioned that, unfortunately, today the occupation of territories continues, as the movement of the so-called borders goes on, and the population in those territories remains in extremely difficult conditions. "Basically, it is a humanitarian catastrophe. People are kidnapped, killed. Unfortunately, this continues and we rely very much on the support of our partners, so that this topic is permanently on our agenda,” the ambassador noted.
Merab Antadze said the documentary film was made by a Russian couple. Despite the Russian propaganda, they decided to see and to show the real situation. They visited the conflict zone, places affected by military operations, they discussed with local people, refugees, but also with the Russian military.
Alexandr Caculia, leader of "Samsoblo - Georgian Diaspora of the Republic of Moldova" public association argues that what happened in 2008 was in fact the peak of everything that had happened since 1990, in parallel with the collapse of the Soviet Union when certain powers started to separate certain regions. In his opinion, the 2008 events were inevitable because of an escalation of the conflict that lasted 15 years. "This conflict showed the people really involved, although previously they tried to stay out of the way," said the association leader.
Alexandru Gorgan, Former Deputy Minister of Defense, a retired colonel, says he has been active for 24 years in Georgia, as a Soviet Army officer. According to him, the war that started on August 7, 2008 is presented differently by various sources, politicians, structures, etc. Such events, like the presentation of a documentary film or exhibition, allow to get an idea of how things really are. Even if it is impossible for them to avoid subjectivism. Alexander Gorgan also said that last year he was on an official visit to Georgia, including those places where the fighting took place. According to him, the barbed wire artificial border with South Ossetia cannot be compared with the so-called border of the Republic of Moldova from the Transnistrian region.
"There you cannot go to Ossetia, you cannot go to Abkhazia, there is barbed wire everywhere. Whoever passed is harassed, tried or shot. And it is impossible to get out either. It's a pretty tough regime. Behind the barbed wire, there are soldiers of the Russian army who are helping to maintain the separatist regime,” Alexandru Gorgan said. According to him, Georgia and Moldova encounter similar problems, which have similar solutions, "and we must be united because only in this way our voice will be heard".
