Moscow's plan is to redraw the map of Europe
Any doubts about why Russia invaded Georgia have now been erased. By illegally recognising the Georgian territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's president, made clear that Moscow's goal is to redraw the map of Europe using force.
This war was never about South Ossetia or Georgia. Moscow is using its invasion, prepared over years, to rebuild its empire, seize greater control of Europe's energy supplies and punish those who believed democracy could flourish on its borders. Europe has reason to worry. Thankfully, most of the international community has condemned the invasion and confirmed their unwavering support for Georgia's territorial integrity and sovereignty.
Our first duty is to highlight Russia's Orwellian tactics. Moscow says it invaded Georgia to protect its citizens in South Ossetia. Over the past five years it cynically laid the groundwork for this pretence, by illegally distributing passports in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, “manufacturing” Russian citizens to protect. The cynicism of Russia's concern for ethnic minorities can be expressed in one word: Chechnya.
This cynicism has become hypocritical and criminal. Since Russia's invasion, its forces have been “cleansing” Georgian villages in both regions – including outside the conflict zone – using arson, rape and execution. Human rights groups have documented these actions. Moscow has flipped the Kosovo precedent on its head: where the west acted to prevent ethnic cleansing, in Georgia ethnic cleansing is being used by Russia to consolidate its military annexation.
Other Russian lies have also been debunked. The most egregious was Moscow's absurd claim on the eve of the invasion that Georgia was committing genocide in South Ossetia, with 2,000 civilian deaths. A week later, Moscow admitted that only 133 people had died. These were overwhelmingly military casualties and came after the Russian invasion. But the genocide claim served its goal. In a media era hungry for content, the big lie still works.
Russia's campaign to redraw the map of Europe is based on the propagation of misinformation. Yesterday on this page, Mr Medvedev asserted that Georgia attacked South Ossetia. In fact, our forces entered the conflict zone after Russia rolled its tanks on to our soil, passing through the Roki tunnel into South Ossetia, Georgia. Mr Medvedev also claimed Russia had no designs on our territory. Why then did it bomb and occupy Georgian cities such as Gori? Why does it continue to occupy our strategic port of Poti?
Moscow also counts on historical amnesia. It hopes the west will forget ethnic cleansing in Abkhazia drove out more than three-quarters of the local population – ethnic Georgians, Greeks, Jews and others – leaving the minority Abkhaz in control. Russia also wants us to forget that South Ossetia was run not by its residents (almost half were Georgian before this month's ethnic cleansing) but by Russian officials. When the war started, South Ossetia's de facto prime minister, defence minister and security minister were ethnic Russians with no ties to the region.
The next step in Russia's invasion script, of disinformation and annexation, is regime change. If Moscow can oust Georgia's democratically elected government, it can then intimidate other democratic European governments. Where will this end? What we know about Russia, and especially the current regime, is not encouraging.
Last week Vaclav Havel, the former Czech president, put us on alert: “Russia does not really know where it begins and where it ends.” He noted that the Moscow regime is “a lot more sophisticated” than the Soviets under Leonid Brezhnev. He should know – he was on the front line the last time Russia invaded a European country.
Mr Medvedev is now making menacing statements about Ukraine and Moldova and is replicating its Georgia strategy in the Crimea by distributing Russian passports. The message is clear. Russia will do as it pleases.
I believe the most potent western response to Russia is to stay united and firm by providing immediate material and political support. If Moscow is trying to overthrow ourgovernment using its lethal tools, let us resist with democratic tools that have sustained more than 60 years of Euro-Atlantic peace. Backing Georgia with Europe's political and financial institutions is a powerful response. Regrettably, this story is no longer about my small country, but the west's ability to stand its ground to defend a principled approach to international security and keep the map of Europe intact.
The writer is president of Georgia
FT金融时报中文翻译
俄罗斯为何入侵格鲁吉亚？现在一切真相大白。通过非法承认格鲁吉亚领土阿布哈兹和南奥塞梯独立，俄罗斯总统德米特里•梅德韦杰夫(Dmitry Medvedev)已清楚地表明，莫斯科的目标是用武力重绘欧洲地图。
这场战争决不是因为南奥塞梯或格鲁吉亚。莫斯科方面筹划多年，正通过此次侵略来重建帝国、增强对欧洲能源供应的控制，并惩戒那些相信民主能够在其邻国蓬勃发展的人们。欧洲有理由感到担忧。令人感激的是，国际社会大多对此次入侵予以谴责，表明了对格鲁吉亚领土完整和主权的坚定支持。
我们的首要责任是指出俄罗斯的伎俩。莫斯科声称，入侵格鲁吉亚是为了保护南奥塞梯地区的该国公民。过去5年来，它居心叵测地为这一借口进行着准备，通过在南奥塞梯和阿布哈兹非法签发护照，“制造”供其保护的俄罗斯公民。俄罗斯对少数民族这种关心的虚伪之处，可以用一个词表达出来：“车臣”。
这种虚伪已经演变成了伪善和犯罪。自俄罗斯入侵以来，该国军队一直在上述两个地区对格鲁吉亚人的村庄——包括冲突区以外地区——进行“清洗”，他们纵火、奸污和杀人。人权组织已证明了这些行径。莫斯科没有让科索沃的先例重演：当时西方出面阻止了种族清洗。在格鲁吉亚，俄罗斯利用种族清洗来巩固其武力吞并的成果。
俄罗斯的其它谎言也已被揭穿。最惊人的莫过于在入侵前夕荒谬地声称格鲁吉亚正在南奥塞梯实施种族屠杀，已有2000名平民遇难。一周后，莫斯科承认只有133人丧生。其中绝大部分是军队的伤亡，是在俄罗斯入侵之后出现的。但种族屠杀之说的目的已经达到。在一个媒体对内容饥不择食的时代，弥天大谎仍行之有效。
俄罗斯意在重绘欧洲地图的攻势，凭借的是散布假情报的手段。梅德韦杰夫本周在英国《金融时报》上声称，格鲁吉亚对南奥塞梯发动了进攻。事实上，我们的部队进入冲突地区，是在俄罗斯坦克驶入我们的领土，经过罗基(Roki)隧道挺进格鲁吉亚的南奥塞梯之后。梅德韦杰夫还宣称，俄罗斯对格鲁吉亚领土没有任何不良企图。那它为什么轰炸并占领格鲁吉亚的城市，譬如哥里(Gori)？为什么占着我们的战略港口波季(Poti)不走？
莫斯科还指望“历史健忘症”能够起作用。它希望西方会忘记其在阿布哈兹实施的种族清洗，这场清洗驱逐了逾四分之三的当地人——格鲁吉亚人、希腊人、犹太人和其他人种——只留下控制之中、占少数的阿布哈兹人。俄罗斯还希望我们忘记，南奥塞梯不是由当地人治理的（本月的种族清洗之前，当地近一半居民是格鲁吉亚人），而是由俄罗斯官员管辖。战争开始时，南奥塞梯事实上的总理、国防部长和安全部长全都是与该地区毫无瓜葛的俄罗斯族裔。
俄罗斯入侵图谋（靠散步假情报和武力吞并）的下一步是更换政权。如果莫斯科方面可以将格鲁吉亚的民选政府赶下台，那它也可以恫吓欧洲其他民主政府。这将止于何处？以我们对俄罗斯——尤其是其当前政体——的了解，情况不令人乐观。
上周，捷克前总统瓦茨拉夫•哈维尔(Vaclav Havel)为我们敲醒了警钟：“俄罗斯并不真正清楚自己始自哪里，止于何处。”他指出，俄罗斯现政权比列昂尼德•勃列日涅夫(Leonid Brezhnev)时期的苏联“狡猾得多”。他应该是清楚的——上一次俄罗斯入侵一个欧洲国家时，他就在第一线。
梅德韦杰夫眼下正对乌克兰和摩尔多瓦发表威胁性的言论，并在克里米亚岛重施在格鲁吉亚用过的签发俄罗斯护照的伎俩。其中传递的信息十分明确。俄罗斯将为所欲为。
我相信，西方对俄罗斯最有力的回应，是保持团结和坚定，并立即向(格鲁吉亚)提供物资和政治支持。如果莫斯科试图利用其致命手段推翻我们的政府，让我们用民主手段来抗击——这一手段使欧洲-大西洋地区保持了60多年的和平局面。用欧洲的政治和金融制度来支持格鲁吉亚，是最有力回应。令人遗憾的是，这已不再是我们这个小国的事情，而是关系到西方能否坚守立场，捍卫一种维护国际安全的原则性做法，并让欧洲地图保持原样。
（注：本文作者为格鲁吉亚总统。）
来源
http://www.ftchinese.com/sc/stor ... 001021655&loc=story
[ 本帖最后由 小麦 于 2008-8-29 10:14 编辑 ] |
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