Stories about War & Conflict from August, 2008
Georgia, Russia: Interethnic Relationships
Tbilisi-based LJ user shupaka and Russian war journalist Vadim Rechkalov (LJ user voinodel) share stories about interethnic relationships in Georgia and North Ossetia, Russia, in the time of conflict between the two countries.
Brazil: The rice war on indigenous land
Brazil's Supreme Court decides today about the future of Raposa Serra do Sol's Indigenous land. Observatório da Imprensa [Press Observatory, pt] have published two texts about the media coverage of the subject. One of them is called The Rice War [pt]: “The press still own us an approach that will...
Sri Lanka: In Iraq
groundviews on Sri Lankan mercenaries in Iraq.
Georgia: Pulitzer Crisis Analysis
Untold Stories, Dispatches from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, quotes from a speech made by its Executive Director blaming all sides for the crisis in Georgia. In a second post, the blog examines the issue of Abkhazia's independence.
Georgia: Russian-Georgian News Item Translations
Exercises in Translation has started translating news items in Russian and Georgian on the conflict between Moscow and Tbilisi over Abkhazia and South Ossetia. In the two most recent posts, for example, the blog translates a news item on Russian president Dmitri Medvedev's interview to French TF-1 and a Georgian...
Georgia: The View from Tbilisi
Michael J. Totten's Middle East Journal is in Tbilisi and reports from the Georgian capital on a recent press conference given by the government's media advisor. The blog also recounts a conversation on the conflict with Russia between Totten and veteran Caucasus journalist and author, Thomas Goltz.
Poland: Reactions to the Russian-Georgian Conflict
The beatroot writes that “Poland – in the shape of its government and particularly its president, Lech Kaczynski – has been using the conflict between Moscow and Tbilisi to nail their colours to the mast of “protecting freedom and democracy” of the brave young George against the might of an...
Hungary: Reaction to the Russian-Georgian Conflict
“Hungary's reaction to the Russian-Georgian conflict is in line with that of the European Union,” Hungarian Spectrum reports. “Given Hungary's energy needs and its reliance on Russian gas and oil the country can't afford to lash out against Russia.”
Georgia: Blogging from Poti
Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty is once again blogging from Georgian towns under Russian military occupation. The station's Tea Absaridze is providing daily updates on the situation in the strategic Black Sea port of Poti, currently controlled by the Russian military despite a ceasefire agreement requiring Moscow to withdraw...
Russia, Georgia: Unilateral Recognition of Abkhazia's and South Ossetia's Independence
Russia has formally recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia today. Below are some of the initial reactions from LiveJournal's Cyrillic sector.
Georgia: Photo Blogs
Georgia & South Caucasus posts a selection of images from two photo blogs taken in the aftermath of the Russian-Georgian conflict over South Ossetia. The photos include those of IDPs in Tbilisi and from the strategic town of Gori which was until recently occupied by Russian troops.
Palestine: Return of the Prisoners
From Palestine, Body On the Line describes the return of Palestinian prisoners from Israel in this post, and compare it to the reception the freed Lebanese prisoners received.
Georgia: Pepsikolka's Dispatches From Poti
OpenDemocracy.net posts translations of posts by LJ user pepsikolka (Samira Kuznetsova), a blogger living in Poti, Georgia: here, here, and here. (Earlier GV translations of pepsikolka‘s posts are here and here.)
Georgia: Russian Parliament Recognizes Abkhazia, South Ossetia
Unzipped comments on news that the Russian parliament has voted to recognize the independence of the breakway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia. The Armenian blog says that the move sets an important precedent for resolving another frozen conflict in the region — Nagorno Karabakh.
Georgia: Dispatches
My The Caucasian Knot has posts accompanied by photographs of a press conference given by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, an account of attempts to get into the Russian-occupied town of Gori, humanitarian concerns in Tbilisi following an influx of IDPs, and a report...
Afghanistan: Karzai Fingerpoint at NATO
Azar Balkhi reports that Hamid Karzai, the President of Afghanistan yet again points finger at the NATO Forces without knowing the real story behind the confrontation that took place in Azizabad, where 90 civilians were shot to death in the counter-Taliban operation.
Georgia: McCain Benefits?
Nazarian says that the real winner in the war between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia might be U.S. presidential candidate John McCain. The blogger also believes a new Cold War is in the making.
Georgia: Regional Reporters
The conflict between Georgia and Russia over the breakway territory of South Ossetia were accompanied by cyber-attacks on several Georgian official government and independent media sites. But rather than prevent journalists from utilizing the Internet to report on the war, it achieved the opposite. Many Georgians -- media professionals and citizen journalists alike -- set up blogs to report or comment on the conflict.
Lebanon: Israel threatens while Syria seeks to buy arms
"What’s cooking?" is probably the most common question people in Lebanon are asking since Israel Environment Minister Gideon Ezra’s speech few days ago and the recent news of the Russian-Syrian arms deal. Last week, Minister Ezra said that the Lebanese state will be considered a target if it legitimizes Hizbullah (which the Lebanese government did). On the other hand, Russia has announced that it is ready to sell new weapons to Syria. What do Lebanon's bloggers have to ay about those developments?
Georgia: Dispatches Under Russian Occupation
When Russian forces rolled into the strategic Georgian town of Gori, information on the occupation was scarce. Journalists died during Russian bombing runs in the military campaign leading up Gori's capture, others were shot at, and access to the town was not only limited, but also perilous with South Ossetian, Chechen and Cossack militia hijacking cars and robbing occupants. The posts by the radio station's Goga Aptsiauri are a fascinating account of life under Russian occupation. In his final post made two days ago, Aptsiauri reports that the Russian military had finally left.
Georgia: Goltz on South Ossetia
Writing for Untold Stories, Thomas Goltz offers his opinion on the conflict between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia.