Destruction of Abkhazia's National Library and Archives by Georgian Forces

Abkhazia's fight for survival and self-determination have been little noticed in the West.  Even less attention have been paid to the acts of cultural destruction and vandalism perpetrated by Georgian forces in an attempt to erase the cultural history of the Abkhaz.  Bear in mind that during this period, Georgian political leaders were trying to deny the history of the Abkhaz in their own land and Georgian military leaders openly spoke of genocide. During the 1992-93 war, in a series of premeditated acts, Georgian forces destroyed libraries and burned books, periodicals and the entire stock of 6,000 volumes of rare editions in the National Library in Sukhum.  The card catalogues were even destroyed.  By the conclusion of the war in 1993, Abkhazia had only 5 surviving libraries from a pre-war total of 421.  Approximately 35 -40% of all books were burned and all of the periodicals from 1920 -35 were destroyed.

Because of this attempt at cultural genocide, priceless and irreplaceable literary works have been lost forever. Another consequence has been that a society that formerly had high interest in books has seen a dramatic reduction in reading.  

Because of assistance from the Russian National Library, other Russian sources and the United Nations there has been a restocking of some of the materials lost.  However, much of what was burned by Georgian forces can never be replaced.

Please take a look at the short film on the destruction of Abkhazia's National Library and Archive:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lcNIQ6fhcU

Interview with Nadir Bitiev, Advisor to the President of the Republic of Abkhazia

I interviewed Nadir Bitiev, an advisor to Abkhazia's President Sergei Bagapsh, on November 20, 2009 in Sukhum, Abkhazia. Mr. Bitiev spoke about the 2008 conflict in South Ossetia, Abkhazia's war with Georgia in 1992-93 and subsequent independence and the growth in tourism in the post-conflict environment.

PART 1 of Interview

Part 2 Interview

Hitler Quote Used by Georgian Television to Encourage Army Service

Circassian World has pointed out that a television channel in Georgia has been airing a clip with a quote from Adolf Hitler.  The point of the video is to encourage service in the Georgian Army. 

“We once and for all must understand that we will never be able to regain the lost territory with prayers, which have become a formality, nor with hopes in the League of Nations, but with the strength of our weapons.  Adolf Hitler. 1932.” 

Clearly the quote is used to refer to Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

This is an ominous development, but Georgian military leaders have threatened genocide against Abkhazia. Circassian World has included a link to a video from 1992 that shows the Commander of Georgian troops in Abkhazia, General Georgiy Karkarashvili, stating that he would sacrifice 100,000 Georgian lives to kill all 97,000 Abkhazians and keep Georgia's borders intact.  The general later stated that the Georgian side would take no prisoners and that the Abkhaz "would be left without descendants". 

The video can be seen at:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzvtaZIMy98

In 1993, a Georgian wartime leader, Giorgi Khandrava told Le Monde Diplomatique that "there are only 80,000 Abkhazians, which means that we can easily and completely destroy the genetic stock of the nation by killing 15,000 of their youth.  And we are perfectly capable of doing this."

Before the conflict in 1992-93, Georgian nationalists spoke of limiting the number of "non-Georgians" to 5% of the population of the country.   Georgia's civilian and military leaders have telegraphed their intentions very clearly.  How can American diplomats speak about Georgia's territorial integrity in these circumstances?  Didn't the U.S. bomb Serbia into submission to prevent genocide?

Circassian World also included a link to Abkhaz World's site.  There is a short film on the site about the deliberate burning in 1993 of the Abkhazian Research Institute of History, Language and Literature.  The archive included many documents of Abkhazia's cultural patrimony and documentary evidence of the Abkhazians residence in their homeland (which Georgians have disputed).  This reminds me of book burning and destruction of " degenerate art" by the Nazis, the bombing and burning of the Sarajevo Library and the Taliban destroying the Buddhas of Bamyan.  These events have been widely and justifiably condemned in the press. However, why has there been so little attention paid to what Georgian troops did in Sukhum in 1992? Is it because of Georgia's relationship with the U.S.? Is it because it runs counter to the image of Georgia as a victim?  Is it because of Georgia's contributions in Iraq and Afghanistan?

The article and the video can be found at:

http://www.abkhazworld.com/headlines/151-a-history-erased.html

American and European diplomatic efforts have supported Georgia's claims of territorial integrity. With a long history of starting conflicts with Abkhazia and South Ossetia, destruction of cultural artifacts and genocidal rhetoric, Georgia's leadership cannot be trusted.

Lugar Calls for Consideration of Arming Georgia

Republican Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana has called for the U.S. and its allies to consider rearming Georgia.  I think this is a terrible idea.  Georgia has proven to be a destabilizing and aggressive force in the Caucasus. President Saakashvili irresponsibly ordered the attack on South Ossetia in August of 2008.  This would not have been possible without substantial American aid; Georgia increased military spending at the fastest rate in the world in 2008.  As  a result, hundreds of Ossetian civilians and 16 Russian peacekeepers lost their lives in Georgia's unprovoked attack.  The United States should not arm a Georgia with proven aggressive intent.  Who can doubt what Georgia would do with a rebuilt military?

The Bush Administration bears moral responsibility for arming Georgia before, if Georgia rearms and again attacks, America foreign policy makers will be complicit. Further, Georgia is not a dependable or responsible partner and should not be admitted to NATO.   This can only appear to the Russian leadership as attempted encirclement.  Fortunately, it appears that the Obama Administration is not tone deaf towards Russia in the way that the Bush Administration was.

Las Vegas CityCenter Development (Photos) Opening Tonight

I am in Las Vegas for meetings with investors interested in the Black Sea Region.  I arrived last night and will be back in Los Angeles on Friday and on to Del Mar Saturday.  My anticipated return to Russia is early January. First I will spend several days in Moscow and then on to Krasnodar.

Las Vegas is clearly and widely known to have been hit very hard by the recession.  However, i see several new projects continuing and Aria, the flagship of the $8.5 billion CityCenter Project, is opening tonight.  It is really an impressive site when driving past on the strip or from the freeway.  CityCenter has 4 hotels, a casino and 42 restaurants and bars.  The development has 6 towers and 12,000 employees.  Projections are that nearly 40 million people will visit Las Vegas in 2010.  

Las Vegas CityCenter (Taken Today, December 16,2009)

Las Vegas CityCenter

Las Vegas- Wynn Resort, Las Vegas Boulevard and Fashion Show Mall (Photo December 16, 2009)