The decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to probe alleged war crimes during the brief war between Georgia and Russia in 2008 is a welcome step. Though it can be argued that the decision of The Hague-based court comes somewhat late, it is hoped that investigations by prosecutors will work towards bringing to justice perpetrators of widespread abuses that may have been committed during the conflict in which Russia waded into, taking the Georgian government by surprise. The ICC has said that it is reasonable to believe that crimes against humanity and war crimes were committed during the conflict. On August 7-8, Georgia’s then President Mikheil Saakshvili sent forces into the breakaway republic of South Ossetia that borders the Russian region of North Ossetia.
More than 6,000 alleged victims petitioned the ICC in December last year. It is likely that the ICC’s first investigation outside of Africa will see many skeletons tumble out of the cupboard.
As the Kremlin struggles to deal with an economy being buffeted by Western sanctions, and President Vladimir Putin desperately tries to consolidate power, the ICC probe has opened up another front which the Russian government has to find ways to deal with.
On the other hand, Georgia will find it increasingly difficult to face a probe that is likely to open up old wounds of the former Soviet Republic. There have been allusions to war crimes on both sides.
The people of South Ossetia are ethnically and linguistically different from Georgians and it has also been alleged that Georgian civilians were killed by South Ossetian forces during the conflict. Georgia, under Saakshvili who enjoyed the support of Western governments, lost the war after which Russia officially recognised South Ossetia — along with the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia — as independent states. Thus, Moscow consolidated its hold on the two territories. In keeping with the Kremlin’s policy of using frozen conflicts to spread its influence in the region, the Russian government was able to intimidate another of its neighbours.
The conflict in Ukraine that saw Moscow occupy and then annex Crimea has echoes of the situation in South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Georgia has been trying to come to terms with political instability making its nascent polity susceptible to course changes. Saakshvili, who is credited with introducing a zero-tolerance policy against corruption, lost elections as the country grappled with widespread poverty. The US-educated lawyer who went onto exile after losing his presidency, now heads a province of eastern Ukraine. The ICC probe that will go into the details of the purported war crimes and abuses by both sides is going to roil the politics of the volatile South Caucasus region.
The decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to probe alleged war crimes during the brief war between Georgia and Russia in 2008 is a welcome step. Though it can be argued that the decision of The Hague-based court comes somewhat late, it is hoped that investigations by prosecutors will work towards bringing to justice perpetrators of widespread abuses that may have been committed during the conflict in which Russia waded into, taking the Georgian government by surprise. The ICC has said that it is reasonable to believe that crimes against humanity and war crimes were committed during the conflict. On August 7-8, Georgia’s then President Mikheil Saakshvili sent forces into the breakaway republic of South Ossetia that borders the Russian region of North Ossetia.
More than 6,000 alleged victims petitioned the ICC in December last year. It is likely that the ICC’s first investigation outside of Africa will see many skeletons tumble out of the cupboard.
As the Kremlin struggles to deal with an economy being buffeted by Western sanctions, and President Vladimir Putin desperately tries to consolidate power, the ICC probe has opened up another front which the Russian government has to find ways to deal with.
On the other hand, Georgia will find it increasingly difficult to face a probe that is likely to open up old wounds of the former Soviet Republic. There have been allusions to war crimes on both sides.
The people of South Ossetia are ethnically and linguistically different from Georgians and it has also been alleged that Georgian civilians were killed by South Ossetian forces during the conflict. Georgia, under Saakshvili who enjoyed the support of Western governments, lost the war after which Russia officially recognised South Ossetia — along with the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia — as independent states. Thus, Moscow consolidated its hold on the two territories. In keeping with the Kremlin’s policy of using frozen conflicts to spread its influence in the region, the Russian government was able to intimidate another of its neighbours.
The conflict in Ukraine that saw Moscow occupy and then annex Crimea has echoes of the situation in South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Georgia has been trying to come to terms with political instability making its nascent polity susceptible to course changes. Saakshvili, who is credited with introducing a zero-tolerance policy against corruption, lost elections as the country grappled with widespread poverty. The US-educated lawyer who went onto exile after losing his presidency, now heads a province of eastern Ukraine. The ICC probe that will go into the details of the purported war crimes and abuses by both sides is going to roil the politics of the volatile South Caucasus region.
