By Appo Jabarian Executive Publisher/Managing Editor USA ARMENIAN LIFE Magazine During numerous previous decades, at a time when Olympic Games were in progress, many warring nations voluntarily abstained from any military activity. No country staged a military aggression against another country. Recently the former Soviet Republic of Georgia broke that tradition. Using the 2008 Beijing Olympics as a distracting cover, Georgia initiated a military aggression against the tiny breakaway state of South Ossetia. Apparently Georgia's President Mikheil Saakashvili hoped that the international community would be preoccupied by the Olympics, and his troops would stage a Nazi-style blitzkrieg attack against the Ossetians. But the Saakashvili plan backfired. Russia rushed to the rescue of the Ossetians. Russia, determined not to squander away any opportunity to punish Georgia for its NATO ambitions, counter-attacked with its military might and literally subjected Saakashvili's country to a 5-day military siege. On Tuesday August 12, just before USA Armenian Life Magazine went to press, the world media reported that Georgia unconditionally pulled its occupation armies out of South Ossetia's regional capital Tskhinvali and signed a peace accord negotiated by President Nicholas Sarkozy of France. South Ossetia and Abkhazia have run their own affairs without international recognition since fighting to split from Georgia in the early 1990s. Both separatist provinces are backed by Russia. On August 12, the Russian ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin told CNN that "We do not want to believe that the United States has given a green light to this adventurous act, But our American colleagues are telling us that they're investigating now what may have happened in the channels of communication for Mr. Saakashvili to have behaved in such a reckless manner." Harut Sassounian, the Publisher of The California Courier, wrote in his column: "In my judgment, Pres. Saakashvili, expecting political, if not military, support from the West, miscalculated badly Russia's devastating reaction when he initiated last week's surprise attack on South Ossetia. This breakaway region not only borders Russia, but its inhabitants are citizens of Russia, giving the Kremlin ample reason to intervene and carry out Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's declared intent 'to punish' Georgia's President." One hopes that Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, Armenia's and Nagorno Karabagh Republic/Artsakh's neighbor to the East learns from his Georgian colleague Saakashvili's dire experience of political and military miscalculations. Back in March, Azerbaijan had organized a military incursion against Armenia and paid dearly for its testing of the Armenians' determination to fight back. As for the Armenians of Javakhk, the Armenian region in Georgia, Saakashvili's oppressive regime has been systematically impoverishing them so that either they leave or assimilate. Below is an urgent appeal for help released on July 24 by Javakhk Armenians: "JAVAKHK NEEDS HELP OF THE WHOLE WORLD. Dear compatriots, the democratic alliance 'United Javakhk,' a grassroots NGO, striving to defend the human rights of Javakhk's Armenians, was attacked and crushed without any solid legal ground by Georgian Special Operations Unit in the city of Akhalkalak." The appeal continued: "At the current moment: 1) Over 500 Georgian special police officers are stationed in Javakhk region of Georgia (this is in addition to the regular police force); 2) Over 20 members of 'United Javakhk' were thrown in jail without due course/legal procedures; 3) The Georgian operatives too control over local internet provider and independent radio station. A number of other local media outlets are shut down, which effectively limits freedom of the media and access of the general public to information for the local population; 4) The office of "United Javakhk" had been illegally searched and weapons were 'found' (allegedly all planted by the Georgian police units); 5) The population of Akhalkalak and the entire region is under the constant threat of illegal arrests, beatings and other mass violations of human rights; and 6) Armenian and Georgian media and state authorities do not comment on the situation." Not long ago, Kosovo, another breakaway region-turned an internationally recognized sovereign state, gained its independence from the Republic of Serbia. Rightfully, the international community rushed to recognize its independence. But the international community's duty should not have stopped there. Setting the double standard aside, the world community should have recognized South Ossetia's and Abkhazia's independence from Georgia, and that of Nagorno Karabagh/Artsakh from Azerbaijan. Having failed to complete its obligations, the international community now shoulders the responsibility of the loss of thousands of innocent lives in the Russia-Georgia-Ossetia war. Future deadly aggression by the oppressive regimes of Azerbaijan and Georgia will further saddle the community with more responsibility for further human losses.

---