GEORGIAN FORCES USE CLUSTER BOMBS AGAINST CIVILIANS

Georgia used cluster bombs against civilians during the August conflict over South Ossetia. The World Street Journal states this on its Wednesday issue referring to a new research by Human Rights Watch, HRW, a New-York-based humanitarian organization. The report confirms once again that Saakashvili regime received offensive weapons banned for using in the conflicts

Human rights activists’ report that provides evidences says that the Georgian army used Israeli-made bombs. Owing to malfunction the rockets failed to disperse the cluster bombs over intended targets and landed far from the area where the fighting went on. Consequently, the cluster bombs killed civilians, both Ossetians and Georgians.

Cluster bombs are prohibited under the Convention on Cluster Munitions. These bombs are quite dangerous. Cluster bombs eject a cluster of bomblets over the target to scatter land mines. This poses threat to civilians. Georgians have discovered cluster bombs in at least nine Georgian towns. This evidence was provided by Marc Garlasco, a former Pentagon intelligence official who now serves as a Human Right Watch’s senior military analyst. According to Garlasco, Georgia remains littered with thousands of leftover bombs. Truly, the Georgian authorities hurried to dismiss the accusation but admitted that the Georgian forces only fired cluster bombs at the Russian forces. However, evidence shows that hundreds of civilians were injured and at least 14 people were killed by the cluster bombs.

Israel reportedly announced that it would stop military cooperation with Georgia. However, Ukraine continues to supply weapons. Scandal has stirred up in Ukraine over the delivery of offensive weapons to the Saakashvili regime. President Victor Yushchenko allowed supplying Georgia with advanced weapons, including air defence systems and tanks. Here is a statement made by a deputy of the Ukrainian parliament Valeri Konovalyuk, who heads the parliamentary commission that investigates into the illegal supply of Ukrainian weapons to Georgia, during the inspection of captured military hardware in South Ossetia.

Valeri Konovalyuk says that this is T-72B tank and Ukraine sold 80 such tanks to Georgia. Under the contract Ukraine was expected to supply another 20 tanks in September and October. The commission pressed for imposing moratorium on the weapon supplies to Georgia. However, the Ukrainian authorities do their best to arm Georgia. This worries the Ukrainian deputies, said Valeri Konovalyuk.

Russia suggested imposing moratorium on supplying weapons to Georgia on the basis that aggressor should not be allowed arming unpunished. On the contrary, the situation in the Caucasus could be unpredictable owing to adventurous policy pursued by the Georgian regime.

Alexander Vatutin

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