Galway Alliance Against War- Press Release
The Galway Alliance Against War has released a statement “deploring the war presently being waged in the Caucasus. We believe it is only through negotiations that the dispute over South Ossetia can be brought to a peaceful conclusion.”
Galway Alliance Against War- Press Release
The Galway Alliance Against War has released a statement “deploring the war presently being waged in the Caucasus. We believe it is only through negotiations that the dispute over South Ossetia can be brought to a peaceful conclusion.”
However, the Galway peace group says “the Irish people should not ignore this conflict in the Caucasus as it could have implications for Ireland if the Lisbon Treaty is ever forced upon us.”
“Under the Lisbon Treaty, all EU countries, including Ireland, are obliged to come to the aid of other EU states that are attacked. Georgia has already applied for EU membership, so this is a predicament we could face in the future if the Lisbon Treaty becomes a reality.”
“Russia’s war in Chechnya was genocide, but the present conflict is a different story.
The Georgian government started the present war. It carried out attacks on South Ossetia in which many civilians and some Russian Peacekeepers lost their lives. This present conflict, however, is not a simple case of the evil Russian empire swallowing up little Ossetia. Rather it is Georgia making claims on South Ossetia that historically don’t hold up [Encycopaedia Britannica — 11th Ed.]. Ossetia borders Georgia to the north and it was only during the rule of the Soviet Union by Stalin – a Georgian – that South Ossetia came under the control of the Soviet Republic of Georgia. After the collapse of the Soviet Union this became an issue with 70% of the population of South Ossetia wanting to be reunited with their fellow countrymen and women in Northern Ossetia. And here the conflict lies.”
The Galway peace group also argues that this conflict has implications not only for Ireland, but also for the whole world: “In March of this year George W Bush attended the Nato summit in Romania, where he supported Georgia’s application to join the US military alliance as part of his new “Cold War” against Russia. The problem is that this “Cold War” could easily become very “Hot”. One Caucasus expert, Mark Almond a history lecturer at Oriel College, Oxford, writing in the British Guardian last Saturday argued: “western backing for "equip and train" programmes in Russia’s backyard don’t contribute to peace and stability if bombastic local leaders such as Saakashvili see them as a guarantee of support even in a crisis provoked by his own actions. He seems to have thought that the valuable oil pipeline passing through his territory, together with the Nato advisers intermingled with his troops, would prevent Russia reacting militarily to an incursion into South Ossetia. That calculation has proved disastrously wrong.””ENDS
For further information|: Niall Farrell – 087-9159787
