In the beginning of September, Mr. Carnogursky was invited by the State Duma to South Ossetia "in order to witness with his own eyes what happened in South Ossetia and what is the current situation there."
This kind of introduction already gives a reason to the reader to suspect that Mr. Carnogursky is not going to be impartial in describing the situation, since Russia is a party to the conflict and it is certain that Russian State Duma's Deputy Chairman invited several European parliamentarians and other politicians with the aim of spreading Russian propaganda. It is certain, because the Russians surely showed their guests what they wanted to show them and explained things in a way that was favorable for them. If Mr. Carnogursky had wanted to stay impartial in describing the situation regarding the Russian-Georgian conflict, he should have gone to South Ossetia not on an invitation of one of the conflict's parties, but he would have found another way, for example through international institutions. Secondly, it is not correct from a legal or moral point of view to travel to a country on an invitation of the state representatives of another country.
According to international law, South Ossetia remains a part of Georgia, even though Russia, Nicaragua and Hamas (good company, right?) recognized it as a sovereign state. By accepting such an invitation, Mr. Carnogursky fit himself into the ranks of Russian aggressors, Sandinian Neanderthals and international terrorists. Slovakia respects the territorial integrity of Georgia within internationally recognized borders. Based on the principles of international law, Slovakia recognizes neither South Ossetia nor Abkhazia nor Kosovo. I believe that Mr. Carnogursky surely did not accept an invitation of the Deputy Chairman of Albanian Parliament to visit Kosovo. Or we can imagine what kind of reaction would incite Mr. Carnogursky if foreign guests visited southern Slovakia on an invitation of a Deputy Chairman of the Hungarian Republic, ignoring the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Slovakia. That is a big faux pas of Carnogursky, a "successful attorney".
But the biggest shame for an attorney should be the fact that he lies to Slovak readers, not only when he speaks, but also when he is silent about the truth. His article is roughly divided into two sections. In the first section, Mr. Attorney speaks about what he saw on his trip from Vladikavkaz do Tskhinvali with his own eyes, and in the second section, he speaks about the "military background of the conflict". Let us single out the main topics of the article and then analyze them in detail.
Lie n.1: South Ossetian border control
Mr. Attorney begins to describe his trip from Vladikavkaz to Tskhinvali with a following picture: "After Vladikavkaz, the road started to climb through Caucasian valley up to the Roki Tunnel. The tunnel is about two kilometers long and it intersects the main ridge of the Caucasus. North from the tunnel, there lies the Russian Federation and North Ossetia, on the south there is South Ossetia. Before entering the tunnel, we pass through the South Ossetian border control. On the other side of the tunnel, the road descends through another Caucasian valley."
Everyone who travels abroad knows that on each border, you must "pass the border control" twice: first time when you leave one country and second time, when you enter the other country. Mr. Attorney proves here his knowledge of geography and history: "North from the tunnel, there lies the Russian Federation and North Ossetia, on the south there is South Ossetia." But according the logic, "before entering the tunnel", he had to pass first the Russian border control, and only after he crossed the tunnel, "South Ossetian". But surprisingly, "South Ossetian border guards" work before the entrance of the tunnel, which means on the territory of the Russian Federation. And what about passing the Russian border control? Where and when were the leaving guests admitted by the Russian border guards? They had to be! At least formally, even if the guests had diplomatic passports (which I find very doubtful in the case of Mr. Carnogursky who is not a part of Slovak state service anymore...). Therefore, Mr. Carnogursky lies about the fact that they were admitted by "South Ossetian border guards", since there is no South Ossetian border guard control, there is only South Ossetian "branch" of Russian border guards - even the head of so-called "South Ossetian border guard" is a Russian citizen. Before he was sent on a "long-term business trip" to Tskhinvali, Oleg Genadievich Chebotariev had nothing in common with South Ossetia. Thus, Mr. Carnogursky takes part in the Russian propaganda comedy show that is called "South Ossetia - we are pretending to be a state", with V. V. Putin as the main writer of the failed script.
Lie n.2: Three villages on the road to Tskhinvali
Mr. Carnogursky continues with his story...: "We are heading to Tskhinvali, South Ossetian capital. On the road, we pass through three villages where traces of war can be seen. Houses on both sides of the road are destroyed and burned. We enter Tskhinvalu."
Just like that! But most Slovaks that are not familiar with the real situation will think that there is a talk about "destroyed and burned" villages before Tskhinvali, they are probably Ossetian villages. Again, here Mr. Attorney lies, when he hides the truth from the reader that three villages, "destroyed and burned" to ashes are Georgian villages - Kekhvi, Kurta and Tamarasheni.
A reader can get more information about the ethnic cleansing in Georgian villages in the Tskhinvali region on a webpage of Human Rights Watch international organization: http://hrw.org/ in the articles "What is happening in South Ossetia", "Georgian villages in South Ossetia burned and plundered", "Georgia: international organizations must send their missions to the region in order to investigate violations and protection of civil population", "Georgia: EU mission's mandate must include protection of civil population", "Georgia: satellite pictures prove destruction in the Georgian villages in South Ossetia", "EU: to secure protection of civil population in the Gori region", "Russia/Georgia: Great human losses after the attacks in the populated region", "A month after the war".
Mr. Attorney, read these articles carefully and be impartial!
Lie n.3: The building of South Ossetian government
J. Carnogursky: "We enter Tskhinvali. In the beginning, the houses are not damaged very much, but as we approach the downtown, there are always more destroyed buildings. In the middle, there is a building shot to pieces, which is a seat of several institutions of South Ossetian government.
Firstly, yes - Georgian party admits that the building of the Kokoity puppet government was one of the military targets. Reports of Human Rights Watch clearly state that there were shootings from this building on Georgian forces, and that is why these places were logical military objects of Georgian army.
Secondly - Mr. Carnogursky lies again that there is a "South Ossetian government". Let us take a look at who forms the government:
- Prime Minister - Yuri Ionovich Morozov, born in Bashkortostan
- Minister of Interior - Mikhail Mairamovich Mindzaev, born in North Ossetia
- Security Council secretary - Anatoly Constantinovich Barankevich, born in Kaliningrad;
- KGB boss - Boris Mazitovich Atoev, born in Kabardino-Balkaria
- Minister of Defense - Vasili Vasilievich Lunev, born in Ural
- And then high representatives of Tskhinvali KGB - Vladimir Kuzmich Kotoev, Sergei Alexandrovich Guznov, Oleg Gennadievich Chebotariev, Gennadi Nikolaevich Yemilianenko, Konstantin Genadievich Yatzenko, etc.
All of the above-mentioned comrades ("tovarishchi") are officers of Russian KGB (currently FSB), Russian citizens that have nothing in common with South Ossetia.
Mr. Attorney, do you call that "South Ossetian government"? What would you say if someone did the same in Slovakia - in one of the Slovak regions? Would you say that it is "Slovak government"?
I repeat - it is a comedy show that is called "South Ossetia - we are pretending to be a state".
Be careful, Mr. Attorney, so that the same comedy show is not played tomorrow also in southern Slovakia...
Lie n.4: At Tygiev's family
Mr. Carnogursky: "On Ostrovska Street, we enter the house of the Tygiev family. The lady tells us sadly how they were affected by the war. The entire family hid in the cellar after the Georgian attack on Tskhinvali, when someone knocked on the gate leading to the yard. Her husband went out to open the gate. He thought that it was perhaps a neighbor or a friend. That is when a grenade exploded in the yard. It killed her husband. The body of her husband stayed in the yard in front of the house, perhaps five meters from the cellar's entrance. However, they could not even move the body of the husband from the yard to the house for two days because of the unceasing gunfire."
It is a tragedy when people die. War is a tragedy and the reports about innocent civilian people dying in war are very difficult to listen to without emotions. But Mr. Carnogursky tells the story of Tygiev family in such a way that he puts them in a rather comic situation. Let us look at the story one more time: according to Mr. Carnogursky, Georgian attack on Tskhinvali was so strong that the family hid in the cellar. At that time someone knocked on the gate and the landlord thought that "it was perhaps a neighbor or a friend." Shocking! There is a strong attack on the city, they are hiding in the cellar, and a person hears a knocking on a gate and he thinks that perhaps "a neighbor or a friend" came for a visit. Moreover, this person goes out to open the gate during the strong gunfire. It is absolutely unbelievable and improbable scene. It is completely illogical - when you are hiding in a cellar, you have to assume that your neighbors are also hidden in cellars of somewhere else, and there is no time to go around the street and knock on your neighbors' gates.
What is Mr. Attorney telling later - situation is getting complicated: "The body of her husband stayed in the yard in front of the house, perhaps five meters from the cellar entrance. However, they could not even move the body of the husband from the yard to the house because of the unceasing gunfire. Imagine that "the family could not move the body from the yard to the house" from a distance of 5 meters - how is it possible that a person dares to visit a neighbor?
It is black on white - it is clear that Mr. Carnogursky lies. I do not doubt that Mrs. Tygiev's husband died - but it is not clear how he died. Let us look at Tygiev's case. It is not possible to find out anything about such a person or his case. Despite the Russian claim that Georgians killed 2000 civilians in Tskhinvali, they haven't shown any evidence yet. Human Rights Watch registered 44 cases of civilian deaths, but it assumes that the number of victims can rise up to 100 persons. During that time, Ossetians created an organization "Community commission - for the investigation of war crimes in South Ossetia and for the help of the afflicted civilian population." This organization was interested in compiling the list of civilian victims from the South Ossetian side. First list was published in September on the agency's Regnum webpage. On this list, there is a certain Tygiev (Тигиев), but only one - Tygiev Eduard Kazbekovich, born in 1958. Died during war operations. Buried in the house yard." It is clear that it the same Tygiev Mr. Carnogursky speaks about, because when he visited Tygiev's family and the grave in the yard in September, such case would surely be registered by the "Community commission" also. That means that Mr. Carnogursky does not lie and he tells the truth - that is what you would say. But let us not rush things! Let us investigate further: on October 6, the last list with 311 people was published. But you would not believe your own eyes what is written there about the same Tygiev: "Tygiev Eduard Kazbekovich, born in 1958. Died during combat operations. Buried in the yard of the house. (After the clarification it is apparent that Tygiev died in 2006 - clarification of the REGNUM information agency from September 15)". You won't find another Tygiev, not even in the updated list.
You don't believe? Look it up yourselves at: http:/www.regnum.ru/news/1050769.html
So, Mr. Attorney! This is how you lie to the readers, and that is how your clients lie to the whole world!
Lie n. 5: Jewish quarter
J. Carnogursky: "We are entering Tskhinvali‘s so-called Jewish Quarter. On a small square, there is a bigger building that served as Jewish culture center. The building is shot to pieces and burned. The surrounding streets are almost completely destroyed."
Again, Mr. Attorney serves the Russian propaganda machine well. It is obvious that this kind of information targets Slovak Jews that have certain influence on the societal and political life in Slovakia. The goal is to set the Jewish community on an anti-Georgian and pro-Ossetian course. Mr. Attorney's words indicate there had to be Jewish victims in Tskhinvali, if "the streets are almost completely destroyed" in the Jewish Quarter in the surrounding area of the destroyed and burned culture center. Whoever doesn't know the situation will assume that there is a Jewish Quarter in Tskhinvali, and it means that Jews and Ossetians were getting along quite well, there were many of them and they are not alive anymore, because where they lived "the streets are almost completely destroyed". That is a cheap, very cheap propaganda from Mr. Carnogursky's side. But I believe that he wastes time and words, because Jews surely have more information about their compatriots in the world than him. In my effort to verify the facts described in Mr. Carnogursky's article, I called the Israeli Embassy in Tbilisi, where the assistant of Ambassador Gerber mediated me his statement describing Mr. Carnogursky's assertions as "lies and disinformation". Call the Israeli Embassy in Georgia and ask how many Jews lived in Tskhinvali in Soviet times, how many of them lived there during separatist times, and how many of them were there on August 7 - they will give you an accurate information. According to our information, barely 2-3 Jewish families remained in Tskhinvali. I am convinced that Mr. Carnogursky must have come to learn this during his visit to Tskhinvali and that is why he hides it, otherwise he would surely write it in the article. This approach - hiding the truth - is only possible to call a lie. Look up also the list published on Regnum's webpage, you won't find even one Jewish name among the 311 names.
Lie n.6: An official building and a tank tower
Mr. Carnogursky tells an "interesting" story with a big emphasis: "We are passing further and an unusual view opens up to us. In front of a kind of official building, there is a tower ripped out from a Georgian tank sticking out of the concrete in front of the entrance. The guides tell us how it happened. A Georgian tank moved around in Tskhinvali's street. Ossetian militia hit him with a RPG from behind. That is the only place where the tank's armor is not protected with a protective explosive. The RPG missile went inside the tank, exploded there, tank's ammo exploded as well. The explosion ripped out the tank tower, which flew in the air for about two hundred meters and got stuck in the concrete in front of the building. The stuck tank tower is a perfect illustration of what happened in Tskhinvali." There is little to comment: however, it surprises me that this story interested Mr. Attorney so much - just like a small child watching a fairytale from the science fiction category. Imagine how a 3 or 4-ton tank tower flies through the air for 200 meters (!). After consultation with experts, I dare to say that this tank tower, weighing 3-4 tons - even if it were full of ammo - can fly 10 -12 meters at the most...
There is nothing to add, but one more thing: does again Mr. Carnogursky conceal from readers what that „kind of official building" was? Wasn't it the branch of Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, managed by Vasili Vasilievich Lunev from Siberia? The Slovaks deserve to hear the truth, and you can tell such fairytales somewhere else...
Lie n.7: School n.5
Mr. Carnogursky wants to point out that Georgians were shooting not only at official buildings, civilian houses, culture centers, but also at schools: "We are passing in front of the elementary school n.5. It is a two-storey building hit by grenades, burned, it can serve its purpose only after a thorough reconstruction. The school is yet another monument to the most recent history of South Ossetia. The school's building was constructed at Soviet times and there used to be a small football field for students. During the previous war in 1990 - 1992, Georgian army also pulled into Tskhinvali and there were many victims. Already at that time, it wasn't possible to move around the city freely, that is why they made a cemetery out of the football field. We saw about 20 gravestones from the period of the previous war in South Ossetia. The front fence of the small cemetery was destroyed with artillery gunfire and some gravestones were destroyed as well." There is another lie of Mr. Carnogursky: read carefully the Human Rights Watch reports and you will see that Ossetian fighters were shooting at Georgian forces from civilian object such as kindergartens, schools, apartment buildings, etc. And as it was already mentioned above, in such cases Ossetian armed forces became legitimate targets of Georgian army - and it is necessary to stress that the Ossetians themselves committed war crimes when hiding in civilian object. It is a so-called "live shield", used by terrorist organizations like Hamas.
Lie n. 8: Ossetian refugees
J. Carnogursky: "Many families were left in South Ossetia without a house, which was destroyed during the fighting. However, they had relatives in North Ossetia, who took them in. The inhabitants of South and North Ossetia make one nation and they are connected by family ties. Many Ossetians do not want to go back to South Ossetia anymore, since they do not have the possibility to repair or rebuild their houses, or they cannot live in fear of another attack by Georgian forces. That is why they took bodies of their relatives with them to North Ossetia and buried them there."
Again, Mr. Carnogursky is lying: Human Rights Watch, in the evening of August 10, announced that by noon of August 10 Russian authorities registered 24 032 Ossetian refugees in Vladikavkaz, out of which 11 190 went back to fight and I will add - to plunder. According to the last information of the relevant authorities from the Russian Federation, there wasn't a single refugee from South Ossetia in North Ossetia by the end of September.
Regarding the Georgian refugees that Mr. Carnogursky does not speak about, there is more than 60 thousand of them and there are still ethnic cleansings in the Tskhinvali region, where separatist bands still plunder and burn Georgian villages.
Lie n. 9: Borders between South Ossetia and Georgia
Mr. Carnogursky writes, mentioning the Dagomi (not Sochi) agreement from 1992: "According to the agreement, Georgia pulled out its troops from the South Ossetia and the borders between South Ossetia and Georgia were occupied by peace forces consisting of Georgian, South Ossetian and Russian soldiers." Mr. Attorney is lying again, because there is no border between Georgia and South Ossetia. From the legal point of view, there is only the expression "administrative border of the former administrative region of South Ossetia", and Mr. Carnogursky has the reputation of an experienced lawyer. Another lie: peace forces were located not on some border, but inside the "administrative border of the former administrative region of South Ossetia" and only at the places where there was a conflict in the beginning of 90s of the last century. For example, there was never any conflict in the Akhalgori region (which is at the moment renamed to Leningor by separatists and Russians!), and there was no trace (by August 7, 2008) of peacemakers.
Lie n.10: A little obligation
Mr. Carnogursky continues to describe the agreement of 1992: "Each party had the right and also a little obligation to send five hundred soldiers to the peace corps, and in case of extraordinary developments, had the right to send another three hundred soldiers."
Here Mr. Attorney lies again - and he delivers an opinion of a legal document as if he were not a lawyer, but an expert from some other profession, for example exotic bird breeder who has nothing in common with the law. I mean the words "and also a little obligation". How can one successful lawyer say that "Each party had the right and also a little obligation to send five hundred soldiers to the peace corps?" Isn't that nonsense?
But mainly Mr. Attorney concealed one important detail to the public: in case of extraordinary developments, each party does have the right to send another 300 soldiers, but only upon the agreement, I stress, only upon the agreement of another party to the peace process, that also means Georgia. We will later see why Mr. Attorney concealed to the readers such an important detail and we will ascertain again that concealing the truth is nothing else but an ordinary lie.
Lie n. 11: Are Georgian peacemakers returning to Georgia?
J. Carnogursky: "On August 7 at 10:00 pm, the commander of Georgian division of peace corps announced that Georgian members are leaving the peace corps and they are returning to Georgia."
Mr. Attorney is lying again: the commander of the Georgian division of peace corps could not in any case say that "Georgian members are leaving the peace corps and they are returning to Georgia", because, first of all, they (Georgian peacemakers) had left the corps, but not their positions in the conflict zone, and they left the corps because it was unoperational, or simply because joint peacekeeping force did not want to stop the separatist shelling Georgian villages from Tskhinvali. And secondly, South Ossetia is Georgian territory - how could they return from Georgian territory - to Georgia?
Lie n. 12: Did OSCE leave South Ossetia?
J. Carnogursky: "It is interesting that OSCE observers, also present in South Ossetia, left South Ossetia half an hour later. Did OSCE have news of the planned Georgian attack?"
Again, Mr. Attorney lies: there have been many accusations towards OSCE from the part of Russia. This is one of them, and Mr. Carnogursky only repeats it with a question mark. If Mr. Attorney has these questions, he should browse on OSCE's webpage a little, and he will find the answer to his question: OSCE observers were not leaving South Ossetia, only relocating from their previous position to a safer location, in order to be protected from Ossetian gunfire. OSCE may have some deficiencies as an organization, but one thing is clear - every step and every activity of OSCE observers has to be recorded and the reports are published on the webpage and sent to each member state through their representations in Vienna.
Lie n. 13: Foreign instructors or.... one old lady said
J. Carnogursky: "A week later, at a meeting of Valdai club, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, and later Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov mentioned another interesting detail. Georgian army has been trained for a longer time by military instructors from the USA and Israel. However, Israeli instructors stopped their activity in the Georgian army about ten days before the Georgian attack on South Ossetia. It can be only explained by the fact that when Israel received the information about Georgia's plans, it wanted to have nothing to do with that and it stopped its military cooperation with Georgia. However, American instructors continued in their job."
Mr. Carnogursky, instead of relying on independent sources, continues to spread one-sided Kremlin statements. It is known that Georgia cooperates with the USA in the military field - this fact is not hidden by either side. It should not surprise anyone, otherwise it would be difficult to imagine the operationality of 2000 Georgian soldiers in the demanding peace operation in Iraq - without special training and instruction? As to the Russian reprisal that Georgian foreign partners knew about the plans for war - that is yet another lie formulated by the Russians and repeated by Mr. Carnogursky. Whether there would be war - not even Georgians knew about it - majority of ministers was either abroad or on vacation.
It is not important that it was said by Putin and later repeated by Lavrov. On the contrary, after the story with the American passport allegedly belonging to an American soldier who supposedly fought on Georgian side in Tskhinvali, Putin's arguments can be perceived as "....one old lady said". It became apparent that the passport belonged to an American businessman who presently works in China, and the passport got lost under mysterious circumstances in 1992 at the international airport in Moscow - a typical KGB work...! The passport that was stolen from the American citizen was in a warehouse for 16 years, and Putin pulled it out only now and he proved to the whole world through CNN that it was found in Tskhinvali. Fortunately, the American citizen is still alive, he watches the news, reads newspapers... and he came forth! Putin still hasn't apologized to the world for the apparent lie...
Lie n.14: Katiusha of GRAD brand
J. Carnogursky: "Georgian troops started the operation against Tskhinvali that lies only a few kilometers from the Georgian border. The attack was started with artillery gunfire, even with the use of modernized katiushas of GRAD brand."
I mentioned the borders already. Mr. Attorney lies again when he speaks about GRAD. Again, I advise Mr. Attorney, and all those who want to receive independent information to look up the reports of Human Rights Watch. They state a lot of information about the weapons used during the fighting. It is indisputable that Russian were using URAGAN, 220 mm reactive missiles, even worse and more dangerous than GRAD. Other than that, it has been proven that the Russians also used SS-26-ISKANDER rockets, SS-21 Tochka-U and cluster bombs, which is considered to be a direct war crime.
As to the Georgian side - they shot GRADs with the goal of so-called Verchny gorodka on the southwest of Tskhinvali and an ammo depot in western Tskhinvali - both objects are in the uninhabited part of the city. The Georgians were shooting with an accurate artillery system, such as Dana in the direction of the downtown Tskhinvali, specifically at the Kokoity government buildings, but not with GRAD, as it is claimed by Mr. Carnogursky. Human Rights Watch - although mentioning Georgians using GRAD - states "probably", not 100%. Everything will be explained by the independent international investigation - the Georgians have already expressed their willingness to cooperate, while the Russians have not. Let us hope that the investigation will take place - and I want to express my faith in the fact that the occupants will pay for the crimes. And in the end - let Mr. Carnogursky remember - who invented the feared Katiusha, about which he speaks? And who loves it so much that he sings love songs about it? Do you know of any other case of a nation singing songs to deadly weapons?
Lie n.15: 300 men allowed
J. Carnogursky: "After the concentration of Georgian army on the border with South Ossetia, Russian army send the 300 allowed men completing peace forces through the Roki tunnel on the South Ossetian side, in order to secure the clearness of the tunnel. 58th Russian army then entered South Ossetia on August 9."
We are probably getting to the most interesting lie not only of Mr. Attorney, but also of the entire Russian propaganda: according to Mr. Carnogursky's words, the Georgians hadn't started the operation against Tskhinvali yet ("After the concentration of Georgian army on the border with South Ossetia"), when already "Russian army send the 300 allowed men completing peace forces". I have mentioned already that the article about the completing three hundred soldiers according to the Agreement from 1992 is only valid upon the agreement of all three parties - Georgian, Russian and Ossetian. Thus, Mr. Carnogursky confirms that Russians broke the agreement. But he states more than just the breaking of the Dagomi agreement by the Russians - he says directly what the objective of these 300 Russian soldiers was - to secure the clearness of the tunnel. 58th Russian army then entered South Ossetia on August 9." So, so! It means that the Russians had already prepared an invasion into a territory of a sovereign state, when according to Mr. Attorney's words, the Georgians were still only "at the border with South Ossetia", and no Georgian military operation had been started yet. But whoever read an independent investigation of NY Times journalists knows what it is about: based on the wiretapping of Ossetian separatists by Georgian intelligence service, it became apparent that Russian 58th army crossed the Roki Tunnel on August 7 early in the morning, at about 3:40 am, that means 20 hours before the Georgians started their military operation. This result was shocking for Western journalists, but for the Russians as well. Perhaps they did not believe that Georgian intelligence services work so efficiently. Moreover, the Russians themselves committed a grave error, when in the Ministry of Defense of the RF „Krasnaja zvezka", they published a letter of a Russian soldier of the 58th army, from which it is clear that on August 7, Russian soldiers not only crossed the Roki Tunnel, but they were already positioned in Tskhinvali. And it was not just 300 persons - because there were 150 pieces only of the armored vehicles and military trucks. It is sure that there weren't just two Russian soldiers in each vehicle. So he lies, lies again, Mr. Attorney... in order to save his "clients" - but one cannot hide the truth - nothing can be hidden for so long that the truth will not come forth.
Lie n. 16: 1682 or....again one old lady said
J. Carnogursky: "South Ossetian president Eduard Kokoity at the meeting with the Valdai club said that by the date of the meeting, his South Ossetian authorities counted 1628 South Ossetian citizens killed during the Georgian attack."
Again, one old lady said and again Mr. Attorney is lying. He can protest and state that he only repeats Kokoity's words, but he may dispute with me - I claim that when a person purposefully repeats and spread lies, it is also a lie. If Mr. Carnogursky were an impartial lawyer, he would consider and provide also other opinions about how many Ossetian civilians died in Tskhinvali and its surroundings, mainly opinions of independent institutions.
I still recommend the Human Rights Watch organization website that recognizes only 44 dead civilians, but it assumes that their number can climb to about 100. By the way, most of the Human Rights Watch reports about the August conflict are written a Russian from Moscow, Tanya Lokshina, and not some "American imperialists" - as Russian politicians stated. Even newly created Ossetian organization "Community commission" published names of 311 dead people since September 4. When clarifying the list, it has been discovered that there are also people that died years before August 2008, as for example the above-mentioned Tygiev. There are 7 cases like that so far, so 304 remain. Out of the 304 people, 257 are men most of which are in combat age and died, according to the list authors "at combat event" or "pri ispolnenii sluzobnich objazannosti" - so if we subtract 257 from 304, there are 47 remaining - which is very close to the HRW number with 44 people. If Kokoity has such accurate information - alleged 1682 - where are the bodies? Why hasn't Kokoity published a list? That would be a proof to the whole world, how bad are the Georgians and how are the South Ossetians oppressed by them? It did not happen simply because they lie - both Kokoity and Carnogursky, and also their comrade commanders.
Lie n.17: One nation
J. Carnogursky "Kokoity has further said that South Ossetia wants to join with North Ossetia sooner or later, since they are one nation. In that case, South Ossetia would become a part of the Russian Federation."
Again, Mr. Attorney lies: Kokoity first said that they wanted to join with North Ossetia. Then one of his de facto bosses -Lavrov - corrected him that it was not so, that he was misunderstood by the journalists. Later Kokoity confirmed himself that yes, he was misunderstood by the journalists and South Ossetia stays independent. But still... what meaning does whatever Kokoity says? What power does his word have? As Putin says - that is how it will be!
But pay attention, Mr. Carnogursky, this is a playing with fire. Our neighbors will also read your article. And on one sunny day, some of them may say the same stupidity as Kokoity that Hungarians from Hungary and Hungarians from Slovakia form one nation and must join. What then? According to you - whose part would then the South Slovakia become? Do not wish to other what you do not wish to happen to you!
P.S.: or who writes articles for Jan Carnogursky
When reading Mr. Carnogursky´s article, I felt that something was not right - Mr. Carnogursky could not have written such a weak article, full of mistakes. I read the article carefully several times, and then I looked up his next-to-the-last article - also published on www.aktualne.sk under the name of "19.08.2008: Saakashvilli punished, the USA beaten". And it was clear to me that these two articles are written by two different people. The older article, despite being absolutely one-sided and not impartial, is written in an intelligent manner, with a correct Slovak grammar, it is apparent that the author is an educated person and you can feel a lawyer there, as we have so far known Mr. Carnogursky. In this new article there is something fishy, no intellect, bad Slovak language, and an unsuccessful writer rather than "a successful" attorney. A stylistical analysis of both articles shows that the author of the first article really is an educated Slovak (Mr. Carnogursky) , but the author of the last is someone else, but surely not a Slovak, so a person, for whom the Slovak language is not a mother language. It is probably a Russian who learned Slovak and has a few years of practice, or other foreigner who would get a good grade for such an article. But Mr. Carnogursky - as a Slovak - would get an "insufficient" for grammatical and stylistical mistakes.
I am going to refer (note: in broader content in my Slovak blog version) to causes that point to the fact that the last article, signed by Mr. Carnogursky, is not written by a Slovak (it is possible that Mr. Attorney just contributed a little...) Maybe even you can feel the many russisms that show that the author of the article is in fact some ethnic Russian comrade with Slovak language good enough for a foreigner, installed in Slovakia during socialism, maybe on a specific mission.
We will start with the fact that in the first article the capital of South Ossetia is called "Tskhinvali" - which is a correct form of the name of the town. Russia and Ossetian call it with the incorrect russianized form "Tskhinval" in order to irritate the Georgians. In the second article, the capital of South Ossetia is mentioned 10 times - first time in the correct form - "to Tskhinvali", but a little more down we can see the russianized form "to Tskhinval=do Tskhinvalu".
The report about the trip to South Ossetia contains stylistical, syntactical and grammatical mistakes, typical for foreigners speaking Slovak language, but certainly not admissible for scholars with Slovak language as a mother language, not mentioning people with university education. That is why I think that the author of the article is not Mr. Carnogursky, but some Russian assistant of his.
Martina Ticha
chairperson, Slovak-Georgian Society / SLOVENSKO-GRUZINSKY SPOLOK
