Did FBI Watch Crackdown from Its Office?
25 July, 2013
Will American Embassy make Comment?
Nine years were more than enough for Georgia’s population to get used to odd statements of President Saakashvili. Nevertheless, the latest one was something out of this world, destined to insult many Georgians. I can’t be sure of others, but I took it as an insult.
For readers of our newspaper and especially, representatives of diplomatic corps, I would like to remind these notorious words of the president. He claimed that during the bloody crackdown on the rally on the Rustaveli Avenue of Tbilisi in the night of 26 May, which resulted in killing and maiming of the scores of protestors, FBI agents were sitting in one of the offices in Tbilisi watching the event.
I write this small article not because I want to criticize the chief administrator of the country (not that I need permission to do it) but because of some other reson.
I hope that our American friends will come up with formal explanation for Georgia’s population whether the alleged fact is false or true. Personally, I would like to ask the American Ambassador, His Excellency Richard Norland, to disclose the reason of the alleged FBI visit to Georgia in the thick of brutal Governmental mop-up of the opposition rally in the capital.
I remember very well the reaction that the local media outlets had at the time. They all were practically unanimous in claiming that based on many eye-witnesses reports, the rally was cracked down using inhumane methods. Namely, the special task forces encircled the rally, depriving its participants of the chance to escape and started to bash the life out of them.
So I ought to say it openly: if the president is correct and the FBI agents did set themselves up inside an office somewhere around and watched the atrocities out of the windows than I don’t really recall any special statement from the country, dabbed by many as a cradle of democracy, especially after FBI agents had the first hand view of the tragedy.
Once again, I express my respect to the United States but hope that the representation of this country to Georgia will not fail to make an adequate comment on the latest statement of Georgia’s president.
Nine years were more than enough for Georgia’s population to get used to odd statements of President Saakashvili. Nevertheless, the latest one was something out of this world, destined to insult many Georgians. I can’t be sure of others, but I took it as an insult.
For readers of our newspaper and especially, representatives of diplomatic corps, I would like to remind these notorious words of the president. He claimed that during the bloody crackdown on the rally on the Rustaveli Avenue of Tbilisi in the night of 26 May, which resulted in killing and maiming of the scores of protestors, FBI agents were sitting in one of the offices in Tbilisi watching the event.
I write this small article not because I want to criticize the chief administrator of the country (not that I need permission to do it) but because of some other reson.
I hope that our American friends will come up with formal explanation for Georgia’s population whether the alleged fact is false or true. Personally, I would like to ask the American Ambassador, His Excellency Richard Norland, to disclose the reason of the alleged FBI visit to Georgia in the thick of brutal Governmental mop-up of the opposition rally in the capital.
I remember very well the reaction that the local media outlets had at the time. They all were practically unanimous in claiming that based on many eye-witnesses reports, the rally was cracked down using inhumane methods. Namely, the special task forces encircled the rally, depriving its participants of the chance to escape and started to bash the life out of them.
So I ought to say it openly: if the president is correct and the FBI agents did set themselves up inside an office somewhere around and watched the atrocities out of the windows than I don’t really recall any special statement from the country, dabbed by many as a cradle of democracy, especially after FBI agents had the first hand view of the tragedy.
Once again, I express my respect to the United States but hope that the representation of this country to Georgia will not fail to make an adequate comment on the latest statement of Georgia’s president.