Georgia’s new fairytales for NATO

The NATO Parliamentary Assembly's 55th Session is taking place in Edinburgh bringing together some 340 parliamentarians from 28 member states of the North Atlantic Alliance. The session is organized as meetings of 5 specific committees that plan to discuss such issues as partnership with Russia, reinforcement of global nuclear non-proliferation in view of Teheran's nuclear ambitions, developments in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Georgia's and Ukraine's chances to join NATO.

Giorgi Baramidze, Vice PM of the Georgia and State Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration is preparing a lengthy speech for the Committee on the Civil Dimension of Security.

It's going to take the Georgian representative an hour to play a farce-tragedy in front of parliamentarians from the NATO member states. A new pet subject for the Georgian politicians from the Avlabari governor's inner circle (as some Georgians denominate their president) are the dreams Mikheil Nikolayevich had on "ethnic cleansing" carried out by Moscow on "occupied territories".

Putting it mildly, the issue is slippery since it sounds a bit like an allusion to Kosovo. Still Mr. Baramidze is determined to tell the PA participants blood-curdling kidnapping stories. The fact that the stories are a 100% frame-up is either unknown to Saakashvili's team or their reliance on special services is so great that they are ready to make fools of themselves.

In the meantime a Baltic news agency earnestly informs its customers that "Giorgi Baramidze will call the NATO parliamentarians to pay attention to the cases of kidnapping and take active measures to set the people free as well as to foster Georgia's integration into NATO. According to preliminary information he will present evaluation of Russia's actions in Georgia's conflicting regions, will familiarize the assembly with the security situation in the country and analyze Georgia's progress on the way to NATO integration as well as the current reforms".

It sounds oh so sweet. However Russia that will also be represented at the NATO PA in Edinburgh may demand evidence of the "ethnic cleansing" and "kidnapping". Mr. Baramidze will most probably have nothing to retaliate.

Certainly Europe will try to provide moral support to "democratic Georgia" at the 55th NATO PA session by adopting a new resolution in its defense. It is very unlikely though that NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and parliamentarians from 28 NATO member and partner states as well as influential politicians like GB Foreign Secretary David Miliband will come forward with categorical condemnation of Russia's "occupational activities".

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