The Charm of Territorial Integrity

So why is it that Georgia, a small, corrupt Eurasian country in what is effectively the geographical equivalent of the devil's asshole has been championed as a brave and defiant victim of Russian imperialist aggression? From the news saturation of the Russian recognition of the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, we are led to believe that Russia has engaged in an unconscionable and lawless act by supporting the independence of these two regions.

But of course, national self-determination is a right for Kurdish peoples, for East Timorians, and even Palestinians. Why do the South Ossetians and Abkhazians need to put up with Georgian control? Both regions have had referendums voting overwhelmingly in favour of secession, but of course, Georgia is under no legal international obligation to recognise these attempts at self-determination. What we are seeing from the USA and Europe is an attempt to use the 'old' politics of state sovereignty and non-interference that they have so thoroughly flouted over the past decade to condemn Russia's admittedly mercenary actions in the region.

There are no heroes here, and no villains. Georgia's president is trying to crush secessionism within its borders and pacify the regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Their attempts to do this by military force backfired when Russian troops intervened on supposedly humanitarian grounds and kicked the Georgians out, going on to the rest of Georgia proper in order to 'stabilise' the situation. And yet, in this situation of moral ambiguity, the British press comes down heavily in favour of Georgia and its scum-sucking American puppet, Mikheil Saakashvili, who has been all too eager to level accusations of imperialist aggression at Russia whilst quietly ignoring his own autocratic excesses. There has been ample coverage of Georgian demonstrators decrying this move by Russia, but little to no coverage of Abkhazian and South Ossetian points of view. Let's be clear and ask the question repeatedly: why is it unacceptable for a region to declare independence if the vast majority of its inhabitants wish it so?