Georgian Portraits by Martin Demant Frederiksen Katrine Bendtsen Gotfredsen

Author:Martin Demant Frederiksen,Katrine Bendtsen Gotfredsen [Frederiksen, Martin Demant]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-78535-363-5
Publisher: John Hunt (NBN)
Published: 2017-10-26T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 7

The Hoax

Headlines

Eight pm, Saturday, March 13th 2010. Kronika, a news broadcast on the TV channel Imedi, opens with the anchor announcing that the president is about to make a special statement on the current situation in Georgia.1 With a caption reading “Mobilization of the occupying forces; Akhalgori-based military unit on combat readiness”, the host of the program informs us that there have been reports that the Russian forces in South Ossetia have declared to be ready for combat and that it cannot be ruled out that they will march towards Tbilisi. As he continues telling about how this news has caused panic in Gori, Tbilisi and other Georgian cities, we see startling footage showing traffic jams caused by people fleeing, queues at gas stations, and hectic chaos in the streets.

The next story of today’s news reports how a number of people have been wounded during unrest in Tbilisi with nine of them still remaining in the hospital. As the image switches to footage of people fighting and arguing with police officers and thousands of people protesting in the streets, we are told that “the unrest in Tbilisi started on June 7 after unknown persons opened fire on protesters gathered in the centre to protest against the election results”. The two opposition leaders Nino Burjanadze, who is a former parliamentary speaker, and Zurab Nogaideli, who is a former prime minister, both of whom have recently met with Russian prime minister Putin, are mentioned as being key organizers of the protests. Once again the image switches, and as we see footage from a joint meeting of the opposition leaders, we are informed that the opposition has made a joint statement declaring the government illegal and announcing their establishment of a People’s Government of Georgia that will free the country from the dictatorship and tyranny of Saakashvili. The news report continues with a story from breakaway South Ossetia where there has been a “life attempt” on Eduard Kokoity, the leader of the self-proclaimed country. Burjanadze and Nogaideli have arrived in Tskhinvali and have in a statement echoed the Russian authorities in blaming the Georgian government for plotting the attack on Kokoity.

As elsewhere in the country at this moment, the living room at the Nutsubidzes’ in Gori is buzzing. The family and a couple of their friends, who had the TV running in the background while gathered around the table for a small improvised supra as so often on Saturdays, get increasingly baffled and disturbed. All of a sudden, all eyes and ears are directed towards the TV set. What is going on? Is the country sliding into chaos? Is this yet another revolution?

Russian intervention

A while into the program, the anchor, looking very nervous and juggling his papers, reveals that a little while ago they have received information that the Russian army is mobilizing for battle in parts of Armenia and the North Caucasus and are ready to cross into Georgia and to use new Russian weaponry. Meanwhile, he continues, we can also

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