Georgian refugees hope for EU support!
A girl walks past a banner in Tbilisi August 31, 2008
On the eve of an EU summit on the crisis in Georgia, many in the capital Tbilisi are hoping the bloc will demand a full withdrawal of Russian troops and will recognise Georgia’s territorial integrity.
Russian forces remain stationed deep inside Georgia. “We should get our lost territory back and we should be able to return to our homes,” said one refugee. “We are from Tshinkvali, and we are now refugees.”
“The EU should decide that the Russian occupiers must leave Georgia completely,” said a Tbilisi resident. “I dearly hope that very soon Georgia will become a member of NATO.” Protestors are planning demonstrations in Tbilisi and other European capitals to coincide with the EU summit in Brussels on Monday.
Also:
Georgian Refugees Appear Free to Return Home but Remain Fearful-AP/FOX
Aug. 30, 2008: Anastasia Khaikashvili, holding a portrait of her missing son Shmagi, cries at a funeral ceremony of unknown Georgian soldiers.
KARALETI, Georgia — Traffic moved through a Russian checkpoint on Sunday, but crowds of refugees remained camped nearby, preferring hot tents and filthy toilets to the violence they fear awaits them at home.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Russia will give military aid to the two separatist regions at the center of the war with Georgia — a sign Russia has no intention of backing down in the face of Western criticism.
The war began Aug. 7 when Georgian forces began heavy shelling of the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali, hoping to retake control of the province. Russian forces poured in, pushed the Georgians out in a matter of days and then drove deep into Georgia proper.
Fighting has ended, but on Sunday a handful of Russian soldiers armed with automatic rifles leaned casually on concrete road dividers at the Karaleti checkpoint, about four miles north of the city of Gori, which Russian forces had controlled until Aug. 22. They gave cursory inspections to the occasional cars headed into the zone.
