The Gen

[Moggy]

Remembering World War II
Georgia's war effort it memorialized in Vake Park, once known as Victory Park
By M. Alkazashvili

May 9, which is the symbol of the victory of the World War II - known in Soviet times as The Great Patriotic War - is a very important date for Georgians. Georgia made enormous sacrifices in the effort to liberate Europe, even though the country itself was extremely limited in terms of freedom at that time and for long afterwards.

During the 60 years that have passed since the end of World War II, May 9 has not been recognized as an official holiday on only one occasion. Under the leadership of Zviad Gamsakhurdia, independent Georgia's first president, veterans were told that they had fought in a "foreigners' war" and that there was nothing to celebrate in Georgia on this date. He also maintained that Georgia, which had been conquered before the war and forcefully annexed into the Soviet Union, remained in the same situation even after the war, the only difference being the loss of many lives.

Of course this is true, but taking part in the defeat of fascism saved democracy, albeit in other countries, and ensured the possibility of a brighter future for Europe as a whole. Having said that, while celebrating May 9 as the day of defeating fascism, we should remember that this day did not bring freedom to countries of Central and Eastern Europe and that these peoples had to fight for independence and democracy much later. Even today parts of the former Soviet Union lack the democracy that Victory in Europe was intended to bring.

Despite the fact that six decades have passed since World War II, a lot of things are still unknown about Georgia's participation in the war. This is partly because during the Soviet period discussions about the losses of the Red Army was taboo for a long time; it was even forbidden to express your thoughts about how people used to live and fight during the war. The fate of Georgians fighting in the war on the German side is also unknown ....

The Messenger report
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[Moggy]

Two killed in Georgian war monument demolition blast

A woman and her young daughter have been killed in Georgia during the controversial demolition of a huge Soviet World War II memorial. The demolition was being carried out to make space for a new parliamentary building and reports suggest the two victims were hit by flying concrete. Prosecutors are considering whether safety standards were violated.

Russian officials and some Georgian opposition politicians criticised the decision to demolish the monument. The girl, said to be aged seven or eight, and her mother were killed when workers set off an explosion to take down the memorial in Georgia's second-largest city Kutaisi, interior ministry spokesman Zura Gvenetadze told AFP news agency ...

Moscow has accused the Georgian authorities of "lack of respect" towards Georgians who fought in the Soviet army during the war, when the USSR was led by the dictator Josef Stalin, himself a Georgian.

The Russian foreign ministry denounced an "act of state vandalism which offends the feelings of every civilised person" ...

Among Georgian politicians criticising plans to demolish the monument last week was Georgy Akhvlediani of the opposition Christian Democrats who accused the government of "ignoring public opinion".

The Georgian foreign ministry said on Friday that the Kutaisi monument had been damaged in the 1990s and required restoration work. "All the monuments and memorials here enjoy due care and protection on the part of the Georgian state and society," it added >>>

BBC
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