[south ossetia] complex, complex and yet simple

So, in layman’s language, this weird situation in South Ossetia [oops – Georgia]. Two simultaneous referendums, one saying separate, one saying stay with Georgia. Two different presidents as well. BBC reporters saw a Russian checkpoint with a billboard poster of Putin. A few metres on was a Georgian army checkpoint. Beyond that, a string of ethnic Georgian villages which the South Ossetian authorities do not control, interspersed with yet more Russian and Georgian army posts.

The whole region is a complex patchwork of Ossetian and Georgian zones, with people living almost side by side in an atmosphere of mutual suspicion, kept apart by men with guns. What a cocktail. Ossetians look to Russia to protect them, Georgians look to the west. Now, in the republic where I live, there is the same ethnic side-by-sideness but no violence. None - at least not along religious/ethnic lines. My neighbours are both Muslim and Russian.

What will happen? They’re now into the remember-the-Boyne, remember-Culloden, remember-to-revenge yourselves mode of thinking which will never let peace reign. You know, I was diametrically opposed to Hungary ’56 and Afghanistan but now I’m not so sure. I think the Russkies need to go in and establish control without any namby-pambyness due to imminent entry into the WTO. Of course, money comes first.