In his interview to the Georgian magazine "Тbiliselebi" the ambassador of France Eric Furnje has declared: «In Georgia responsibility for the war is being searched not where it should be searched for. Who has launched the war? Who the first has started firing Tskhinval? You cannot rewrite the history and search for responsibility in other place, instead of its real location. Digging a bit more deeply one should demand explanations not in France or in any other country, but from the Menshevist republic which in 1921 exterminated the Ossetian population». This fair statement has caused a storm of indignation among the Georgian political ersatz-elite. A chairman of the interim parliamentary commission on rehabilitation of the territorial integrity of Georgia Shota Malashkhia declares that «the ambassador of France in Georgia Eric Furnje does not know the modern history of Georgia».
The Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Georgia Nino Kalandadze has recently declared at the briefing that the foreign policy department of Georgia will demand explanations directly from the French ambassador. The pro-governmental Georgian political scientists have not also stood aside. The Georgian political scientist Soso Tsintsadze has accused the ambassador of France in «spreading gossips» and has called the authorities of Georgia «to declare Eric Furnje persona non-grata». An expert Nika Chitidze has accused the ambassador of France Eric Furnje in lack of education, in particular, in ignoring the history of France and has called «to learn at first the history of France, and then to criticize Georgia». The actions of Georgia on August, 8, 2008 the Georgian "thinker" has called legal, and France has been declared the criminal: «It was absolutely lawful, and Georgia was taking actions on its own territory unlike France which was the colonial state and the territory of the French colonies exceeded the territory of France in 21 times», - has declared Chitidze.Furious Georgian mass-media has also become enraged publishing frank insults, both about Eric Furnje, and about France in whole. Here is the gentlest of them. The pro-governmental «Georgia Online» is writing: «Eric Furnje, possibly, has forgotten the actions of Paris concerning the refugees who through the territory of Italy tried to take cover in the next France. It’s obvious, that Eric Furnje has also forgotten the attitude of the French government towards the Muslim communities of this country. Therefore, mister ambassador the first should report to the civilized world about those threefold and at times more quantity of standards which are used by his country in the dialogue with the international community. Unfortunately, for some reason out of an old habit it is called a policy there». We can cite more similar Georgian sources, but in my opinion, it`s enough. In spite of the fact that sometimes South Ossetia does not like each statement of the foreign representatives, one could not imagine that the South-Ossetian officials and mass media have stooped to such low personal insults to their opponents and to the whole countries. Well, it’s a good reason for comparing the level of political culture in South Ossetia and in Georgia. And the excellent reason is to be convinced of the level of political culture in Georgia (more exactly, in the lack of it), whose incapability to oppose the truthful words of the French ambassador the reasonable arguments, is compensating its obviously losing position with the banal abuse and dirty insults. Eric Furnje has told the truth, - the truth which Tbilisi tries to ignore so much. The ambassador is right: it is impossible to raze from the history the bloody events of 1920 when practically all the Ossetian villages were burnt by the Georgian National Guard, and thousands of peaceful inhabitants have been killed in the most cruel and fanatic way. In the course of 1991-1992 in South Ossetia thousands people have also been killed, 117 Ossetian villages have been burnt and plundered by the Georgian marauders in the form of the National guards, and then in the form of the representatives of the State Council of Georgia. The crime falling under action of the Convention on prevention of a crime of genocide and the punishment for it remains not only without condemnation by the international community, but even actually unknown to it. We should especially emphasize that during this period not any. Georgian village has been burnt.
One could not raze these facts, the wars of 2004 and 2008 neither from history, nor from the memory of the Southern Ossetians. It would have been good, if the diplomat had told at least some words about the events of 1991-1992, 2004 and 2008. However, considering so unbridled, exceeding the bounds of decencies reaction of Georgia to rather harmless statement of the French ambassador, it is possible to assume that Eric Furnje simply has not dared to go further, fearing for his personal security in a "free", "democratic" and «loyal» Georgian state.
