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HAPPY V-DAY, EVERYONE (EXCEPT GEORGIA)! XOXO, DIMA
by Giorgi Lomsadze
EurasiaNet.org
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/63443
May 9 2011
NY
May 9 is a post-Soviet family holiday. And, with that in mind,
Russian President Dmitri ("Dima") Medvedev did not forget today to
send out greeting cards to the heads of state of all of Russia's
World-War-II-era cousins (minus the black sheep, Georgia) to
congratulate them on the 66th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi
Germany.
He also had a few words of advice.
"Our duty is to prevent any attempts to rewrite history and foster in
the young generation the sense of patriotism and pride for our common
history," Medvedev wrote to Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev,
who was commended for resisting attempts to "reassess the outcome of
World War II."
Azerbaijan indeed celebrated May 9 in a traditional way. But
its neighbor and sworn enemy Armenia chose to focus on Armenian
soldiers' and Karabakhi separatists' May 8-9, 1991 seizure of the
town of Shusha from Azerbaijan in the war over the disputed region
of Nagorno Karabakh.
Matters went much further afield in Georgia. Just as Medvedev feared,
many Georgians are busy reconsidering the May 9 observance.
Staying true to his vow to never-ever-speak-to-Saakashvili-again,
the Russian leader passed on his good wishes to the Georgian people,
but not to their president. Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze's response
was succinct: "There are many ways to be a clown," he observed.
Rather than May 9 (a holiday set up in 1965 under Leonid Brezhnev),
Vashadze contends that Georgia should celebrate victory over Nazi
Germany on May 8 -- as does "all the rest of the civilized world"
( meaning Europe), agreed ex-Education Minister Gia Nodia in an
interview.
To set off in that direction, rather than watching a parade of military
hardware, Tbilisi today is marking "Europe Day." The date commemorates
the 60th anniversary of the proposal for the French-German industrial
organization that was a foundation for the European Union.
Somebody throw a party.
From: A. Papazian
by Giorgi Lomsadze
EurasiaNet.org
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/63443
May 9 2011
NY
May 9 is a post-Soviet family holiday. And, with that in mind,
Russian President Dmitri ("Dima") Medvedev did not forget today to
send out greeting cards to the heads of state of all of Russia's
World-War-II-era cousins (minus the black sheep, Georgia) to
congratulate them on the 66th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi
Germany.
He also had a few words of advice.
"Our duty is to prevent any attempts to rewrite history and foster in
the young generation the sense of patriotism and pride for our common
history," Medvedev wrote to Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev,
who was commended for resisting attempts to "reassess the outcome of
World War II."
Azerbaijan indeed celebrated May 9 in a traditional way. But
its neighbor and sworn enemy Armenia chose to focus on Armenian
soldiers' and Karabakhi separatists' May 8-9, 1991 seizure of the
town of Shusha from Azerbaijan in the war over the disputed region
of Nagorno Karabakh.
Matters went much further afield in Georgia. Just as Medvedev feared,
many Georgians are busy reconsidering the May 9 observance.
Staying true to his vow to never-ever-speak-to-Saakashvili-again,
the Russian leader passed on his good wishes to the Georgian people,
but not to their president. Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze's response
was succinct: "There are many ways to be a clown," he observed.
Rather than May 9 (a holiday set up in 1965 under Leonid Brezhnev),
Vashadze contends that Georgia should celebrate victory over Nazi
Germany on May 8 -- as does "all the rest of the civilized world"
( meaning Europe), agreed ex-Education Minister Gia Nodia in an
interview.
To set off in that direction, rather than watching a parade of military
hardware, Tbilisi today is marking "Europe Day." The date commemorates
the 60th anniversary of the proposal for the French-German industrial
organization that was a foundation for the European Union.
Somebody throw a party.
From: A. Papazian