Anniversary of the events of August 2008 has once again revitalized discussion on how the armed hostilities could have been prevented and to what extent the Government of Georgia

in office was responsible for this. I have expressed my opinion on this issue as well, including in my interview with the TV Channel "Kavkasia," in which I tried to clearly outline this responsibility; in my television appearance I was basically talking about the responsibility of the Government formed by the "United National Movement." In some occasions I have used a pronoun to refer to this force in my conversation, which was later used by my opponents for changing the content of my conversation through the way of manipulation. In a manner of citing my interview, some broadcasters, including "Tabula" magazine has put the word "Russia" into brackets, instead of the "United National Movement" that I have implied into my interview, which has entirely changed the essence of the opinion I expressed. One of the quotations published at "Tabula" web-site: "Why are they [Russia] so outraged about us, why are they attacking us in this way - because they realize that in fact it was possible to prevent the war," also the title of the same comment: "Mr. Zakareishvili" the Russian reaction shows well that we behave properly," - the content here is essentially changed. Both of these cases refer only to the United National Movement. It seems, that my opponents have nothing but to manipulate with words that are implied into the pronouns, as opposed to my well-grounded truth. Therefore, I will use the entire title of the "United National Movement" whenever I refer to this party at present and in future, for ruling out any possibility for manipulation. In the light of this principle, I will once again return to this subject, which is often used by the part of society and representatives of the "United National Movement" to criticize the Government of "Georgian Dream." 7 years since 2008 Russia-Georgia War, the Russian occupation is still ongoing. Today, for Georgian society - the part of Georgia who lives on this side of dividing lines - the most tangible and obvious manifestation of occupation are the so called "banners defining the border" and the barbed wire fences, that are installed by Russian military with various intensity, according to the urgency they see. The Georgian society is painfully reacting to this process, whilst the part of this society reacts in a dangerous way. Indeed, these banners are the only and most illustrative weapon in the hands of the occupying force and this force cannot take any other action, but to install and, in a number of some worst occasions, move these banners inside the occupied territory with hundreds of meters. Various representatives of the society, mostly the members of the "United National Movement," frequently rebuke the Government of Georgia that we observe this process, allegedly, calmly. This accusation is absolutely groundless, as far as each of the relevant branches of the government makes use of all mechanisms at its disposal for stopping this process and intensifying the international pressure on Russia. Besides, I think that these banners measure the results of the peaceful policy of the incumbent Georgian Government, since banners and barbed wire fences are the only aggressive weapons left in the hands of the occupier, especially against the background of robust military bases and other engineering facilities deployed and built during the reign of the "United National Movement," few kilometers away from the banners. In a situation where these bases exist and in a situation where there are no peacekeeping forces between us and the occupying force, we manage to avoid the escalation of the situation; and in the last 3 years not a single case has taken place that would have equaled to the pretext for armed activities. In our analysis of the picture, it would be wise to recall the examples of the conflicts in contemporary Europe and elsewhere in Georgian neighborhood. For instance, every single week we see victims in Nagorno-Karabakh, whilst the peacekeeping forces deployed in Cyprus and Kosovo by now, preserve the peace in such circumstances. Nonetheless, owing to the pragmatic policy of the Government of Georgia, we do not have any other lost cities and villages, we do not have any other IDPs and above all, we do not have the people who die in armed hostilities. Unfortunately, the problem remains - lands owned by our citizens that are left beyond the banners and barbed wire fences; however the government implements different projects for tackling the problems of villages located near the dividing line. The perimeter on which these banners and barbed wire fences are installed is also a matter of attention. In August 2008, in violation of the international law and Georgian legislation, Russia occupied the territories of Georgia, which basically corresponds and comprises the territory of the former South Ossetia Autonomous District. This was a national-administrative territorial unit on the territory of Georgia during the Soviet Union, which was later dissolved by early 90’s. So, under the Georgian legislation, no kind of autonomous unit existed in that territory since early 90’s. In 2007, the Government of the "United National Movement" made an offensive mistake - in its inability to exercise control on the whole territory, the leadership of the "United National Movement" established the temporary administration on the territory of the former South Ossetia Autonomous District. This temporary administration has created a precedent. After August 2008, yet another offensive mistake was made. The Government of the "Untied National Movement" in office clearly defined the territory under occupation in the Law Occupied Territories. The law reads: For the purpose of this Law "the occupied territories and territorial waters" (hereinafter "The Occupied Territories") shall mean: a) Territory of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia; b) The Tskhinvali Region (territory of the former South Ossetia Autonomous Region). This means that the Government of Georgia contemplated the territory of political-administrative unit existed in the Soviet Union as occupied, without any effort and without struggling for it. In this way, the Georgian Government declared from the outset, that whatever was taking place there, it did not concern them. Even though, it may sound surprising, the logics of the "United National Movement" Government and the occupying regime concurred. Indeed, in this case, we can put an equal sign between the "United National Movement" and Russia. Those interested in the developments of August 2008, offensive mistakes of the Government of the "United National Movement," and the weight of their responsibility, can observe this information into the brief article published on the web-site of the newspaper "Kviris Palitra" on 8 August, 2014.