Two of our war journalists, Winston Featherly and Temuri Kiguradze are currently in Tskhinvali at a safe location with other journalists.
They have contacted us here in Tbilisi only twice, last time yesterday afternoon and reportedly they are waiting for a safe corridor to return back to Gori and Tbilisi with other journalists.
Here at Georgian Messenger, we wish them safety and a safe return back to Tbilisi.
posted by The Messenger @ 8/10/2008 01:57:00 PM
19 Comments
19 Comments:
A kind soul called to let us know that Winston has been injured. Does anyone know the extent of Winston's leg injury? Perhaps it was Jonathan who called, I'm not sure. If so, thank you.
You can see him on TV:
http://news.ntv.ru/137864/
Unfortunately his speech is heavily covered by Russian narrative (which says his colleagues are not with us anymore).
My regrets.
Please keep the truth coming. We need to know what is happening. Thank you.
Джава (Южная Осетия). 10 августа. INTERFAX.RU - Медики эвакуационного госпиталя доставили из Цхинвали в районный центр Джава в Южной Осетии раненых американского журналиста и его переводчика. Об этом сообщила корреспонденту "Интерфакса" главный врач больницы Фатима Джатиева.
По ее словам, американец - корреспондент газеты "Мессенджер" Уинстон Фезерли. После оказания первой помощи гражданин США и его переводчик были отправлены во Владикавказ, сказала Джатиева.
We understand Winston was sent to Vladikavkaz for surgery but does anyone know about his current condition? How is the translator, is he injured?
People of the world! You deceive! World mass media conduct propagation of a false information. Russia DID NOT ATTACK Georgia! 07.08.2008 at 22:00 Georgia has attacked South Ossetia. At 3:30 08.08.2008 tanks of the Georgian armies have entered into city Tskhinvali.
Artillery bombardment all the day long proceeded, fights with use of tanks and heavy combat material, both against ossetic armies, and against peace inhabitants were conducted. 2000 civil people already were lost.
The Russian peacemakers have arrived to South Ossetia in the evening 08.08.2008 for settlement of the conflict and prompting of the world in republic and protection of the Russian citizens living on territory of South Ossetia. Georgia has attacked South Ossetia on eve of Olympiad, it is top of cruelty and cynicism.
Proofs and video-materials look on : www.1tvrus.com/ , www.1tv.ru/owa/win/ort6_main.main , www.rian.ru/ , www.vesti.ru/news , news.ntv.ru/ , www.ren-tv.com/ , www.newsru.com/ .We shall tell is not present to WAR!!! NATO and USA ACCEPT ABKHAZIA AND S. OSETIA INDEPENDANCE It is right that attack on Tbilissi can be real. In fact georgia soldiers are capitulating.Kremlin oficial says that NATO and USA representors are ready to accept independance of Abkhazia and Osetia, and won't help Georgia.
So...........and that:
World! We swallow up a great delusion…
Isn’t it obvious that all events around the South Ossetia’s conflict are elucidated partially, one-sided. The appraisals of Russian side movements made by western leaders are biased and politically reasoned versions. Military intervention of Russia was caused by criminal set-up in the conflict zone, AFTER Georgia has attacked South Ossetia. The Russian peacemakers have arrived to South Ossetia in the evening 08.08.2008 for settlement of the conflict and prompting of the world in republic and protection of the Russian citizens living on territory of South Ossetia.
CNN said “Russia's use of strategic bombers and ballistic missiles against Georgia's civilians outside of the South Ossetian conflict is "far disproportionate" to Georgia's alleged attack on Russian peacekeepers” – Absurd!!! – Russia DIDN’T used ballistic missiles, all the more - against the civilians – blows were delivered to georgian troops’ reserves locations, no more than that. And what d’u mean OUTSIDE of the South Ossetian conflict?! And "...Georgia's ALLEGED attack on Russian peacekeepers..."– this is not alleged, but entirely confirmed FACT.
Russia opposes not Georgia – but the present militarist course of georgian direction.
P.S. The Black Sea Fleet co-operates with the troops fulfilling the peacemaking mission in South Ossetia and NO actions against georgian ships or other coast objectives were undertaken.
Let’s conclude independently and see events in their true light.
The Russian Federation citizenry.
How do you explain a naval blockade as well as a paratrooper drop in Abkhazia. Both incursions have the undertones of premeditation and prior build up of forces. That is an invasion. They have crossed the border into a soverign nation.
So Winston arrived in Ossetia to cover genocide? Winston, when we conduct trials against humanity you will be called to testify, as an eye witness. Or may be as an accomplice.
Please Take Care and don't let yourself killed !!! I hate russia for what they did to you. They have brains washed by propaganda, they dont have free press or tv. I watch our tv from the begining of the conflict and i still belive that UN forces will throw russians out of Georgia.
Best wishes to you and all Georgians from Poland.
Kasper
See the video from the Channel One with your correspondent, he is alive.
http://www.1tv.ru/owa/win/ort6_videopage.main?sender=news&p_topic_id=126111&p_video_num=1&counter1_href=287212&counter2_href=id=268366;t=56
Seek for time near 02:45.
While South Ossetia enjoys a form of autonomy, it is still part of the nation-state of Georgia.
The South Ossetia militia started this whole nightmare when it opened up with artillery fire into the rest of Georgia killing civilians and the legitimate government of Georgia, who had up to that point was recognizing a self imposed a unilateral cease fire, responded accordingly and legally.
The fact that Russia has illegally interjected itself as a heavy handed aggressor into this mess is criminal and makes them no better than Colonialist pigs trying to steal oil resources and access from other independent nations. Their imperialistic ways failed as communists and they will fail again as aggressors. All Russian governments are self serving and the Russian people deserve the crap lives they have for supporting their land greedy , murderous masters!
Russia and the Ossetians are to blame for all this death and destruction. Moreover, the fact that Russia is attacking way outside the area in question just further bolsters the notion that this is a land grab for power, land and oil.
My ancestors suffered at the hands of cruel Russian rulers over the centuries in Lithuania and I can empathize and surely sympathize for the Georgian people. My prayers go out to the Georgian people.
Its always the same....wether the countries involved are called russia or georgia...usa or vietnam... germany or great britain... or whatever... THE BOTTOM LINE is... Its all about he Power , the Money and....the EGOs...we have come this far in he world , but still the first thing we do is kill eachother over the most stupid trivial things in life ! And the first casualties are always the innocent... ARE WE REALLY THAT STUPID? Ill guess the andswer is YES !.....
two journalists who were with Winston are dead. Giga and Sasha-R.I.P
I am one of Winston's friends from Alaska. Please update this blog as soon as you can, because so far I can only get any information about him from Russian sources.
Thank God he is alive. I hope that they take good care of him in Vladikavkaz. And as for the person who suggested that he might be "an accomplice" to genocide-please be sensitive to the situation. He was a journalist, a civilian, and he was shot in the leg. To insinuate that he somehow is responsible for this violence is immature and hot-headed. I think that he has a much better idea about what is going on there than us, seeing as was in the conflict zone itself.
-David Parker from Anchorage
Once again, I wish your correspondent and his translator safe return and many years of life ahead.
"vdj said...
I hate russia for what they did to you."
How do you know it was Russians?
Russian mass media report 2 correspondents killed (now it is 3, considering the Dutch TV operator) and 8 correspondents wounded - some of them were under the ossetian fire, some of them were under gorgian fire. I feel sorry for all of them.
Nevertheless, Winston Featherly and Temuri Kiguradze were first delivered to the evacuation hospital in Tskhinvali (beleive me, not by Gorgian troops; the evacuation hospital was created by joint Russian-Ossetian efforts). The central Tskhinvali hospital after Gorgian attack you can see here: http://news.ntv.ru/137864/ . No translation is needed (I don't want to be blamed in propaganda, so watching the video will give you all necessary information). After first medical help, Winston Featherly and Temuri Kiguradze were moved to Java, South-Ossetian district center. From there they went to Vladikavkaz, Rusia, Northern Ossetia, where they stay now, before returning back to Tbilisi. So, from what I see now, they were cared for by Ossetian and Russian doctors, and the Ossetian and Russian troops provided their safety till they went from the war region to Russia. My question is: is this what you hate Russia for?
Elena
Dear Elena first of all you`re asking how do I know that was Russians, I don`t know but, by "you" I mean whole Georgia and all Georgians. I know that on both sides of conflict are good people and bad people. I just don`t want to miss a point, this whole situation is Russians fault. Instability of region is just a particular interest of Kremlin. This war was (i hope i can say "was") no surprise, there were enough provocations recently, maybe Saakashvili overreacted on the begining, but there is to less information about the situation in Osetia short before the begining of this conflict. I`am sure that this should be investigated by international commission. I`ve recently heard this proverb "In war truth dies first" I think it fits the situation perfectly. I am not prejudiced against any nation but i don`t think it was Santa who was dropping bombs on Gori.
It is a fact that most of victioms of Russian agression was civil and it is unacceptable. We also can`t forget that Georgia was acting on its own teritory, according to international agreements South Osetia and Abkhazia are internal parts of Georgian teritory, and I belive if not russian pressure it would be peacefull country.
Dear vdj,
I also think that there is no "good" nation or "bad" nation. I'm glad we can agree on it. As well as on the necessity of thorough international investigation, prefferably by someone independent. With the rest I don't really agree. For some reason most of the western mass media and politics do not mention how the war started. I could find this information on the site of human rights watch and on bbc. And, of course, Russian mass media reported events in real-time mode. I was watching how it was developing. It started with Gorgian army bombing Tskhinvali short after the midnight on August 7. Tskhinvali is a capital of South Ossetia and Georgians were using "Grad" systems. Hundreds civilians died. On the site of Reuters you can see video: a lot of rockets shot in the middle of the night. This is Georgians bombing Tskhinvali, each of this rockets was hitting a city full of civilians. After the shelling the Gorgians troops moved in. They attacked several villages and Tskhinvali. In the city they hd support of Georgian "peacekeepers" (several years ago there was an agreement that in South Ossetia should be three peacekeepers divisions - South-Ossetian, Georgian and Russian). When the war started, the Georgian "peacekeepers" attacked Russians. Dozens of the Russian peacekeepers who was in Tskhinvali that night were killed. the same night Russian president called for urgent meeting of UN sequirity council asking UN sequirity council to condemn the Georgian attack on the South-Ossetian. The council had not came to any resolution. At the meeting Medvedev told that Russia will move in the troops at 11.30 next morning. They did it at 11.00. I have to mention that 80% of South-Ossetian people have Russian passport and according to the Russian constitution must be protected by the state.
I am not Russian, I'm not South-Ossetian and I'm not Georgian, but I was born and grew up in the USSR. And whether it is Russians bombing Gori and killing dozens of people or it is Georgian bombing Ossetia and killing hundreds, it is anyway very painfull for me. What I don't understand is that no one from American politics managed to say any "sorry" for hundreds civilian killed by Georgian army. Why? Don't they matter? The was a memorial day in Russia on August 13for the people killed in this war. In such days normally all flags are lowered, also the national flags on the embassies of other countries. In Moscow all embassies lowered thair flags, except the American one. Why? Is the blood of Tskhinvali people not red (blue) enough? Or do their lifes cost less?
I hear/read/watch a lot of Western politics condemning Russia for the "aggression againg Georgia". I've never heard them condemning Georgians for the aggression against South Ossetia.
About he story of the conflict you can read Q&A sections on Ossetia both on www.hrw.org and bbc.co.uk. What I know is that many years ago Georgia asked Russia for protection. Georgia was weakened by wars with Turkey. They did not want to be occupied by Turkey so they made an agreement with Russia: Georgia becomes a part of Russia and Russia will protect them from Turkey. There were several Russia-Turkey wars. Ossetia has not been a part of Georgia before the USSR times. As a matter of fact, once Georgian dukes asked the Russian tzar to give them Ossetia. That time there existed slavery in Russia and the Georgian dukes wanted ossetian villagers being their slaves. The tzar refused. I don't know so much about what was happening after that. I know that South Ossetia became a part of Georgia by the will of communists when Georgia became a part of the USSR. When Georgia separated from the former USSR, the borderes were not changed and South Osetia became a part of the "independent" Georgian state. The Northen Ossetia stayed in Russia. Immediatly after that South Ossetia declared that they do not want to be a part of Georgia. They either want to be recognized as an independent state or to be a part of Russia. Since then there were two referendums in South Ossetia, the results of both of them say that the most South-Ossetians do not want to be Georgian citizens. So South-Ossetia is an unrecognized independent state for more than 15 years by now.
There are 120 000 people living in South Ossetia, from what I know. One third of the population has Georgian nationality. 80% of total population hold Russian passports, i.e. they are Russian citizens.
Elena
PS: I saw on TV you correspondent (editor?) in the Moscow hospital. I hope he will be soon all right and out of all this nightmare.
Sorry for my English. I mean that the attack on Tskhinvali started shortly after the midnight the night between August 7 and August 8, so it is already Agust 8 (00:10), is not it?
I'm one of his friends from China, I'm so sorry to hear that he got injured in the cruel was during the Beijing Olympic Games. I hope to know his condition recently. Someone has told me that he is in,Bristol,UK. But how is his leg injury, I'm worried about it.
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