The article covers the US response to the recent independence of Kosovo, and how the country is supposedly displaying a "double standard" in their treatment of other cases of independence, specifically South Ossetia.
It gives some background on the region:
"South Ossetia was an autonomous oblast of Georgia in Soviet times. The majority of the territory including the capital of Tskhinvali is administered by the government of the de facto independent South Ossetian Republic, which declared independence from Georgia. South Ossetia's declaration of independence is not recognised by any country. However, parts of eastern and southern South Ossetia are controlled by the Georgian government. Georgia does not recognize South Ossetia as a distinct or independent entity. However in April of 2007, the Georgian government created a temporary administrative unit (Provisional Administrative Entity of South Ossetia) headed by ethnic Ossetians (former members of separatist government) which would enable Tbilisi to administer the region through local leaders, negotiate with Ossetian authorities regarding its final status and conflict resolution."
The part where the US comes in concerns a quote from Condoleeza Rice:"While on her way to Brussels, Belgium, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was asked by a journalist if she thought that South Ossetia's independence was inevitable.
'It’s not going to happen,' snapped Condoleezza Rice, cutting short the dreams and hopes of freedom which are shared by the South Ossetians."
Maybe it's just the unfamiliarity that I have with criticism of the US as a country (sure, media here may criticize the government, but they don't display the government's viewpoints as the country's), but I don't think that you would see this kind of blatant use of a point of view in journalism. It seemed quite unprofessional to report on someone's words as "cutting short the dreams and hopes of freedom" and an entire country "displaying double standards again."
link: http://english.pravda.ru/world/americas/06-03-2008/104390-usa_double_standards-0
our press is just more subtle, better at the slant... the whole s. ossetia thing is a joke, tho. if they support the rights of s ossetia for self-determination, ask them about chechnya, tatarstan, transdniester, and (best of all)... kaliningrad!
ReplyDeletethen, oddly enough, the russians are all about stable world order.