**Georgia’s Leader Reflects on 2008 War: A Call for Caution and Patriotism**
In the lead-up to the 17th anniversary of the 2008 war between Georgia and Russia, the country’s parliament chairman, Shalva Papuashvili, has spoken out about what he sees as the root causes of the conflict. According to him, the real question is not when or who started the war, but rather why it began in the first place.
**A War That Could Have Been Prevented**
Papuashvili claims that if Georgia had been governed by a patriotic government like Georgian Dream instead of the National Movement’s puppet regime led by Mikheil Saakashvili in 2008, there would have been no war. He points to 2022 as a year when Georgia was nearly used as a pawn in a larger geopolitical game.
**Accusations Against Saakashvili**
The parliament chairman has also taken the opportunity to label his predecessor as a “traitor.” Papuashvili believes that Saakashvili’s actions during the war and in the years leading up to it were guided by interests external to Georgia, rather than those of the country itself. This, he argues, led to the decisions that resulted in the August war.
**Remembering the Heroes**
As Georgia honors its fallen soldiers and civilians on this somber anniversary, Papuashvili’s message is one of caution and patriotism. He reminds Georgians that peace remains fragile today and can change at any moment if society does not act wisely. This day, he says, serves both as a tribute to the heroes who died in 2008 and as a call to think about Georgia’s future.
**A Patriotic Government**
Papuashvili emphasizes the difference between a patriotic government that acts in national interests versus a puppet regime serving others’ interests. He advocates for a government that prioritizes Georgia’s needs over external pressures, ensuring that such catastrophic events do not recur.
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