Russian conductor Valery Gergiev has said he hopes a concert in Tskhinvali will help the world to see the ‘truth’ of what happened in South Ossetia.
Gergiev, who is a native of the neighbouring Russian republic of North Ossetia, was shown speaking live on state-owned Russian television channel Rossiya just before the concert started outside the ruined building of the South Ossetian parliament.
He said a couple of words in Ossetian, and then spoke Russian.
‘Good evening. On the stage is the orchestra of the famous Mariynskiy Theatre. We are in Tskhinvali today to express our admiration to you.
‘We are here to tell the whole world that we want everyone to know the truth of the terrible events in Tskhinvali.
‘Around me are children who had to undergo such serious trials at such a young age. In the hope that something like this will never happen again on our land, we will be performing before you today.
‘I thought very much during these days about what to do so that a long-awaited peace might come to this place.
‘It seems to me that the most important thing now is that everyone learns the truth of what happened on 7 and 8 August,’ he was shown saying from the stage, where he was surrounded by a number of small children.
He went on to say that the people were victims of ‘aggression’ and that if Russia had not intervened there would have been many more victims.
‘I think that we can tell the whole world that Tskhinvali is a hero city. What I saw today was Stalingrad. It is total destruction. But believe me, you have a huge country behind you, as well as all the honest people in the world,’ Gergiev told the audience, which included South Ossetian leader, Eduard Kokoyty, and a number of soldiers.
Gergiev then made a speech along the same lines in English.
The presenter of the special news bulletin that preceded the concert said that Gergiyev, who as well as being artistic director of the Mariynskiy Theatre in St Petersburg is principal conductor of several orchestras, including the LSO (London Symphony Orchestra), had interrupted his busy concert schedule to ‘be with his people at this difficult time’.
She added that the concert would include Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony, the ‘Pathetique’, which Gergiev had played in Beslan, and Shostakovich’s Seventh, the ‘Leningrad’.
The TV caption at the start of the concert read: ‘To you, the living and the dead, to you, South Ossetia.’
Meanwhile, Italian premier Sylvio Berlusconi has expressed concerns over US-Russia tensions.
Berlusconi, who has held conversations with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on the telephone in recent days, is reported to have room in his mind for nothing else, only for the crisis between Russia and the United States which, he told his aides, is ‘far more serious than it seems’.
Berlusconi’s advisers have noted that the Italian prime minister is very, very worried right now, and he knows Putin very well indeed.
Meanwhile, Russian intelligence is certain that the USA knew the date when Georgia would begin the military operation against South Ossetia.
An un-named high-ranking Russian intelligence official has been quoted in the Russian media as saying: ‘The US military command knew the date and time of the (planned) beginning of the military operation against South Ossetia by Georgian troops.’
According to him, Russian military intelligence has obtained information confirming that Tbilisi had agreed with Washington its plan for the military operation in South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
He said he believes this is indirectly confirmed by the fact that in early August a high-ranking US military delegation cancelled a visit to Russia, which had been planned to take place during the peak of the military operation in South Ossetia.
‘A high-ranking delegation led by US Navy Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Gary Roughead was scheduled to visit Russia on 10-14 August,’ he said. ‘However, nine days prior, on 1 August, the Americans suddenly cancelled the visit.’
The US military attributed the cancellation to the alleged absence of overflight clearance for the delegation’s flight, but according to the Russian side, this does not correspond to reality.
‘This indicates that the USA knew about Georgia’s preparations for the military operation in South Ossetia and Abkhazia,’ the officer said.
He said that during their stay in Russia, the US officers had been scheduled to meet the US ambassador to Russia in Moscow and visit a number of military facilities of the Russian Defence Ministry.
‘In particular, the delegation was expected to visit the Main Staff of the Russian Navy in Moscow,’ the official said.
Meanwhile, member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) have a great potential to enhance cooperation in the fields of politics, economy, security and culture, Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev said in a recent interview with Chinese media.
‘I believe the potential will be further strengthened in future,’ the Kyrgyz president said, describing the SCO as a ‘unique and highly effective international organisation’.
Cooperation among the SCO members has been extended to culture, education as well as medical and health care from economy and security fields, he said, noting that the SCO has set up its Entrepreneurs’ Committee and the Bank Syndicate.
The SCO has been playing a key role in maintaining regional peace and stability and promoting prosperity and development of its member states, serving as a key pillar in the future multipolar world, he added.
He said that as terrorism cannot be solved by any country alone, the international community need to enhance cooperation in this regard.
The SCO members have joined forces in fighting the ‘three evil forces’ of terrorism, separatism and extremism and transnational organised crime.
The security authorities of SCO member countries have established close ties, and the SCO’s anti-terror institution based in Tashkent has achieved fruitful results, he said.
Bakiyev said during the past seven years, the SCO has completed its organisational and legal formation and further improved the mechanism for coordination and cooperation.
The SCO has established mechanisms for economic and trade and cultural cooperation not only within the group itself but also with other international organisations, he added.
Moreover, the SCO has demonstrated to the world its ability to address regional and international challenges and threats, the president said.
He stressed that the SCO members, big or small, strong or weak, are all equal. They maintain mutually beneficial cooperation on an equal footing.
The SCO declaration, charter, and the Treaty on Long-term Good-neighbourliness, Friendship and Cooperation signed at the SCO summit last year in Bishkek, all embody ‘the Shanghai Spirit’ and principle of the organisation.
Kyrgyzstan highly values the SCO and is willing to safeguard the values of a multipolar world and enhance cooperation with other SCO members in economy and culture and other fields, he said.
The SCO, which was founded in 2001, groups China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The heads of state of the six member countries will gather in Dushanbe, capital of Kyrgyzstan on August 28 for a summit.
It is thought that Iran is considerng a formal application to join the Shanghai Group.
