22 December 2009
The destroyed World War II monument in Kutaisi - Part 2
This post is a quick update to the story of the destruction of the World War II monument in Kutaisi last Saturday, which killed a mother and her child.
The governor of the Imereti region has been fired, and the head of the company directly responsible for the detonation has been put into preliminary detention. But people are still angry, and this seems to be a very welcome incident for the Georgian opposition: apparently there was absolutely no good reason to pull down the monument in the first place. Saakashvili will have to admit in some form that he was wrong, or people will continue to hold this against him.
Incidentally, a video has been uploaded to YouTube that shows what happened during the destruction the pulling down of the monument. Warning: it is quite shocking. It shows that the spectators stood at a reasonable distance, but that during the collapse of the structure, suddenly a boulder springs forth with incredible speed, shooting at the crowd not unlike a bowling ball.