02/13/2006
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Tbilisi wants Russian troops out of South Ossetia. Risks another war
The US-friendly government of Mikhail Saakashvili in Georgia is again spoiling
for war in South Ossetia. And this time it might just get its wish. Up until now,
continual provocations against Ossetian separatist militias have failed to do
the trick. But now the Tblisi government has decided to take aim directly at troops
from Moscow who have controlled this contested region as peacekeepers for fourteen
years. The Georgians have accused the Kremlin—not without reason—of supporting
and protecting the separatists. Now they have officially requested withdrawal
of the Russian contingent and threatened military action against what they regard
as a “foreign occupying force” if the Russians refuse to leave. Moscow has clearly
stated it has no intention of withdrawing troops. General Marat Kulakhmetov, commander
of the blue helmets, responded decisively to the threat: “If the Georgians try
to attack us they’re dead meat.”
Georgia wants withdrawal by 15 February. The Georgian parliament voted to have Russian troops out of South Ossetia by
15 February. No one expects the Russians to comply. “If the Russian peacekeepers
refuse to leave our territory now,” Georgy Targamadze, president of the parliamentary
defense commission told journalists, “Georgia will consider them invaders and
take appropriate steps to expel them.” Meanwhile, from Tskhinvali, capital of
the self-proclaimed Republic of South Ossetia, separatist leader Eduard Kokoity
said he is “prepared to counter any armed attack from Georgia” with the help of
“the Russian republics of the northern Caucasus,” which is to say North Ossetia,
which is to say Russia.
Provocations, clashes, troop movements. This latest escalation of tensions follows a period in which resolution of the
conflict seemed to be at hand. It was brought on by a curious series of events
that began the night of 31 January in the village of Tkviavi, right in the middle
of the “zone of conflict.” A private automobile driven by a Georgian man struck
a Russian military transport. Georgian television crews were on site within minutes
along with 300 soldiers from Tblisi who wanted to sequester the Russian truck.
The Russians called for back up. Miraculously, no one was killed in the clash
that followed. Last Wednesday (8 February) three Russian investigators at the
scene were arrested by Georgian military because “their papers were not in order.”
Around the same time, ten Kamaz military transports unloaded at least 250 troops
near the village of Eredvi in the zone of conflict. General Kulakhmetov delivered
the Russian response the following day: at dawn on Thursday, Russian tanks moved
into the area to set up new checkpoints and reinforce existing controls outside
several South Ossetian villages inhabited by Georgians—Prisi, Arguiti, and Tsveriakho.
From Tblisi: “Anti-Russian sentiment is very strong here—we’re all behind Misha.” But in Georgia, people don’t seem too worried about rising tension and the possibility
of a new conflict and there is strong support for “Misha,” as president Mikhail
Saakashvili is commonly known. “The people here are all behind the president,”
explains one source for PeaceReporter, “and even the ones who aren’t—and there
aren’t many—still hate the Russians. It’s an irrational prejudice that the government
has manipulated and nurtured with great skill. The recent gas crisis is a good
case in point. For twelve days the city went without heat and light because Russian
suppliers failed to deliver. Saakashvili wasted no time in accusing Moscow of
sabotage. But many others are convinced the government manufactured the shortage
to enflame anti-Russian sentiment on the eve of this latest crisis. Georgians
now refuse to speak Russian, which they consider the language of the enemy. No
one wants another war here—the wounds from the 1992 conflict are still fresh.
But if war comes, the entire country is going to rally behind the president.”
Georgia wants withdrawal by 15 February. The Georgian parliament voted to have Russian troops out of South Ossetia by
15 February. No one expects the Russians to comply. “If the Russian peacekeepers
refuse to leave our territory now,” Georgy Targamadze, president of the parliamentary
defense commission told journalists, “Georgia will consider them invaders and
take appropriate steps to expel them.” Meanwhile, from Tskhinvali, capital of
the self-proclaimed Republic of South Ossetia, separatist leader Eduard Kokoity
said he is “prepared to counter any armed attack from Georgia” with the help of
“the Russian republics of the northern Caucasus,” which is to say North Ossetia,
which is to say Russia.In Moscow, speaker of the Duma Boris Gryzlov has called the situation “alarming”
while minister of foreign affairs spokesperson Andrei Kelin is “seriously concerned.”
The Kremlin has only said that Georgia can request—but not order—withdrawal, a
decision that can only be made legally by the quadripartite Joint Control Commission
(Russia, Georgia, South Ossetia and North Ossetia) that oversees the peacekeeping
troops. Appeals for caution have also come from Washington, which Tblisi now considers
its principal ally. Julia Finley, US ambassador to the Organization for Security
and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), has said that “withdrawal of peacekeeping troops
from the area of conflict could have destabilizing effects.”
Provocations, clashes, troop movements. This latest escalation of tensions follows a period in which resolution of the
conflict seemed to be at hand. It was brought on by a curious series of events
that began the night of 31 January in the village of Tkviavi, right in the middle
of the “zone of conflict.” A private automobile driven by a Georgian man struck
a Russian military transport. Georgian television crews were on site within minutes
along with 300 soldiers from Tblisi who wanted to sequester the Russian truck.
The Russians called for back up. Miraculously, no one was killed in the clash
that followed. Last Wednesday (8 February) three Russian investigators at the
scene were arrested by Georgian military because “their papers were not in order.”
Around the same time, ten Kamaz military transports unloaded at least 250 troops
near the village of Eredvi in the zone of conflict. General Kulakhmetov delivered
the Russian response the following day: at dawn on Thursday, Russian tanks moved
into the area to set up new checkpoints and reinforce existing controls outside
several South Ossetian villages inhabited by Georgians—Prisi, Arguiti, and Tsveriakho.From Tblisi: “Anti-Russian sentiment is very strong here—we’re all behind Misha.” But in Georgia, people don’t seem too worried about rising tension and the possibility
of a new conflict and there is strong support for “Misha,” as president Mikhail
Saakashvili is commonly known. “The people here are all behind the president,”
explains one source for PeaceReporter, “and even the ones who aren’t—and there
aren’t many—still hate the Russians. It’s an irrational prejudice that the government
has manipulated and nurtured with great skill. The recent gas crisis is a good
case in point. For twelve days the city went without heat and light because Russian
suppliers failed to deliver. Saakashvili wasted no time in accusing Moscow of
sabotage. But many others are convinced the government manufactured the shortage
to enflame anti-Russian sentiment on the eve of this latest crisis. Georgians
now refuse to speak Russian, which they consider the language of the enemy. No
one wants another war here—the wounds from the 1992 conflict are still fresh.
But if war comes, the entire country is going to rally behind the president.”Enrico Piovesana
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