07/26/2006
print
send
printsend
Georgian troops enter Abkhazia. A new conflict looms
A long Georgian military column made up of 30 lorries filled with soldier, 37
Niva jeeps and two tanks (500 soldiers in all) today crossed the border between
Georgia and the separatist region of Abkhazia, moving towards the Kodori Gorge,
where all of the area’s phone lines have been cut. It all leaves one to imagine
that the heralded government operation against the “Monadire” (hunters) is about
to begin. These forces are led by Emzar Kvitsiani, a shady figure who has been
the representative of the Georgian government in the Kodori Gorge since the end
of the war. Kodori is the only Abkhazian district still under Tbilisi’s control,
but last year it was disclaimed with the charge of criminal activity.
The lord of Kodori. Last Saturday Kvitsiani, who seemed to have gotten used to the idea, suddenly
declared that the Georgian government was preparing a military offensive against
him, and that he was ready to fight to defend the independence of the Kodori valley.
The elders representing the Svanetians, the people who have always inhabited
these picturesque valley, rushed to disassociate themselves from the rebel, but
asked the Georgian government to not use force and to negotiate with Kvitsiani.
The authorities of the self-proclaimed republic of Abkhazia mobilised their armed
forces and President of Abkhazia Sergey Bagapsh disclosed that the entry of Georgian
troops in the Kodori Gorge would depict a very grave violation of the 1994 Moscow
Agreements, according to which Georgian troops can not cross the “Abkhazia borders”.
Even if the upper valley of Kodori is formally Georgian territory, it lies within
Abkhazian territory. It is a demilitarized zone controlled by the UNMIG mission
of the United Nations (which actually stopped patrolling after October 8, 2001,
when one of their helicopters was shot down and nine blue berets died).
A new pretext for war. For months the uneasy president of Georgia and pro-West nationalist Mikhail
Saakashvili has been looking for excuses for triggering a war to win back the
two separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. They gained their independence
from Tibilisi in the early 1990s following brief wars won thanks to the support
of Moscow’s troops, which secures the two regimes supporting national independence
of Suhumi and Tskhinvali, the respective capitals of the two self-proclaimed republics.
And now he risks succeeding.
Following an escalation of verbal provocations, and not only, against the two
separatist authorities and against Russia, two weeks ago the Georgian government
officially requested withdrawal of the Russian peacekeeping force patrolling the
two regions, implicitly walking out on the 1994 peace agreements. Moreover, ever
since he came into power with the 2003 Rose Revolution (backed by the USA), President
Saakashvili has always said that “reinstatement of government authority throughout
the national territory” was his main goal.
And he reiterated it today, in his response to the proposal to negotiate put
forth by the Svanetian elders. “We are willing to discuss only one thing with
Kvitsiani, if he makes up his mind to surrender: which cell he will occupy in
the Tbilisi prison.” Enrico Piovesana
Topic:
Related articles:
Most discussed topics:
Most frequently used keywords:
