Residents in Abkhazia anticipate new bout of fighting with Georgia

Paul Rimple 8/08/06

Following Georgia's recent aggressive action in the Kodori Gorge, residents in the separatist region of Abkhazia are bracing for a resumption of armed conflict.

"They think this land is theirs," one Sukhumi resident said over coffee, referring to Georgia's ongoing efforts to reestablish its authority over the breakaway republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. "It is only natural that they'll want to fight to get it back. We're not afraid. We'll defend our land again."

To most locals, recent statements by Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili and Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili concerning the situation in the Kodori Gorge serve as an indicator that Tbilisi is willing to resort to force. [For details, see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Many in Sukhumi argue that the 1992 Abkhaz-Georgian war was ignited by a similar "police operation."

The Saakashvili administration has denied any intent to use military force to reintegrate Abkhazia, but many Abkhaz men have already donned their old uniforms in a show of readiness for the resumption of hostilities. Several light Abkhazian gunships have also recently been stationed in the Sukhumi harbor. Although reservists have not yet been called up, the region's de facto Ministry of Defense is registering all adult males. Meanwhile, the number of tourists in Sukhumi, a ragged Black Sea resort, has begun to decline.

"These events once again prove that Georgia doesn't want to use a language of peace," Lesha Kobakhia, the director of a local non-governmental organization, said about the Georgia's recent campaign to root out militia leader Emzar Kvitsiani from the Kodori Gorge. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

At an August 2 press conference, Abkhazian de facto President Sergei Bagapsh demanded the immediate pullout of Georgian military forces from the Kodori Gorge, based on the framework of the 1994 cease-fire agreement between the breakaway region and Georgia. The separatist leader called for the two sides to sign a mutual agreement on non-resumption of hostilities that would establish international security guarantees. In connection with this, Bagapsh also requested a deployment of Commonwealth of Independent States peacekeepers and United Nations observers to travel to the region.

Bagapsh argued that a precedent exists for such a move. All agreements between Georgia and Abkhazia have called for the demilitarization of the Upper Kodori Gorge, where Georgian troops are now stationed, and for the area to be monitored by international observers, he said. "Despite the fact that Abkhazia meets these agreements, Georgia continually breaks them and builds their forces," the de facto president said. "Their aim is to discredit Abkhazia in the eyes of the world. Such actions are against the spirit of the agreements they have so far signed."

A refusal by Tbilisi to sign an agreement on the non-resumption of hostilities would be "proof of their aggressive policy towards Abkhazia," Bagapsh added. Georgia has denied that any of its actions in the Kodori Gorge violate the 1994 cease-fire agreement, and blames Russia for allegedly attempting to exploit the crisis.

Many international experts believe the Abkhazian and South Ossetian conflicts in Georgia are essentially a confrontation between Russian and US interests. In an interview with EurasiaNet, Sergei Shamba, Abkhazia's de facto Minister of Foreign Affairs, agreed with that interpretation.

"The United States has spread its influence to the Enguri River and Russia to the Psou [River]. These two superpowers are insatiable," Shamba said. "OK, let us be a buffer zone but leave us in peace." Both Moscow and Washington, Shamba argued, "are destabilizing the region ... "

Without US support for Tbilisi, Shamba continued, Georgia's push into the Kodori Gorge would not have happened. On a visit to Tbilisi, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia Matthew Bryza affirmed Washington's support for the Kodori operation, describing the actions taken as "legal," news services reported.

"Today, their American friends have taught them [the Georgians] how to escape from military rhetoric," Shamba commented.

Editor's Note: Paul Rimple is a freelance journalist based in Tbilisi.

Posted August 8, 2006 © Eurasianet