(Tbilisi, June 19, 2003, Civil Georgia) – Tamaz Nadareishvili, head of Abkhaz government-in-exile, accused president’s representative in Kodori gorge Emzar Kvitsiani of complicity in recent kidnapping of the UN observers in Kodori.
Nadareishvili said Kvitsiani has been involved in past kidnappings in the area. He also claimed ransom has been paid in all these cases. Nadareishvili argued in a live talk show of the Rustavi 2 TV Company, that Kvitsiani has criminal record for robbery and hooliganism, and falsified his education documents when joining the ministry of defense.
Kvitsiani, who headed to Kodori today to accompany newly trained local National Guard unit, was not available for extended comment. He stated to journalists, that Nadareishvili himself has taken part in criminal acts.
More comments from Kvitsiani are expected. The two have been locked in a covert debate over control of Kodori gorge, the only territory in breakaway Abkhazia under central government authority. This debate was made public after the recent kidnapping of the UN observers in Kodori gorge.
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