Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili said on July 31 that the risk of fueling tensions in upper Kodori Gorge remains high, as “so called Russian peacekeepers” are trying to provoke Georgian troops.
Okruashvili, who has spent a week in upper Kodori, convened a news conference upon his arrival from the gorge on the evening on July 31, where he announced that the anti-criminal operation to crack down on rebel warlord Emzar Kvitsiani’s militia was a huge success, despite the death of one civilian. He also unleashed criticism towards the New Rights, Labor and Conservative opposition parties’ leaders for, as he put it, “making treacherous statements” while assessing developments in Kodori Gorge.
‘Hunting Down Criminals’
Okruashvili said that the hunting down of “criminals who still might be in Kodori Gorge continues.”
“It might take a few more days to finally [end] the operation,” Okruashvili said.
He said that checking the local population is a very difficult process, as locals have no IDs. He added that “the taking of a census is currently underway.”
“These people [members of the paramilitary group Monadire, led by Kvitsiani] were in control of this territory for a long time. And unfortunately, up to now we [the government] had no time to deal with this issue and to restore order there. But today we have put an end to this,” Okruashvili said.
“We have proven many times that we are not the kind of government that will tolerate rebellions of this kind,” Okruashvili added.
Okruashvili said that Kvitsiani could escape from Kodori Gorge to Sokhumi with the assistance of the Russian side.
“According to our information he is now on Russian territory. Kvitsiani means nothing to us now; he is an ordinary criminal who will be captured, sooner or later,” Okruashvili said.
Commitment to Solve Conflicts Peacefully
Okruashvili said that Georgia has regained control over “very important territory – Kodori Gorge, which is a very important foothold on the territory of Abkhazia” as a result of this operation, which was launched against Kvitsiani and his militia group on July 25.
He said that Georgia has a government “that constantly thinks about how to regain Abkhazia.”
“But we are fully committed to solving conflicts both in Abkhazia and South Ossetia through peaceful methods,” Okruashvili said.
‘Treacherous Statements’
Okruashvili said that he is deeply concerned over statements made by MP Davit Gamkrelidze, MP Koba Davitashvili and Shalva Natelashvili, leaders of the opposition New Rights, Conservative and Labor parties, respectively.
Gamkrelidze and Natelashvili were among the most outspoken critics of the government’s decision to send troops into the sensitive Kodori Gorge to crack down on militias there. In a televised interview on July 28, MP Davitashvili thanked members of the paramilitary group Monadire for not resisting governmental troops.
“I have returned from Kodori two hours ago and during this period I have looked through the media coverage of developments in Kodori Gorge, and I want to express my concern regarding those assessments and statements that were made in respect to the operation in Kodori Gorge. I mean those inhuman, non-patriotic and treacherous positions which were voiced by some politicians. When Gamkrelidze and Natelashvili were calling on [government] forces to surrender their arms, it was equal to high treason. It is possible not to agree with the government and not to like some governmental officials, but there should be certain principles under which we all should be united. I also want to mention in this regard the statement by Koba Davitashvili, who thanked those so called fighters that are responsible for death of an innocent woman,” Okruashvili said.
One civilian died during the shootout between government forces and militia members in the village of Chkhalta. Officials said the rebels “were using the peaceful population as a shield.”
“I also want to express my deep concern regarding some other assessments as well, which, by the way, were voiced by some media sources, [implying that] we [the government] staged this provocation ourselves,” Okruashvili said.
‘Tensions High’
Okruashvili said that tensions remain high in Kodori Gorge and they need to be defused. “And we are currently working on the issue,” he added.
“The distance between [places of deployment of] so called Russian peacekeepers and our police forces in Kodori is very small and a permanent risk of escalation exists there. We should not let it happen. I want to call on everyone to show a more responsible approach to this issue,” Okruashvili said.
Kodori Gorge is currently divided by a Russian peacekeeping troops’ checkpoint, which separates the Georgian-administered upper Kodori and the Abkhaz-controlled lower part of the gorge.
He accused the Russian peacekeeping troops of trying to provoke more tensions in the region and said that on July 29 shots were fired from the peacekeepers’ checkpoint.
“But we did not yield to this provocation and did not respond with shooting. Tensions were high today as well, when a Russian helicopter flew over Kodori Gorge over places where our units are deployed. There was a huge temptation to open fire, but we showed restraint and did not yield to this provocation,” Okruashvili said.
No Army Troops in Kodori
Okruashvili said that currently there are no Defense Ministry troops in upper Kodori Gorge despite claims of the Russian and Abkhaz sides, who are accusing Georgia of violating the 1994 Moscow agreement on the separation of forces.
He said that the anti-criminal operation against Kvitsiani’s militia carried out by Georgian police forces, explaining that army units “only provided logistic assistance” to the police.
“There was a small part of our [the Defense Ministry’s] special purpose unit assisting the police, but this unit is no longer there; the unit has been withdrawn from the gorge,” Irakli Okruashvili said.
He said that Tbilisi will agree on monitoring of upper Kodori Gorge only after an international inspection of the Gudauta military base is carried out in breakaway Abkhazia.
“I have listened to the statement of my Russian counterpart Sergey Ivanov, who said that the monitoring of Kodori Gorge should be carried out. Yes, we agree to this monitoring, but only after the monitoring of Gudauta base is carried out,” Okruashvili said at the news conference.
Tbilisi insists on the international monitoring of the Gudauta base to verify its closure by Russia, as envisaged by a 1999 OSCE Istanbul treaty.