Saakashvili: Gori Blast Is Terrorist Attack

Georgia's government is characterizing the February 1 car explosion that left at least three dead and more than two dozen injured as a terrorist attack designed to disrupt plans for returning South Ossetia and Abkhazia to Georgian control. Foreign Minister Salmoe Zourabichvili suggested "foreign forces" likely had a hand in carrying out the car bombing.

In a televised address following a meeting of Georgia's National Security Council, Saakashvili stated that the explosion was the work of those who oppose restoration of the country's "territorial integrity" – a reference to recent proposals for a federation that could include breakaway regions South Ossetia and Abkhazia. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

"We are getting stronger every day. We are strengthening our state structure every day. Something positive occurs every day in the process of state-building and these changes will inevitably lead us to increasing to the level that will enable us to restore our territorial integrity . . . peacefully," said Saakashvili. "But our enemy also knows this and our enemies will spare no efforts to hinder Georgia's development."

Saakashvili urged a cautious response to the violence in Gori, saying that "If we start mutual accusations, if we get afraid, this will lead us to further confrontation and this is exactly what our enemies want." The president went on to solicit public support for "anti-terrorism legislation" and "anti-terrorism structures" without providing specifics.

The February 1 explosion left three policemen dead and some 27 police and civilian bystanders injured, according to official reports. A blue Lada sedan, left parked under the office window of regional police chief Aleko Sukhitashvili, was used as the explosive device. Sukhitashvili was not in the Gori police building at the time of the blast. The explosion has been classed as a terrorist act under Article 323 of Georgia's criminal code and will be investigated by the Interior Ministry.

The terrorism explanation has since been uniformly adopted by government ministers, though in the run-up to Saakashvili's speech, official reactions to the blast were as revelatory for what they indicated about the balance of power within the Georgian cabinet as for what they suggested about reasons for the attack.

One of the first on the scene, Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili, a former interior minister who is seen as a Saakashvili protégé, detailed the work taking place by explosive experts and law enforcement officers, and claimed that eye-witnesses had seen "several suspicious people" near the blast site prior to the explosion, the English-language Georgian Messenger reported. Okruashvili also stated that the car used in the explosion had been registered a month earlier and that authorities know the name of the registrant. Speaking on the Imedi television station's evening news program, Okruashvili went on to state that the blast was designed to foment conflict between Georgia and South Ossetia. "These people wanted us to blame the South Ossetian side and drag us into conflict."

Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili, whose office will handle the bombing investigation, initially took a slightly different tact, stating at a February 1 press conference that a South Ossetian-connection involvement was among several theories under consideration. State Minister for European Integration Giorgi Baramidze, a former defense minister and frequent Okruashvili critic, also weighed in, telling reporters that "[a]ll versions will be studied and all possible measures to identify both the doers and planners will be taken," the Russian news agency RIA-Novosti reported. The government, Baramidze said, "intends to reciprocate with tough measures."

Though Saakashvili left the identity of Georgia's "enemies" undefined, Georgian media looked first to South Ossetia, which borders on the region surrounding Gori. Zourabichvili likewise did not specifically name a foreign country as under suspicion of being connected to the blast. At a news briefing February 1, Zourabichvili maintained that it was highly unlikely that domestic terrorists could carry out such an operation without outside logistical assistance. The foreign minister added that "political goals" were the likely motivation for foreign involvement. "It seems that these [foreign] forces are annoyed by our success," the Kavkasia-Press news agency quoted Zourabichvili as saying.

Georgia has for years tangled with Russia over the political status of both South Ossetia and Abkhazia. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Many residents of both breakaway regions hold Russian citizenship and leaders of the two territories depend heavily on Moscow's strategic and economic support to sustain their sovereignty ambitions.

Speaking from Tskhinvali with the Georgian television news station Rustavi-2, Irina Gagloyeva, spokesperson for the breakaway government of South Ossetia, denied any involvement by South Ossetia in the blast. "How could I have known about it?" Gagloyeva said in response to a question from Rustavi-2. "All I can say is that this is terrible, terrorism . . . Let me make it clear that we are not responsible for it."

For now, the Georgian government appears to support that argument. At a February 2 meeting of the government, Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania stated that South Ossetian and Georgian criminal groups were not responsible for the blast. Initial media speculation that the explosion may have been retaliation for local authorities' anti-smuggling operations has since been dismissed.

At the same time, in a move apparently designed to downplay any suspicions of South Ossetia, State Minister for Conflict Resolution Goga Khaindrava announced on February 2 that Georgia, South Ossetia and the Russian republic of North Ossetia had agreed to set up a 100-member police force to provide public order in the breakaway region. Officials did not provide details on when the police force would begin its work.

Georgian opposition leaders have rallied around the government, while calling for more effective coordination among state agencies in terrorism-prevention efforts. The New Rights-Industrialist opposition coalition on February 2 called on the government to establish an anti-terrorism center. New Rights leader David Gamkrelidze said the Saakashvili administration should turn to the United States and Israel for funding and assistance. "Georgia should spend serious funds for forming a counter-terrorism office," Gamkrelidze said in an interview with Rustavi-2 television.