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EURASIA INSIGHT

GEORGIAN OFFICIALS UP PRESSURE ON ABASHIDZE
3/17/04

Georgia’s Parliament Speaker Nino Burjanadze traveled to Ajaria on March 17 to open talks aimed at defusing a political power struggle between the country’s central government and Ajarian leader Aslan Abashidze. The move towards negotiations came as Georgian authorities stepped up efforts to economically isolate the renegade region.

Burjanadze indicated that the object of her mission was to prepare for direct talks between Abashidze and Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. "I do not think it is hard to guess what we will discuss with the head of the autonomous republic of Ajaria," Burjanadze told Ekho Moskvy radio. "There are issues which are currently causing problems that certainly should be resolved."
Train traffic is at a standstill in
Batumi
Giga Chikhladze

The readily evident mutual animosity that exists between Saakashvili and Abashidze is complicating efforts to find a negotiated solution. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Saakashvili has accused Abashidze of acting as a feudal lord in Ajaria, and of treacherous behavior towards the central government. Abashidze claimed in an interview broadcast March 16 by Imedi TV that Saakashvili sought to engineer the ouster of the regional government. "As always, he [Saakashvili] is waiting, fabricating, maneuvering, retreating, attacking," Abashidze said. "This man [Saakashvili] is playing a war game. But this is playing with fire."

Georgian leaders are demanding that Abashidze submit to central government authority, especially in the areas of tax and customs revenue inspection. Tbilisi also insists that Ajarian officials facilitate a free-and-fair parliamentary election campaign and vote. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Ajaria, where Abashidze exerts tight control over political life, has been the scene in recent weeks of campaign-related disturbances. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Abashidze maintains that he has the right to control revenue collection in Ajaria.

To exert pressure on Ajaria, Georgia has imposed an economic blockade, prohibiting ships from entering the harbor at Batumi, the Ajarian capital and a major outlet for oil shipments. In addition, Georgia’s National Bank has ordered a halt to all financial operations in Ajaria, the bank’s president, Irakly Managadze, told a March 16 news conference. It also took steps to revoke the license of the Ajarian-based Maritime Bank, which is believed to have close ties to Abashidze’s government. Once Maritime Bank’s license has been revoked, its assets will be liquidated under National Bank supervision, Managadze said.

On top of the economic blockade, Georgian officials have opened criminal cases against top Ajarian security officials, including the region’s self-styled security minister, Soso Gogitidze, who is Abashidze’s brother-in-law. The self-styled Ajarian interior minister, Jemal Gogitidze and other top officials are also the subject of criminal investigations. Prosecutors say they intend to charge the Ajarian officials with violating Georgia’s territorial integrity and insubordination.

Georgia’s prosecutor-general, Irakly Okruashvili indicated that Abashidze and his son, Giorgi, who is mayor of Batumi, could also become targets of criminal prosecution. "Aslan Abashidze still has a chance to make sure his involvement in crimes is not established," Okruashvili told the pro-government Rustavi-2 television channel.

In an interview with Rustavi-2l, Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania said the Georgian government would relax its economic blockade only when Ajaria recognized the central government’s authority. "If he [Abashidze] submits to and follows the rules of civilized relations, no one will create problems about him staying there," Zhvania said. "It is up to the people of Ajaria to decide who will be the leader of the autonomous republic."

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