Georgian Minister: Kodori Gorge Operation Winding Down

Two days into an "anti-criminal" action against a rebel militia leader in a strip of Georgian-controlled territory in the breakaway region of Abkhazia, Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili has stated that the "major" phase of the operation is complete. The crisis, however, appears far from over. Militia leader, Emzar Kvitsiani, remains at large, while Tbilisi maintains that "outside forces" have aided the group in a bid to destabilize the region.

In a July 27 phone interview with television station Rustavi-2 from the Kodori Gorge, Okruashvili announced that Georgian forces are now on a search-and-destroy mission to find the remaining members of the Monadire or Hunter militia group. According to an announcement by the Georgian Interior Ministry, Kvitsiani is on the run with some of his followers. The ministry has offered a 100,000 lari [$56,000] reward for information leading to his capture.

Okruashvili added that Georgian forces would stay in the area to search for other "criminals" that the government believes are hiding in the gorge. He stressed that both Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili and he would remain in the region for "as long as needed."

The minister confirmed that one civilian had been killed during the operation when army helicopters bombed the village of Chkhalta, where the militia had been based in the gorge. Rustavi reported that Kvitsiani's house had been destroyed in the attack, though officials have not confirmed reports that the rebel leader himself has been wounded in the fighting.

Georgian media reported on Wednesday that ambulances were on standby in the western town of Kutaisi to receive wounded from the Kodori Gorge, which is located in the north-western part of the country. Although access to information has been tightly controlled, Okruashvili confirmed that two officers had been injured, though stated that the operation was carried out with "minimal casualties." Other reports have stated that at least four were injured in the first night of the operation.

Although Kvitsiani has not been captured, the Georgian government has officially opened a criminal case against him. On July 26, Prosecutor-General Kakha Koberidze announced the militia leader is being charged for illegally forming an armed group and illegally possessing weapons.

In addition, the government is looking into possible charges of treason against opposition politician Irakli Batiashvili, a former state security minister. The Georgian Ministry of Interior Affairs has charged that a phone conversation between Batiashvili and Kvitsiani, a clip of which aired on Rustavi-2, proves that the separatist Abkhaz government is arming the militia leader. In an article published in the English-language daily The Georgian Messenger on July 26, however, Batiashvili stated that the real conversation proves that Kvitsiani had rejected offers of weapons from the Abkhaz government. "He said he did not need their help and this bit was, of course, cut [in the televised version]," Batiashvili said, according to the article.

Some government supporters are taking aim at other public figures who have spoken out against the operation. According to a Rustavi-2 report, Giorgi Targamadze, the influential head of the parliamentary defense and security committee, has named Labor Party leader Shalva Natelashvili, filmmaker Giga Lortkipanidze, former deputy premier Avtandil Margiani and political scientist Paata Zakareishvili as "enemies of the state" for urging the government to negotiate with Kvitsiani.

A coalition of seven opposition groups including the New Rights Party, Republican Party, the Labor Party, Liberty, Georgia Forward, The People's Forum and the Conservative Party has joined together to object to the Georgian government's actions in Kodori Gorge, one opposition party representative said. While the opposition groups are "categorically" against the actions of Emzar Kvitsiani, stated Tiko Mzhavanadze, a spokesperson for the New Rights Party, they believe the Georgian government is acting "unlawfully" and outside of "democratic principles."

Meanwhile, the Georgian Foreign Ministry launched an offensive Thursday against accusations by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov that its operations in the gorge violate the 1994 cease-fire agreement that prohibits military activity within the Abkhazian conflict zone.

Late on Wednesday, State Minister for European Integration Giorgi Baramidze fired back at Ivanov, stressing that the operation was police business against criminal activity. During a press briefing, he also accused the Russian government of attempting to manipulate the situation. "Georgia will not allow Russian peacekeepers to be deployed within our borders," he said.

Newly appointed State Minister for Conflict Resolution Merab Antadze and Deputy Foreign Minister Valeri Chechelashvili discussed the situation in the gorge on July 27 with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Denisov, the news brief site Civil.ge reported the Georgian foreign affairs ministry as saying.

On Thursday, the Georgian foreign affairs ministry also issued a formal statement that the cease-fire agreement had no jurisdiction on Georgian territory. Reiterating that the operation in Kodori Gorge is a police action against "organized crime," the ministry stated that Georgia was acting according to Georgian laws and international commitments.

The Georgian government has also moved to consolidate international support for the operation in Kodori Gorge. Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli, in Brussels for a meeting with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and European Commission officials, stated at a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer that the government has no intention of destabilizing relations with Abkhazia.

"The operation of Georgian servicemen in the Kodori Gorge is a limited police operation against criminals," Noghaideli said, adding that Tbilisi is committed to finding a peaceful solution to the conflict, news reports stated.

However, Russian General Sergei Chaban, commander of the Commonwealth of Independent States peacekeeping forces in the region, stated Wednesday, July 26 that the Georgian military was actively involved in the operation. "At 8:50 a.m., a convoy of 10 Kamaz trucks, four Zil trucks, and four ambulances passed through peacekeeping outposts accompanied by a helicopter," Chaban said, as reported by the Russian news agency RIA Novosti.

For its part, the Georgian government maintains and pro-government media report that Russian peacekeepers themselves are involved in assisting Kvitsiani resist Georgian forces. Details have not been provided. Rustavi-2 reported on July 26 that Georgian forces had detained a truck, allegedly driven by a Russian peacekeeper, which contained unidentified arms and Kvitsiani's bodyguard. An earlier report that day claimed that Chechen and Kabardin "volunteers" from Russia's North Caucasus were entering the gorge "accompanied by a group of six Russian generals."

Abkhazia's military leadership has stated that its border and regular defense ministry troops have surrounded the upper Kodori Gorge to prevent militia members from infiltrating territory held by Abkhazia, the Russian news agency Interfax reported.

The crisis in Kodori Gorge started on July 22 when Kvitsiani, a presidential representative to the gorge under ex-President Eduard Shevardnadze, defied an order to disband his militia, and called for the dismissal of Interior Minister Merabishvili in connection with the murder of banker Sandro Girgvliani, a fellow Svan, last January. Tensions quickly escalated when the government, labeling Kvitsiani a "traitor" and a Russian pawn, refused to negotiate with the militia. The Monadire militia had been a part of the Georgian defense ministry, but was disbanded in 2005.