Abkhaz Government-in-Exile to Move to Kodori Gorge

Tensions between Tbilisi and the separatist leaders in Sokhumi escalated July 28 after Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili announced that the Tbilisi-based Abkhaz government-in-exile will be moved to the Kodori Gorge, a small pocket of Georgian-controlled territory within the disputed territory of Abkhazia.

The president announced this decision during an emotional televised address to the nation late on July 27. Referring to the move as a "fundamental political event," Saakashvili said it would place Georgian authority in the "heart of Abkhazia" for the first time since the 1992-1993 civil war. The gorge is located roughly 30 miles from Sokhumi, the capital of separatist Abkhazia.

"We decided to relocate the Abkhaz government to the Kodori Gorge where it will enforce the full jurisdiction and the control of the Georgian government," he said, adding that the government's operation in the gorge against rebel militia leader Emzar Kvitsiani had been "successfully completed."

"Life will return to normal and reconstruction work will begin," Saakashvili assured viewers.

Abkhazia's de facto leadership in Sokhumi reacted sharply to the announcement. According to reports by the Russian Interfax news agency, Sergei Shamba, the breakaway region's de facto foreign minister, vowed to take "any action" necessary to prevent the move. The separatist government has termed Saakashvili's decision an "open provocation."

In response to the announcement, the separatist government Friday decided not to attend regular weekly talks with Georgian, Russian and United Nations representatives, the Georgian television station Rustavi-2 reported Ruslan Kishmaria, Abkhazia's de facto presidential representative to the Gali region, as saying. During his Thursday speech, Saakashvili had noted that Georgia would attend the talks as usual, despite the operation in the Kodori Gorge against Kvitsiani. [For background, see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Officially, representatives of the Abkhaz government-in-exile in Tbilisi maintain that they are pleased with the president's decision. In an interview with Imedi television on July 28, Teimuraz Majavia, chairman of the Abkhaz government-in-exile, said that the move would be "good" and that the government would be able to "protect" residents of the remote mountain gorge. Representatives of the government-in-exile have declined further comment.

Some officials in Sokumi have a different interpretation however. Sending the exiled Abkhaz government to the Kodori Gorge is akin to exiling it to Siberia, noted Christian Bjaniya, spokesperson for Abkhazia's de facto President Sergei Bagapsh. "The impression is that Saakashvili just wants to get rid of the so-called 'Abkhazian autonomous government-in-exile,'" Bjaniya told the Russian news agency Regnum.

One political analyst in Tbilisi, however, notes that while the move will do little to change the balance of power in the breakaway region, its affect on negotiations with the separatist government in Sokhumi will not be positive. "Of course, the Abkhazian side will use it to make sure the Russian peacekeepers are not pulled out," said Tina Gogueliani, a political analyst at the International Center on Conflict & Negotiation. "It will work for the Russians and the Russian peacekeepers. [They will say] there is a big need for maintaining stability in the region."

In an apparent bid to build a sense of security in the gorge, President Saakashvili stated on Thursday night that the Georgian government would repair local roads, hospitals, schools and an airfield, as well as provide social welfare payments to Kodori residents. A humanitarian aid shipment made up mostly of food left for the gorge on July 28, Georgian television reported.

In a separate statement, Giorgi Targamadze, chairman of the parliamentary committee for defense and security, has warned that if "the Abkhaz side will pose a threat to this territory, they will be hit by a devastating strike," the online news service Civil.ge reported on July 28.

Adding to the tensions, on Friday the Georgian government reported that militia leader Emzar Kvitsiani has escaped to Sokhumi with his family and two supporters. In a televised briefing, Georgian Presidential Chief of Staff Giorgi Arveladze said that Georgian forces had allowed the fighters to leave the Kodori Gorge village of Chkhalta late on July 27 in an effort to avoid civilian casualties. Georgian troops had found a cache of arms and ammunition in the gorge worth $30 million, he claimed.

An interview with Russian public television has been aired on Georgian television and cited by the government as proof that Kvitsiani is in Abkhazia. The television footage, depicting the militia leader sitting on the grass, gives no indication of its exact location, however.

Officials in Tbilisi maintain that there are no plans for further "anti-criminal" action in the conflict zone, but both the Russian government and the separatist government have already voiced concerns that the Georgian government does not intend to limit itself to the gorge. News reports on July 28 quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying that Georgia intended "to solve the problems of Abkhazia and South Ossetia by force." Members of the Russian government have repeatedly accused Georgia of using excess force during the operation and jeopardizing stability in the region.

Addressing the separatist government on Thursday, Saakashvili stressed that his government is committed to a peaceful resolution of the conflict, but added that the "only possible final outcome" of the negotiations was for Abkhazia to return to Georgia.

The Georgian government launched an "anti-criminal operation" in the Kodori Gorge, located within Abkhazia, late on July 22 in response to threats of rebellion from Emzar Kvitsiani, the ethnic Svan leader of the Monadire or Hunter militia, a group estimated to contain about 300-400 fighters. Although the militia was originally part of the Georgian military, Tbilisi reportedly disbanded the group in 2005. The main phase of the armed operation was reported completed yesterday. The government has not yet released a full list of casualties, but at least one civilian died during the fighting.