Eurasia Insight:
GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT CALLS FOR TBILI'S WITHDRAWAL FROM CIS IN RESPNSE TO RUSSIAN RAID
Irakly Areshidze: 8/27/02

In response to a Russian air raid in Georgia’s Pankisi Gorge region, the Georgian parliament has adopted a resolution calling for the country’s withdrawal from the Commonwealth of Independent States, the expulsion of Russian peacekeeping forces and the expeditious closure of Russian military bases. Russian military leaders deny Moscow’s involvement in the bombing raids, but elected officials in Moscow say the use of force is justifiable against a "terrorist threat."

According to various reports, on August 23 at least four Russian jets carried out bombing raids for an estimated 40 minutes in the Akhmeta district, an area in the Pankisi Gorge. The bombings followed an August 22 report on Georgia’s Rustavi-2 Television that over 500 Chechen fighters, led by Ruslan Gilaev, had crossed from Pankisi into Tianeti district (which boarders Akhmeta). Rustavi’s report was based on interviews with a shepherd who allegedly saw Gilaev and his forces, and on statements by other local residents. Georgian officials did not deny that Chechen fighters moved across the Russian-Georgian border, but claimed that the group numbered a few dozen, at most.

At least eight civilians were reported killed or wounded by Russian bombs. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Russian military forces were not responsible for the raids, the Interfax news agency reported August 26. Georgian officials scoff at Russian denials. "There is no doubt whatsoever that the air raid was carried out from Russian territory and that the aircraft belonged to Russia," President Eduard Shevardnadze told journalists in Tbilisi on August 26.

The Georgian leader suggested that the Russian military was acting on its own initiative, beyond the control of civilian leaders in Moscow. President Vladimir Putin’s image has taken a big hit in recent days, following the recent scandal in which dozens died in the crash of a vastly overloaded military helicopter in Chechnya. "It is difficult for me to assume that Vladimir Putin was aware of plans and issued an order that the Pankisi Gorge be bombed," Shevardnadze said.

The bombing raid fueled outrage among Georgian citizens. A large group demonstrated in front of the Russian Embassy and the headquarters of Russia’s Caucasus Military Forces. One demonstrator at the Embassy, Zviad Bokuchava, a former Parliamentarian who signed Georgia’s Declaration of Independence in 1991 and is currently leading a grassroots organization called "Georgians for NATO" voiced a view of many protesters: "Russia is engaging in state-terror against Georgia," he said. Foreign Minister Irakli Menagharishvili termed the raid "explicit aggression."

Georgia and Russia have longed wrangled over the lawless conditions that exist in the Pankisi Gorge. Moscow says Chechen rebels use the gorge as a safe haven while they carry on their resistance to Russian forces in the neighboring Russian region of Chechnya. Georgian officials have admitted that Chechen rebels are in the Pankisi Gorge, but they add that Russia tends to exaggerate the threat. Tbilisi has repeatedly rebuffed Moscow’s moves to engage in joint military operations in the region. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

On August 24, Georgian military forces launched an ground sweep in the Pankisi region designed to reestablish Tbilisi’s control, rid the area of Chechen fighters and hopefully mollify Moscow. Georgian troops now reportedly control most villages in Pankisi, establishing seven additional police posts. Local civilians reportedly welcomed the arrival of the troops. According to unconfirmed reports, Chechen fighters were leaving Pankisi, crossing into Chechnya. Some Georgian troops recently trained by US military advisers are participating in the Pankisi sweep.

During a tense session August 26, the parliament narrowly passed the resolution condemning Russia’s military action. The resolution called on Shevardnadze to unilaterally establish a schedule for the withdrawal of Russian troops from military bases in Georgia. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archives]. The parliament also wants Shevardnadze to immediately terminate the mandate for the CIS peacekeeping force in Abkhazia, the core of which is comprised on Russian soldiers. In addition, the resolution calls on Shevardnadze to initiate Georgia’s withdrawal from the CIS.

The resolution additionally calls on Georgian leaders to take steps to bolster Georgia’s defense capacity, and to seek increased international assistance. Shevardnadze supporters boycotted the resolution vote, saying it did not give the president sufficient discretion in the determination of Georgia’s diplomatic response to the Russian raids. Meanwhile, parliament defeated an opposition attempt to prevent the sale of TbilGas, the distributor of natural gas in Tbilisi, to a Russian company Itera.

The raids may help break resistance to sweeping Western-style military reforms in Georgia from conservative senior officers who spent much of their careers in the Soviet army. Several sources told EurasiaNet that parliamentary Defense Committee Chairman Irakli Batiashvili will seek to utilize popular outrage to develop an emergency reform plan, as well as seek a substantial increase in defense spending. At the same time, Georgian officials opened negotiations with their Ukrainian and Czech counterparts about purchasing anti-aircraft technology.

The Tbilisi-Moscow confrontation is fanning tension between the United States and Russia. Some Russian officials believe Georgia’s slow response to Moscow’s calls for the Pankisi Gorge’s stabilization is connected with the increase in security cooperation between Tbilisi and Washington. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive]. The Bush Administration had tough words for Russia following the bombing. US officials expressed strong support for Georgian sovereignty, and called on Moscow to reach a negotiated end to the Chechen conflict.

"A political settlement to the conflict in Chechnya … would contribute to stability in both Russia and Georgia, and advance our efforts to fight terrorism and establish peace in the Caucasus," the US statement said.

Stronger US-Georgian ties have emboldened Georgian leaders to disregard Russian strategic concerns, some Russian MPs say. Vladimir Lukin, deputy Russian Duma speaker, sought to justify the use of force by Russia, portraying military action as an obligation in the fight against terrorism.

"If a terrorist threat exists on the border, you have to fight against it," Lukin told the Echo Moskvy radio station on August 26. "If the other side refuses to fight, then, just as the USA and a number of other countries have done on more than one occasion, you have to fight alone."

Georgian political observers say Russia seeks to destabilize Georgia in order to reassert its strategic interests in the Caucasus. "Russia is primarily concerned with discrediting the Shevardnadze regime and the United States in the eyes of the Georgian people," said Devi Khechinashvili of the Partnership for Social Initiative (PSI), a prominent think-tank in Tbilisi.

"The Georgian government seems completely incompetent because it is unable to respond to Russian actions," Khechinashvili said. He pointed to remarks by Defense Minister David Tevzadze who, when asked if Georgia would consider shooting down Russian planes in the future, responded: "With what? I will go purchase slingshots and shoot the planes that way."

Such an environment "creates an opportunity for chaos," says Khechinashvili, "and gives Shevardnadze’s opponents [largely his former allies in the so-called ’reformers’ political team] yet another reason to challenge his authority."

Editor’s Note: Irakly Areshidze is a Visiting Fellow at the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute of the Johns Hopkins University School for Advanced International Studies in Washington. Views expressed in this analysis are those of the author and those interview, and not of the institutions with which the author is affiliated.