Georgian digest: excerpts
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Subject: Georgian digest: excerpts
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Georgian digest: excerpts
ANNOTATED DAILY HEADLINES OF THE GEORGIAN PRESS
Compiled by the Caucasian Institute for Peace, Democracy and
Development (CIPDD)
Text: Tamara Shamil
English version: Guram Dumbadze
Editor: Emil Adelkhanov-Steinberg
September 23, 1998
1. Wahhabists Threaten Territorial Integrity of Georgia
Wahhabites, who are gradually strengthening their positions in the
North Caucasus, have appeared in Georgia too. Mamuka Areshidze, the
chairman of the parliamentary committee for relations with the
Caucasian peoples, feels sure that the Wahhabites plan to merge
Chechnya, Daghestan and Ingushetia, as well as the part of Georgia
populated by ethnic Vainakhs, into a single Islamic state. Although
Wahhabism is a rather loyal religion at its traditional territories,
it has become aggressive in the Caucasus and clashed with traditional
Islam there. Hattab from Jordan is the main Wahhabite figure in the
Northern Caucasus. Allegedly, this movement is sponsored by Saudi
Arabia.
"7 Dge" No. 111, September 23
.......................
3. Ardzinba and Russia Predict a New War at the End of September
An Abkhaz delegation led by Sergey Bagapsh, the prime-minister of
Abkhazia, visited Tbilisi yesterday for talks on economic co-operation
against the background of the crisis in Russia. Mr. Bagapsh passed
Shevardnadze the Abkhaz leader Vladislav Ardzinba's letter with an
invitation for a meeting. According to the Prime News agency, Ardzinba
informs Shevardnadze that Georgian forces are going to attack Abkhazia
at the end of September, which "will negatively affect the situation
in the region in general and implementation of projects on transit via
Georgia in particular". The aim of such "warnings", the newspaper
argues, is the same as of the insistent reports of the Russian mass
media about worsening of the situation at the Georgian-Abkhaz border
and the possibility of a new armed clash: to provoke Georgia to start
a new war and thus put an end to the prospects of the Europe-Asia
transport corridor via Georgia. An interesting fact: when the Abkhaz
delegation was going back from Tbilisi, the Russian military did not
allow them to land in Gudauta, Abkhazia. The delegation landed in
Adler, Russian Federation.
"Resonance" No. 260, September 23
4. Four UN People Wounded in Sukhumi
Unidentified gunmen fired at a car of the UN observers in Sukhumi on
September 21. As a result, three UN observers and a local employee
were wounded. The UN mission submitted its protest to Ardzinba. The
Abkhaz leader said the number of such acts of terrorism increased
after Sukhumi declined the proposal of the UN Security Council to
deploy a battalion of UN troops in Abkhazia to protect the observer
mission. Russia shared Abkhazia's position: they fear that the
deployment of a foreign battalion might trigger replacing the failed
Russian peacekeepers by UN troops.
"Resonance" No. 260, September 23
------------------------------
September 24, 1998
.......................
3. Refugees Paid Money but Were Not Allowed
into the Concert Hall
The Co-ordination Council of the refugees from Abkhazia which is in
opposition to the Tbilisi-based Supreme Council of Abkhazia and the
central government attempted to hold its congress on September 23 but
in vain. In front of the Tbilisi Concert Hall rented by the Council in
advance delegates were blocked by the police which did not allow them
to enter the Hall.
"Alia" No. 163, September 24
------------------------------
September 25, 1998
1. Ardzinba Allies with Shevardnadze against Russia. The Abkhaz
Leadership Declares Its Non-Confidence in Russia
A Georgian delegation led by State Minister Vazha Lortkipanidze payed
the Abkhaz Prime Minister a return visit yesterday. The latter said
the two parties could restore confidence in each other only through a
direct dialogue without any third party, while Abkhazia's Procurator
General blamed "some external forces" for contributing to tensions
between Tbilisi and Sukhumi. The Abkhaz authorities deem that Moscow
may
intentionally provoke destabilisation in order to "spoil" oil transits
through Georgia. According to Abkhaz sources, terrorist groups backed
by the Russian peacekeepers will soon intensify their activities in
the Gali district. Sukhumi is also alarmed at the information from
Abkhaz security services about
a possible invasion of Georgian forces to Abkhazia by the end of
September. "Neither Abkhazia nor Georgia is interested in a new war,"
Vladislav Ardzinba, the Abkhaz leader, told journalists. Mr.
Lortkipanidze assured them that Georgia was not going to use force.
The parties signed a protocol on joint measures to stabilise the
situation in the region. Shevardnadze's visit to Ardzinba (at the
demand of the latter)
is also expected.
"Resonance" No. 262, September 25
2. The Kremlin Plans to Explode Georgia. Russia Seems Anxious to Make
Georgia Start a War before Big Oil Passes the Georgian Territory
According to the newspaper, it is Russia that disseminates the
information given in Ardzinba's letter to Shevardnadze, about the
invasion of Georgian forces to Abkhazia expected by the end of
September (the 5th anniversary of Abkhazia's victory over Georgia).
Viktor Ilyukhin, a Russian Communist and a member of
the Security Committee of the Russian Duma, has sent a similar letter
to Evgeny Primakov, the Russian foreign minister, and Vladislav
Ardzinba. It informs them about Tbilisi's intentions to take control
of the Batumi seaport and arrest Aslan Abashidze, the leader of
Adjaria. Tbilisi has officially denied this
information. It claims that the intensified activities of such
political forces as the Union of Traditionalists of Georgia, the
Co-ordination Council of the Refugees from Abkhazia and the Adjarian
leadership, as well as those "predictions" which dominate the Russian
press, are a part of a project (Konstantin Zatulin, the director of
the CIS Institute is said to be its author) of the pro-imperial
Russian forces. It seems Russia is going to divide Georgia into
several small states, using terrorism and subversive actions. All
this, in the newspaper's opinion, "strangely" coincides with the final
stage of the talks on big oil transit via Georgia, the final decision
expected to be made on October 9.
"Resonance" No. 262, September 25
3. Having Got into a Scuffle, Panteleimon Giorgadze Fainted
The Co-ordination Council of the Refugees from Abkhazia led by Boris
Kakubava made another attempt yesterday to hold its congress in the
Tbilisi Concert Hall. The police blocked it, like the previous attempt
of September 23. The delegates were offered to carry out the congress
in another place. They
refused and launched a protest rally joined by some other political
leaders, including old General Panteleimon Giorgadze, the leader of
the United Communist Party of Georgia. When the police attempted to
break up the rally, Giorgadze fainted but was brought round and
conveyed to home. David Salaridze, the ombudsman of Georgia, managed
to ease the tensions and persuade the delegates to hold the
congress in another place.
"Akhali Taoba" No. 264, September 25
.......................
5. Georgia Asks the UN to Create a Neutral Detachment
According to the parliamentary defence and security committee, Georgia
has appealed to the UN to sanction the creation of a neutral military
unit for protecting the UNOMIG (United Nations Observer Mission in
Georgia) personnel. This appeal was triggered by a recent terrorist
attack against a UNOMIG car in Sukhumi, when three officers of the
mission and the driver were wounded.
"Sakartvelos Gazeti" No. 109, September 25
--
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