Wednesday, July 25, 2007, #140 (1407)

UN Secretary General Releases Abkhaz–Georgian Conflict Report
By Nino Mumladze

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

“Suspended dialogue” and the possibility of further escalation of the conflict between the Georgian and Abkhazian sides are the main concerns of the UN Secretary General’s report on the situation in Abkhazia, issued July 23.

“In order to reduce the possibility of incidents, the United Nations joins the Group of Friends in calling on the government of Georgia to move the [patriotic youth camp in Ganmukhuri, located less than a kilometre away from Abkhaz-controlled territory in the conflict zone] away from the security zone,” UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says in the report to the Security Council, calling on the sides to redouble efforts in avoiding a renewal of hostilities.
The UN official recommends that youth camps which focus on cultural activities and other “civil and political activities” should be run in a manner that will not allow for any “misunderstanding, miscalculation and subsequent violence.”
“I urge the two sides to stay away from one another. A separation of opposing forces is the primary and often the most effective guarantee of the preservation of peace,” the report reads.

The report claims that despite the expectations raised by the Geneva high-level meeting of the Group of Friends chaired by the United Nations in February, dialogue between the sides remains suspended.

In February, the Group of Friends reached an agreement between the Georgian and Abkhazian sides to renew joint meetings sometime in July 2007, as well as renew economic cooperation on a European Commission-funded rehabilitation program. The paper lays out the obstacles between the conflicting sides that have prevented the renewal of talks up to this point.

The Abkhaz side is said to be linking the resumption of dialogue to preconditions such as the withdrawal of Georgian armed personnel from Abkhazia. They claim there is a “continuing Georgian military build-up in and around the zone of conflict and the Kodori Gorge.” They also want the Tbilisi-backed government-in-exile of Abkhazia to leave the upper Kodori Gorge, calling it Tbilisi’s “puppet government.”

The second demand is the release of Davit Sigua, an ethnic Georgian working in the de facto government of the Gali district who disappeared on February 3, 2007. The government of Georgia has consistently denied any involvement in the disappearance.

Another reason for the lack of dialogue is the Abkhaz side’s refusal to modify the existing formats, the report says. In May, the government of Georgia outlined its overall approach to the settlement of its internal conflicts. In addition to the safe and dignified return of internally displaced persons and the revision of the legal framework for conflict resolution, the outline proposed direct dialogue between the two opposing parties and involvement of impartial mediators and international policing.

“The Georgian side stressed its concern over what it described as a persistent lack of will of the Abkhaz side to engage in direct dialogue, and expressed its readiness to address some of the obstacles to its resumption,” the Secretary General’s report reads.

In the same context, Ban stresses that the Georgian side has reiterated its readiness for a meeting between the highest leaders of both sides—without preconditions.

The Georgian side has also reiterated its readiness to facilitate contact between the Abkhaz side and the Abkhaz Diaspora in Turkey. “It was also prepared to discuss the modalities for the establishment of maritime communications between Sokhumi and Trabzon, Turkey,” reads the report. Both sides are still working out the details of how such an agreement could be implemented.

Ban also supports the proposal to set up a UNOMIG observation post in the village of Azhara, in Tbilisi-controlled upper Kodori Gorge.

“Such measures would undoubtedly increase the Mission’s operational capabilities, including its monitoring and observing capacities in the sensitive areas of operation,” said Ban.

The idea was hailed by Tbilisi, and Sokhumi said they would consider the proposal only “if Tbilisi withdrew from the upper Kodori Gorge.”

But ultimately, in spite of the problems, the UN Secretary General stays optimistic that both sides will take concrete steps to capitalize on the understanding reached at the June Group of Friends meeting in Bonn which he predicts “will lead to tangible improvements on the ground, particularly with regard to security, economic cooperation and humanitarian issues.”



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