Institute for War and Peace Reporting
Feb 24 2005
MOSCOW, TBILISI CLASH OVER BASES
Talks are bogged down on the closure date of two Russian bases on
Georgian soil.
By Olesya Vartanian in Tbilisi and Artur Paspandian in Akhalkalaki
Hopes of a resolution of the long-standing issue of Russia’s military
bases in Georgia were dashed this week following inconclusive talks
between Georgian officials and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov
in Tbilisi.
The only positive result that Moscow and Tbilisi could announce after
two days of talks was that the bilateral commission on the bases,
which has not functioned for a year, would resume work and that in two
months it would present proposals to the presidents of both countries.
Givi Targamadze, chairman of the Georgian parliament’s defence
committee, expressed a widely-shared opinion in Georgia when he urged
his government to take a tougher line with Moscow and to start a
blockade of the two Russian bases remaining on Georgian territory.
Georgia maintains that Moscow gave a firm promise at the Istanbul
summit of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe,
OSCE, in 1999, to shut down the bases. Russia maintains that a strict
timetable was not agreed on.
The continued presence of Russian soldiers in Georgia, more than a
decade after the country achieved independence and as it aspires to
join western institutions, is intensely resented by most Georgians.
However, local attitudes towards the two bases – that of the 12th
Division on the Black Sea coast of Ajaria, and the 62nd military base
in the Armenian-majority town of Akhalkalaki in the mountains of
southern Georgia, are very different.
In Ajaria, the majority of locals want to see the base removed, while
that in Alkhalkalaki remains a major source of jobs for the local
community in a region of high unemployment.
Moreover, many in the 100,00-strong local Armenian population
traditionally regard the Russian military as their protectors from a
hypothetical invasion of Turkish invaders from just across the
Georgia-Turkey border.
Following the OSCE summit in 1999, the Russian base at Vaziani outside
Tbilisi was closed down under international supervision and that at
Gudauta in Abkhazia – the breakaway territory no longer under control
of Tbilisi – was also reportedly shut down, though without any
international monitoring.
In Tbilisi, Lavrov said that progress had been made on a number of
bilateral issues, including the idea of an “anti-terrorist centre” and
a framework treaty between Tbilisi and Moscow. “I am beginning to feel
a cautious optimism,” he said at a press conference on February 18.
“I hope that I am not mistaken.”
The Georgian side was more downbeat. “In the negotiations with Russia
we have reached agreement only on the final result, the complete
withdrawal of the bases from the territory of Georgia,” said David
Sikharulidze, the deputy defence minister. “However the Russian side
has a completely unconstructive approach and they are suggesting a
term of 11 years to complete the process.”
Georgia is proposing a deadline of three years. “We have proposed that
they initially remove all the heavy equipment to Russia or Armenia and
then spend two years gradually removing the staff,” said
Sikharulidze. “Moreover, our specialists have calculated that it
should take only five or six months to dismantle these bases
technically.”
In Akhalkalaki, many view the proposed closure with foreboding.
“Personally I am against the withdrawal of Russian forces,” said
Samvel Gogorian, who runs a small shop on the territory of the base.
“You have to worry what will happen to our business if they leave. My
shop won’t have the kind of income it has now.”
Georgian expert Paata Zakareishvili blames the Tbilisi government for
not paying due attention to the issue of the closure of the
Akhalkalaki base.
“Up until now no one in Georgia has done any proper research about how
local people depend economically on the base and how to overcome
that,” he said. “There is not even any precise data on how many local
people work there.”
The only information IWPR was able to receive about what the Georgian
government intends to do when the base is closed came from Deputy
Foreign Minister Merab Antadze who said that there were no plans to
replace the Russian base with a Georgian one and that there was a
project to create a “special economic zone” in the region.
In Akhalkalaki, a large poster hangs over the entrance to the base
bearing a quotation from the 19th century Russian general Ivan
Paskevich, proclaiming, “Govern this land without fear, the Russian
army will defend you!”
However, the relationship between the locals and the Russian army is
deteriorating, say observers. One resident of Akhalkalaki told IWPR
that locals were in a state of “voluntary slavery” to the Russian
military. “People are helpless and don’t mind if a dirty boot steps on
them so long as they get a wage,” he said.
“Because of Russia’s incorrect behaviour, there is no longer trust for
the Russian generals,” said Ararat Yesoyan, a well-known civil
activist in the town. “For locals it is the one of very few places of
work, but you could only find work there by paying a bribe – and quite
a large one at that. And over the last year the management of the base
has begun to send locals to Russia, saying that they are rotating
personnel.”
Until recently several regiments in Akhalkalaki were staffed with
local Armenians. Artur Akhvdalian served in one of them, the 12th
Infantry Regiment. But when he, alongside many others, was told that
he would be sent to serve in the North Caucasus, he refused and lost
his job.
“We were picked on ethnic grounds,” Artur told IWPR. “If you are an
Armenian, that means you should be transferred.”
Artur said he had been told that many of those Armenians who were
transferred out of Georgia were sent to serve in Chechnya and were
forced to live in sub-standard accommodation, while their children
were not admitted to Russian schools.
IWPR repeatedly asked the military command of the base for comment but
was told to seek permission from the defence ministry in Moscow before
an interview would be granted. No permission was given.
Koba Liklikadze, a military analyst with Radio Liberty, pointed out
that politically the Russian bases are now becoming more and more
irrelevant.
He noted that last May, when the pro-Moscow leader of Ajaria, Aslan
Abashidze, was ousted after protests organised by the new Georgian
government, the Russian military did not intervene to defend him.
“Before many Georgian politicians thought that Russia was keeping its
military bases here so as to blackmail the Georgian leadership and use
it as a way of bringing pro-Moscow forces to power,” Liklikadze told
IWPR. “But that’s no longer the case. Today the Russian bases cannot
change the political landscape in Georgia.”
Olesya Vartanian and Artur Paspandian are correspondents with the
newspaper Southern Gates in Samtskhe-Javakheti region, supported by
IWPR.