The Messenger

Wednesday, March 16, 2005, #047 (0821)

Akhalkalaki base withdrawal generates concern

By M. Alkhazashvili

The Georgian government’s recent resolution on the withdrawal of Russia’s
military bases from Batumi and Akhalkalaki was met with a great deal of
concern by Akhalkalaki’s ethnic-Armenian inhabitants.

On March 13, approximately 1,500 Akhalkalaki residents gathered in the
center of the town to protest against the withdrawal of the military base
from the area. They argue that the Akhalkalaki base is of great economic
importance for the Javakheti population, and add that the Russian soldiers
in the region are the guarantors of security for the Armenian population.
Many of the residents held up the Russian ruble, which has become the de
facto currency if the city, as a sign of their dependence on the base.

The Russian government has in the past relied on such local protests to
prevent the Georgian government from taking a strong stance on the bases,
but in Batumi this strategy did not work. There the region has been entirely
under Tbilisi control since the departure of Aslan Abashidze, and Batumi
University students have recently been holding demonstrations against the
continuing Russian military presence.

The situation is more complicated in Javakheti, however, which is one of the
poorest and most cut off regions in Georgia, and where the population is
predominantly of Armenian ethnicity. The possibility of a new ethnic
conflict has been speculated, and this has served Russian interests in the
area. Nevertheless, MP Van Baiburt believes that the demonstrators, led by
the local Virki and Javakhki political parties, do not express public
opinion and receive directives from Russian Special Services, as quoted by
newspaper 24 Saati.

President Saakashvili has responded to local concerns by stating that the
base will remain until the economic situation in the region improves, and it
is also speculated in the Georgian media that the base may be retained and
the Russian troops replaced with Turkish troops; though while in Telavi on
Monday, the president stated that the 11th battalion of Georgian troops
based there, which have been trained under the US-led Train and Equip
program, would be redeployed to Akhalkalaki.

Saakashvili also promised that all locally-hired staff that work in the
Russian base would have guaranteed jobs in the Georgian armed forces; while
the governor of Samtskhe-Javakheti Goga Khachidze has also promised that new
jobs will be created in the event of the withdrawal of the Russian base.

MP Van Baiburt reiterates this position: “I know the president’s position
very well that all people employed on these bases will not be without jobs.
The Russian military bases will be replaced by Georgians and the
infrastructure that exists on the bases will comparatively enlarge. This
means that new jobs will be created as well,” Rezonansi cites Baiburt as
saying.

The Armenian government is understandably concerned by the effect of the
base on Armenian residents, but Armenian officials stated while Georgian PM
Zurab Noghaideli was in Yerevan last week that the issue was a Georgian
internal affair. “The only thing that is important for us is that the
Armenian inhabitants in Javakheti are provided with jobs and their social
problems solved.” Armenian PM Andranik Margarian stated.