Pravda, Russia
July 21 2005

Pogroms are no problem for NATO
07/21/2005 11:30

The Georgian authorities would rather see NATO peacekeeping force
deployed in the conflict areas

The event that took place in Georgia last Sunday is seemingly
insignificant, yet it poses a serious threat to the Transcaucasian
republic. Residents of the town of Akhalkalaki devastated a local
school building. The incident per se is quite an extraordinary one.
Bearing in mind that the school destroyed by the Armenians was for
the Georgian children, the incident looks even more sinister. The
Armenians constitute a larger part of the population of Georgia’s
Samtskhe Zhavakhet region, Akhalkalaki is a regional capital.

Aside from wreaking havoc on the school building, a group of local
residents beat up students of the Akhalkalaki branch of Tbilisi
University. The students were cleaning up one of the derelict
churches in the village of Samsar, RIA Novosti reports citing local
administration.

There is a different version of the incident. The church in Samsar is
Armenian. The students were reportedly making it “more Georgian by
erasing distinctive inscriptions and making the new ones,” Regnum
reports. According to the news agency, the cleanup is just a
disguise. The insulting attitude of the young Georgians infuriated
the local Armenians and they stood up for the church, Regnum reports
citing a local resident.

Georgian prosecutors opened an investigation into the incident
involving criminal actions stipulated in the clause “religious
intolerance.”

It is noteworthy that many experts consider the above region of
Georgia as potentially explosive. Armenians are one of the largest
minority groups in Georgia. The majority of them reside in Samtskhe
Zhavakhet region bordering on Armenia.

The Russian military base is located in the town of Akhalkalaki. The
withdrawal of Russian troops and equipment has already started. By
the bye, the Russian military base had created many jobs for the
local population. Nobody knows for sure what is going to happen to
local workers when the pullout is completed. Tbilisi officials
promise to resolve the upcoming problems related to employment of the
local population. It is unclear how the Georgian leadership is going
to keep the promise. There are no impressive economic achievements
the Georgian authorities can boast about these days.

There are more questions than answers pertaining to the region.
Neither the Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili nor his team made
any particular progress in terms of the national issues, especially
those related to Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The Georgian government
keeps gushing about the settlement of relations with two breakaway
republics. However, both Sukhumi and Tskhinvali are very suspicious
of any statement on the territorial integrity restoration coming from
Tbilisi no matter how innocuous it may look.

Anyway, people in the Georgian capital seem to get used to the
situation, at least to some extent. By all appearances, the Georgian
government’s proposals are designed more for the United States than
for the authorities of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Needless to say,
Washington shows its full support and appreciation for the proposals.
The U.S. administration is even ready to facilitate Georgia’s
integration into NATO. During the state visit to the U.S. in early
July, Georgian Parliament Speaker Nino Burdzhanadze said that the
conflicts in Georgia should not impede its integration into the
Alliance. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice agreed to the
point of view. Agreeing on the issue does not mean that Georgia will
become a full-fledged member state of NATO. However, it clearly
indicates that Washington pledges its support to the Georgian
authorities whose true intentions look obvious. The Georgian
authorities would rather see NATO peacekeeping force deployed in the
conflict areas. The Russian peacekeepers are not welcome.