EurasiaNet Organization
Aug 23 2005
ECONOMIC QUESTIONS SURROUND RUSSIAN BASE WITHDRAWAL IN GEORGIA
Theresa Freese 8/22/05
As Russia completes the first stage of its base withdrawal from
Georgia, residents of Ajara are concerned about the economic
implications of the departure of Russian troops.
The parameters for Russia’s withdrawal from its last two remaining
military bases in Georgia were set by a joint declaration singed in
late May. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. While
eager to see the Russian military leave, Georgian President Mikhail
Saakashvili has acknowledged that the withdrawal could exacerbate
“social issues.”
Government officials recognize that Russia’s withdrawal will have a
broad economic impact on the two regions – Ajara and the southern,
primarily ethnic Armenian region of Samtskhe-Javakheti — where the
bases are located. New roads, social welfare support and military
food procurement contracts for local farmers have been promised for
Akhalkalaki, site of the Russian 62nd base in Samtskhe-Javakheti,
which is slated to close in 2007. Detailed plans for Batumi, however,
have not been announced. The Russian withdrawal from its 12th base
there is scheduled for completion in 2008.
Kakha Shavadze, minister of finance and economy for the autonomous
republic of Ajara, said there are “no concrete plans” for replacing
the 12th Russian base in Batumi, aside from turning the nearby Gonio
military training ground – one of three main military facilities in the
region – into a resort after the Russians leave. Asked to comment on
re-employment plans for civilian personnel at the Batumi base, Ajaran
First Deputy Minister for Health, Labor and Social Welfare Nugzar
Surmanidze indicated that planning was still in the early stages.
“Let [Russia] withdraw the bases and we’ll solve the problems with
help from our friends,” Surmanidze said, adding that he did not know
the number of Georgians employed at the base. Surmanidze’s response
suggested that assistance provided by the United States and the
European Union would comprise a vital part of any social-welfare
strategy.
Unanswered questions surround the work prospects for Georgians
employed as military personnel at the Batumi base. As part of their
service, these individuals also hold Russian citizenship. (The
Georgian constitution does not recognize dual citizenship). In a May
31 speech, Saakashvili announced that Georgian citizens employed as
military personnel at Russian bases would be eligible to transfer
into the Georgian armed services.
Saakashvili’s broad offer applies to only those `who are residents of
Georgia and who are citizens of Georgia’ otherwise, he offers
`guarantees of other employment or social benefits.’
Meanwhile, Russia is actively promoting a job replacement policy for
ethnic Georgian servicemen at the bases, and a visa assistance scheme
for their families. “In principle, they have all been offered to
continue [their] service in the Russian military outside of Georgia,”
Col. Vladimir Kuparadze, deputy commander of Russian troops in the
South Caucasus, said. “We have had discussions with soldiers and
sergeants on contract service, and the vast majority has agreed to
go.”
Kuparadze said it was “difficult to say” just how many servicemen
might permanently transfer into the Russian army, but added that a
large number of people want to take [Russian] citizenship. By his
estimates, some 850 ethnic Georgian “civilians and military
personnel” are located at the 12th base in Batumi. Figures are
similar for Akhalkalaki, he stated.
To facilitate that transfer, Kuparadze stated, the Russian embassy in
Tbilisi is considering simplifying procedures for family members of
Georgian service personnel who hold Russian citizenship to obtain
Russian passports. Yevgeni Ivanov, spokesperson for the embassy, said
that Russian law only allows the consulate to issue visas and
residency permits to these individuals.
Discussing a severance package for civilian personnel, Col. Kuparadze
said `Russian citizens’ will all receive a two-month salary,
approximately 400 lari ($222), as compensation as well as an
apartment in Russia and a pension upon reaching retirement age.
Representatives of the Georgian Defense Ministry, which is
responsible for the implementation of re-training and employment
programs, declined to comment for this article. A spokesperson for
Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that statements about re-employment
schemes could be made only after the government finalized plans
covering the future of the vacated Russian facilities.
Some officials appear reluctant to try to accommodate the base
workers. Giorgi Charkviani – an Ajaran representative of the office
of the Georgian ombudsman and public defender, who led rallies in
fall 2004 calling for Russia’s withdrawal from the Batumi base –
suggested that no formal re-employment program for Georgians working
at the 12th base exists because they have a “pro-Russia psychology,”
and because Russia already “offers them positions, pensions,
accommodation, and high salaries.”
Civilian base employees are readying themselves for a stiff drop in
pay. Monthly salaries for civilians at the 12th base average about
200 laris ($110.60), according to one construction worker at a
facility in Khelvachauri, about 10 kilometers from Batumi. By
comparison, salaries in Ajara average about 130 laris, or $65, per
month, according to the State Department for Statistics of Georgia.
“People from all over Ajara work at the [facilities],” said the
worker. “Our main concern is that we are able to take care of our
families.”
Fifteen percent of Ajara’s population of 400,000 is unemployed, said
Shavadze, the Ajaran finance official, who adds that 59 percent of
the region’s residents live under the poverty line. Those figures,
however, are several percentage points lower than 2004 numbers, a
fact attributed by Shavadze to new construction jobs and an improving
regional economy. Local leaders seem to be aware that the base
withdrawal could add to the existing unemployment problem. “We are
facing serious social problems,” Shavadze said.
Shavadze and other regional officials hope a strategy to develop
tourism in Ajara could alleviate the economic damage done by the
Russian troops’ departure. “Our main economic direction is
privatization, and our concentration is on tourism – to sell hotels and
tourist centers,” said Shavadze.
The Gonio training ground, which includes a firing range and
approximately 40 hectares of seaside property, will be turned into a
“resort town like Las Vegas,” according to Ajaran Minister of Tourism
Temur Zoidze. President Saakashvili himself has traveled frequently
to Ajara this summer to promote the region as a tourist destination.
Some 35,000 tourists, mostly Georgian, are estimated to have visited
Ajara so far in 2005. Roughly 11,000 visited in 2004, Zoidze said.
The numbers for May and June 2005 alone mark a three-fold increase
over the same period in 2004, he claimed.
Some base workers are skeptical that tourism will enable them to make
up for lost revenue following the withdrawal. “You can’t find jobs,
everyone employs their own relatives,” complained one kiosk-owner in
Khelvachauri.
“Tourists won’t reach us,” added the construction worker from
Khelvachauri.
Editor’s Note: Theresa Freese, a graduate of The Johns Hopkins
University School of Advanced International Studies, is a freelance
journalist and political analyst who has been conducting research on
unresolved conflicts in the South Caucasus since 2003. Timothy
Blauvelt provided translation assistance for this article.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress