|
Thursday,
July 26,
2007, #141 (1408)
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s latest report on Abkhazia has sparked diverse reactions, not only among the conflict sides but also within the Georgian political spectrum. On July 23, in a report to the UN Security Council, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern over Georgia and Abkhazia’s “suspended dialogue” and called on the conflicting sides to “redouble their efforts” to avoid a renewal of hostilities. The biggest reaction was over the recommendation to relocate one of Georgia’s state-funded youth patriot camp currently located very near the conflict zone. Both the Group of Friends and Ban’s UN report strongly recommended that the camp for teens, located in the village of Ganmukhuri, be moved a safe distance from the unstable zone. Ganmukhuri village is less than one kilometer from Abkhaz-controlled territory in the conflict zone. The UN said it was necessary to move the camp “in order to reduce the possibility of incidents” and prevent further escalation of conflict between the Georgian and Abkhazian sides. New Rights MP Pikria Chikhradze said that unfortunately, the camp which had never been anything more than a PR stunt for “domestic consumption” has turned into a source of international criticism. Another opposition member, Salome Zourabichvili, former foreign minister and leader of the political party Georgia’s Way, claimed that instead of strengthening its international position, Georgia is being criticized. Zourabichvili said to resume dialogue there is no necessity to set up a camp in an area that strains the situation. She publicly denounced the location of the camp, even before it opened on May 26. “Our mistake is that we [our government] often use the wrong rhetoric…this upsets the international community, whose support we need. We must do more and talk less, in order to avoid these negative evaluations,” Zourabichvili declared on an Imedi radio talk show. Kote Gabashvili, chair of the parliamentary Foreign Relations Committee, however doubts that UN resolutions or reports of these kind will have any serious impact on molding international opinion. He says making a big deal of this minor issue is an attempt to “pander to Russia.” “There is no need to devote excessive attention to a routine, intermediary report. It was Russia’s attempt to discredit Georgia before the UN discusses the UNOMIG report on the March 11 Kodori military attack on Thursday,” Gabashvili told The Messenger. Davit Bakradze, State Minister for Conflict Resolution, agrees saying that an organization like the UN should instead highlight issues like the return of IDPs and real steps towards conflict settlement, rather than focus on some “technical issues.” Political analyst Paata Zakareishvili says he agrees with many of the opinions voiced including the hollow PR character of the Ganmukhuri camp issue, and also doubts that the international community will be influenced by such reports. “The international community doesn’t care about these reports. This only influences Georgia. Yes, from a legal perspective, it’s absolutely legitimate to arrange a camp wherever you wish, on Georgia’s territory. But is it politically expedient? That’s what we should look at,” he adds. Meanwhile Moscow and Sokhumi have unanimously announced their complete satisfaction with the UN Secretary General’s report. Russian deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Yakovenko also showed his approval of the UN report by saying it reflected Georgia’s numerous violations of a major agreement on the separation of forces. De facto Abkhaz foreign minister Sergey Shamba responded by saying, “We are pleasantly surprised that the international community is directly calling on the Georgian side to relocate the youth camp on the border of Abkhazia to another place,” adding pessimistically that “Georgia continues to ignore the suggestions of the international community,” the de facto president’s website quoted Shamba as saying on July 24. Tbilisi hailed this recommendation offering “such measures would undoubtedly increase the Mission’s operational capabilities, including its monitoring and observing capacities in the sensitive areas of operation.” Paata Davitaia, advocate for Abkhazian issues, believes a reopening of the observation post would be a sign that Georgia’s attempt at diplomacy failed. “I was not surprised by the report at all, but actually the reactivation of the UN observer office in Kodori, will literally mean allowing Russian peacekeeping forces in Georgia-controlled upper Abkhazia, as part of a quadripartite group,” Davitaia says |
UN Abkhazia Report Draws Praise and Fire
