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Monday,
August 13,
2007, #153 (1420)
By Ana Datiashvili President Mikheil Saakashvili opened a youth patriot camp August 11 in Abkhazia's upper Kodori Gorge, the only part of the secessionist region controlled by Georgia. Saakashvili announced at a press conference the day before, somewhat cryptically, that he would be "going to Abkhazia for several days for a holiday." It became clear the next day what he would be doing: the president's press office confirmed he will indeed spend a short vacation there, along with about 160 adolescent campers. The new youth camp has been built on the former location of a well-known Soviet-era camp, called Abkhazia. The area was a favourite vacation spot for Georgians and foreigners, but was largely destroyed during the secessionist conflict. Teenaged camp participants eagerly awaited the president, busily readying the area for his speech. "My friends and I are trying to have everything in order. Right now I'm painting the Georgian flag and I hope the president will like it," said Irina Gordeziani, one of the campers. Saakashvili, flanked by officials, met with the teenagers and played table tennis with them. "These children want to be here, because this is a wonderful place and I'm sure that this camp will always be a good place for Georgian and Abkhazian children to relax," Davit Kirkitadze, secretary general of the ruling National Movement party, told Rustavi 2 on August 11. Saakashvili touched on conflict issues as he addressed youths at the camp, stressing the peaceful nature of Georgia's control over upper Kodori Gorge. He suggested the answer to easing tensions in the region lies in improving infrastructure. "Our peaceful policy is a policy of discotheques, it is a policy of youth camps, movie theatres; this is a policy of education, civilization, which denies the logic of aggression and weapons," stated Saakashvili. Some campers rallied to the cause. "We hope that next year we will have summer holidays in Sokhumi. I want to remind the Russians that Georgians right now are in Abkhazia," said one attendee, Giorgi Daraselia. "The noise of their helicopters will be overshadowed by our new hit songs, dancing, by our relationships and our optimism," declared Saakashvili. He was alluding to an incident in March when military helicopters allegedly entered Georgian airspace over Tbilisi-controlled upper Kodori Gorge and shelled a local administrative building. A recent UN observer mission report implied, but did not conclude, Russian involvement. The Kodori youth camp opening comes soon after a UN Secretary General's report recommended closing down a similar camp in Ganmukhuri, just outside the boundaries of separatist-controlled Abkhazia. "In order to reduce the likelihood of incidents, the United Nations joins the Group of Friends in calling on the government of Georgia to move the [patriot youth camp in Ganmukhuri] away from the security zone," the report stated on July 23. When Speaker of Parliament Nino Burjanadze visited the Ganmukhuri camp that same day, she also emphasized the significance of its location, but gave no indication Tbilisi would follow that advice. "The fact that this camp is located on the Georgian-Abkhazian administrative border has a very emotional and political meaning. Questions like 'Shall we ever return to Abkhazia' are no longer heard. Problems of Abkhazia and Samachablo [the conflict zone around Tskhinvali, South Ossetia] will be resolved soon," Burjanadze said. Saakashvili ended his speech at the camp by promising the young Georgians that they would soon be able to visit Sokhumi using a road from Zugdidi to Kodori Gorge and Marukhi Pass which is now under construction.
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Saakashvili
opens youth patriot camp in Upper Abkhazia
