Only two days ago, Georgian troops moved into the Kodori Gorge, a small area within the breakaway region of Abkhazia. The ostensible reason was “anti-criminal” operations that drew fire from both the unrecognized Abkhazian government as well as from Moscow. Yet, the actual reason is now clear. Georgia plans to relocate the legitimate Abkhazian government to the area. It has been in exile in Tbilsi since Abkhazian separatists drove them out in the early 90s. Civil.ge reports:
In a televised address to the nation on July 27, President Saakashvili said that the anti-criminal operation against rebel militia members in upper Kodori gorge to restore the government’s control over the area, which is the only Georgian-administered part of breakaway Abkhazia, has been “successfully completed.”Â?Saakashvili also commented on some of the details of the operation, which started in the gorge on July 25 ““ three days after the local warlord Emzar Kvitsiani and his militia announced their defiance towards the central authorities. Officials said late on July 27 that Kvitsiani has most likely escaped to Abkhaz-controlled territory, and is most likely in Sokhumi.
While sneaking in the original government under such a guise is a seemingly obvious trick, Reuters notes that
The northern part of the Kodori gorge has until now been a lawless no-man’s land. A formal ceasefire deal between Tbilisi and the separatists, struck in 1994, ceded control of the northern part of the gorge to the Georgian government.
Susan who’s living in Georgia currently has some background while Sean-Paul Kelley writing at Registan thinks that Saakashvili may be able to pull off such a move and ultimately be able to retake Abkhazia but the Abkhazians aren’t having any of it:
Georgia’s breakaway region of Abkhazia today said it will have “no choice but to use force” if Georgia goes ahead with plans to establish the Abkhaz government-in-exile to the region.
One thing is for certain, until these conflicts are solved once and for all, they’ll continue to flare up like the current fighting in Lebanon. More evidence of the dangers of peace and the uselessness of ceasefires that maintain the status quo. Someone has to win.
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COMMENTS / 10 COMMENTS
The Agonist added these pithy words on Jul 29 06 at 6:28 amStatus Quo Versus Revolutionary Power
So very, very exceptional, as in American exceptionalism:
One thing is for certain, until these conflicts are solved once and for all, they’ll continue to flare up like the current fighting in Lebanon. More evidence of the dangers of peace and the usel
ComingAnarchy.com » Blog Archive » A Recipe for Inaction added these pithy words on Jul 29 06 at 12:16 pm[...] It seems that The Agonist has picked up on my previous post on Georgia and Abkhazia and dished out a little disagreement: [...]
ComingAnarchy.com » Blog Archive » Token Withdrawl? added these pithy words on Jul 31 06 at 12:04 pm[...] Yet, has Moscow’s tactic backfired? Georgian troops have now moved into Abkhazia ostensibly to respond to the threat from the Kodori Valley/Gorge. Yet, while advertised as an “anti-criminal” operation, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili was quick to go on the political offensive and moved the Abkhaz goverment-in-exile back into the region which Tbilsi still controls. [...]
ComingAnarchy.com » Blog Archive » Georgia: Little Engine that Can? added these pithy words on Oct 14 06 at 3:53 pm[...] John Robb suggests Georgia adopt GG methods to attack Russia’s energy infrastructure which would provide just that. His analysis of Russia’s vulnerability and the ease of attack is spot on, but he misses the bigger picture, namely that Russia would have to know Georgia was behind it but Georgia would have to deny it vehemently. In addition, such an overreaction would surely bring Russian military action with legitimate justification to boot. While provoking what seemed to be an overreaction worked well for Hizballah, that doesn’t translate into a smart move for Tbilisi. Saakashvili’s best move is to keep his conflicts in the spotlight, avoid direct confrontation with Russia and engineer situations which provide cover for forcing the issue and letting Georgia set terms such as the Kodori Gorge Operation. [...]
Nathan Hamm added these pithy words on 28 Jul 06 at 1:42 pmSean-Paul Kelley of The Agonist is actually the guy who wrote the post at my site. Every now an then something like that happens to throw everyone off :)
Elizabeth added these pithy words on 28 Jul 06 at 4:42 pm“until these conflicts are solved once and for all…”
I agree, though it’s very sad to think of what some sides would do if they won. Especially if we look at Chechnya, where it appears that they will be fighting to the last Chechen.
Mi-Hwa added these pithy words on 29 Jul 06 at 4:09 amSometimes a cease-fire is better than letting a war get out of control or causing mass carnage to civilians.
For example, the Korean War stopped with a cease-fire, and that has brought peace for 53 years.
As for Lebanon, most countries are calling for an immediate cease-fire. A diplomatic solution should be given a chance. The Bush Admin.’s refusal to call for a cease-fire in Lebanon is going to harm America’s reputation for a long time.
Dan tdaxp added these pithy words on 29 Jul 06 at 1:33 pm
For example, the Korean War stopped with a cease-fire, and that has brought peace for 53 years.Well, certainly not peace for those trapped under the DPRK government. The Republic of Korea apparently calculates that half-a-century of death by an occupation government for those trapped on the north is a fair trade for the highly militarized peace of those living free in the South. I wonder if they are right.
Chirol added these pithy words on 29 Jul 06 at 1:40 pmDan: Indeed. Had we even attacked N. Korea in the 90s, less people would have died then than the amount who’ve died within NK alone since then.
