Peacekeeping_4.qxd 1/14/07 2:28 PM Page 98

4.1

Abkhazia-

Despite promising signs at the end of 2005, population. The Georgian government contin- the past year brought little progress in determin- ued to request UNOMIG for an expansion of ing the status of the breakaway Abkhaz repub- its monitoring of human rights violations lic. In fact, the prospects for a mutually agree- against ethnic Georgians, and for an interna- able solution appear less likely. A general tional police force for Gali. Presently, eleven decline in Russo-Georgian relations, along with UNOMIG police personnel operate on the efforts to link the dispute to the outcome of the Georgian side of the administrative border in Kosovo status negotiations, exacerbated an the region of , but none are deployed already tense situation. Violence erupted in late within the Abkhaz part of the conflict zone. summer when Georgian forces entered the The outgoing UN Secretary-General’s Special Kodori Gorge en masse, ostensibly in pursuit of Representative to Georgia, Heidi Tagliavini, a local warlord. argued on 22 June that the presence of peace- The UN Observer Mission in Georgia keepers and UN observers in the conflict zone (UNOMIG) was established in August 1993 is the only factor preventing the situation from to monitor a July cease-fire between Georgia spiraling out of control. and , which declared its indepen- On 28 March 2006, Security Council Res- dence from Georgia in July 1992. Before the olution 1666 extended UNOMIG’s mandate UNOMIG team was fully deployed, the cease- by six months, and reaffirmed the Council’s fire broke and hostilities resumed. In spring commitment to the territorial integrity of 1994, negotiations culminated in the “Agree- Georgia. While the United Nations has always ment on a Cease-Fire and Separation of supported Georgia’s territorial integrity, the Forces,” also known as the Moscow Agree- Russian Federation moved closer to acknowl- ment. The Moscow Agreement created the edging the independence of Abkhazia during Commonwealth of Independent States Peace- the year under review. Throughout the spring, keeping Force in Abkhazia-Georgia (CISPKF), President Vladimir Putin and foreign minister drawing on the over 1,000 Russian troops Sergei Lavrov continued to promote the con- already present in the conflict zone. The cept of referenda on independence in contested CISPKF responsibilities include maintaining areas of the CIS, hintin at the possibility of the cease-fire, promoting the safe return of official recognition of the separatist republics refugees, supervising the implementation of within the former Soviet Union. Despite con- the Moscow Agreement, and maintaining a cerns about the safety of ethnic Georgians, the “security zone” free of armed forces and CISPKF is generally seen by international heavy military equipment. observers as a stabilizing force in the region. Human rights and security issues were the In early May 2006 the Abkhaz administra- primary source of tension in the early part of tion released a peace plan that envisioned 2006, with January bringing a surge of rob- “fundamentally new, neighborly relations” beries and kidnappings to the Gali region, a between Abkhazia and Georgia as independent part of Abkhazia with a significant Georgian states, and also demanded an apology from the

98 Peacekeeping_4.qxd 1/14/07 2:28 PM Page 99

ABKHAZIA-GEORGIA • 99

Georgian government for its policy of “war out coming to a definitive conclusion. Mean- and intimidation.” A Georgian peace initiative while, Russia has stated that it does not intend released on 9 June offered Abkhazia “broad to withdraw its peacekeepers from the conflict internal sovereignty” based on the principles zone, particularly as the majority of Abkhaz of federalism. Both plans were rejected and have received Russian passports. the governments pledged further negotiations. In early October 2006, after Russo-Geor- As 2006 drew to a close, negotiations had gian relations hit a new low following the been suspended as a result of a breakdown in arrest of four Russian officers accused of espi- relations between and Sukhumi follow- onage, Georgia acceded to Russia’s demand to ing Georgia’s July incursion into the Kodori allow Russian CISPKF troops to inspect the Gorge. upper Kodori Gorge. Despite this compromise The Kodori Gorge is located in the north solution, Russia’s relationship with Georgia of Abkhazia, on the Russian border, and has remained extremely strained, and the situation been under nominal Georgian jurisdiction in Abkhazia remained tense. since 1994. It has long been controlled by local leader Emzar Kvitsiani, who on 23 July 2006 announced that he no longer recognized Tbilisi’s authority over the region. Georgia’s subsequent deployment of over a thousand UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) police and special forces into the Kodori Gorge neutralized Kvitsiani’s militia with a minimum of casualties, but Kvitsiani himself • Authorization and 24 August 1993 (UNSC Res. 858) escaped. start date The significant Georgian military pres- • SRSG Jean Arnault (France) ence in Kodori prompted unease in Moscow • Chief military observer Major-General Niaz Mohammad Khan and Sukhumi. Russia accused Georgia of vio- Khattak (Pakistan) lating the terms of the 1994 cease-fire, which • Senior police adviser Alexey Telichkin (Ukraine) • Budget $33.4 million (1 July 2006–30 June 2007) called for the demilitarization of the Kodori • Strength as of Military observers: 121 Gorge. This position was accepted at the UN, 30 September 2006 Civilian police: 13 where a Security Council resolution unusually International civilian staff: 100 critical of Geogia was passed on 13 October. Local civilian staff: 180 Georgian president ’s UN volunteer: 1 statement, on 27 July 2006, that he planned to For detailed mission information see p. 356. install the Abkhaz government-in-exile in the upper Kodori region increased tensions. The situation worsened significantly when Georgia announced that it would not allow the CISPKF CIS Peacekeeping Force in Abkhazia-Georgia (CISPKF) to patrol the Kodori Gorge, preferring instead that the valley be patrolled by Georgian forces • Authorization date 21 October 1994 (CIS Council of and UNOMIG. Collective Security) and 21 July 1994 The debate over monitoring of the upper (UNSC Res. 937) Kodori Gorge brought to the fore the question • Start date June 1994 of whether Georgia has the right to withdraw • Head of mission Major-General Sergei Chaban (Russia) its consent to the CIS peacekeeping mission. • Strength as of Troops: 1,600 Throughout the year, the Georgian parliament 30 September 2006 and legal advisers debated this question with-