M 8

- / A u c WAR IN THE

BYZOLTAN, GROSSMAN

WHILE world attention has focussed tary presence in the Caucasus. have a clear picture ofwhat is happening on the Balkans, another center of geopo- In addition, autonomous ethnic re- doesn't know what they are talking litical rivalry has erupted into war: the publics within' the newly independent about." Caucasus.TheCaucasusregionlaysalong states - aswellasin neighboringsouth- the 'fault line' between and ern - are pressing for their sov- GEORGIA both the Sunni and Shiite branches of ereign rights (see dark shaded areas on Georgia is an ancient Christian na- . More importantly, the area has map). Most of the current fighting is tion, with its own distinct alphabet and historically been foughtover by the three centered in these autonomous regions, Orthodox' patriarch. Ethnic main regional powers - the , but the seemingly random flare-ups were aided by fellow Orthodox Russians the Ottomans (Turks) and the Persians should not be seen as isolated from one against the , which con- (Iranians). New fighting within and be- another. Any secessions or boundary trolled the Black Sea coast until 1829. tween Caucasian states eerily recalls the changes could easily lead to a maelstrom After Moscowannexed their lands, Geor- proxy wars of long ago, including the ofviolence, and more direct involvement gians became among the most indepen- Crimean War (1853-56) and the two by Russia, Turkey, Iran and other pow- dence-minded of all the peoples in the " world wars. Yetthe newwarfare isbeing ers. Nonviolence International's repre- . However, it was an waged with the modern ferocity of MiG sentative for the ex-USSR, Andrei ethnic Georgian, Josef Dzhugashvili jets, tanks, and "ethnic cleansing." Kamenshikov, recently returned from the (later Stalin), who blocked any moves The breakup of the in war in Georgia. He comments, "The toward sovereignty. December 1991 brought independence Caucasus are very unpredictable. Issues When Georgia's independence move- to the three Transcaucasian republics of cannot be simplified and there are many ment won its longtime goal in 1991, it Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. They different-- - -players.- Anyone who says they became the first ex-SOvietrepublic out- had briefly achieved independence from $lW' Russia after World War I, only to be ,Ii' \'i . \ incorporated into the new Soviet state. \ -- Soviet dictator Josef Stalin artificially \ drewboundaries betweenthese republics in a way to guarantee strife among any future independence movements. Today, many of Stalin's ethnic 'booby traps' are goingoff,and 's divide-and-con- quer strategy is bearing fruit. In Georgia and Armenia, Moscow still has thousandsofbordertroops guard- ing the former Soviet frontier. On Octo- ber 6, only days after the Russian Army crushed the Moscowrebellion, President Boris Yeltsin asked for ~ revision in the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Eu- rope to allow for a greater Russian mili-

1"4- Zoltan Grossman a professional cartographer " in JI,{adison, Wisconsin, is active in Native " ~ American support grOllpS. He writes OIl issues Tens of thousands of people forced from their Azeri villages by advancing Armenian of geopolitics and indigenOlls peoples. Author's troops now live ill refugee camps. Iran provides tents and rice. Photo ({;)1993Jason permission required before reprinting. Eskenazi, Impact Visuals

8 THE NONVIOLENT ACTIVIST/JANUARY.FEBRUARY 1994 .sid~the Baltics not tojoin the new Com- killers were tied to a rebel group. soon captured Gamsakhurdia's strong- monwealth ofIndependent States (CIS). The year-long War in Abkhazia left. hold of Zugdidi. Shevardnadze was But the newgovernment fractured within over 3000 Clead.On September 27, 1993, quoted in the Christian ScienceMonitor weeks, andPres~dentZviad Gamsakhur- Abkhazian forces captured the republic as saying, "We now facethe threat of dia fled Thilisi after the national Capital capital ofS~humi. They droveoutPresi- famine, not only in Georgia but Armenia was damaged by fierce infighting. His dent Shevardnadze, who had desperately as well. Azerbaijan is also suffering eventual successor, former Soviet for-: 'issued appeals for military help ~oboth greatly." eign minister (and Geowan Communist his. rival Gamsakhurdia and Russian Later in 1993,Shevardnadzeagreed chief) Eduard Shevardnadze, drove . President Boris Yeltsin. Yeltsin sent to giveRussiafree basing rightsat the Gamsakhurdia from his stronghold in evacuation ships and warned Abkhazian port of Poti, raising fierce objections western Georgia to Chechnia, a seces- rebels to lift their siege of Sukhumi, but fromGeorgiannationalists. sionist republic in neighboring Russia. his defense minister Pavel Grachev said At the same time, Georgia' sown three that any Russian interventionary force ARMENIA autonomous ethnic regions pressed for would haveto disarm both sides, an offer Armenia is another ex-Soviet repub- autonomy or secession. First, South Shevardnadze refused. During the 11-. lic, with a long history of independence Ossetian nationalists fought for merger day siege, a peace march of Sukhumi and association With. Christianity. Its with Russia's North Ossetia. history has been dominated by a Second, ethnic Abkhaz - who struggle with neighboring Turks actually make up only one-fifth and Turkic . Before of Abkhazia 's population - be- World War I, the region of Arme- gan their fight for an indepen- ; nia was split between the Ottoman dent Abkhazia that would join Empire (in w~t is today most of Russia. ( and Abkhaz northeastern Turkey) and the Rus- in Georgia are both Orthodox sian Empire (in what is today the Christian peoples, though some country of Armenia). During the Muslim Abkhaz live in the adja- war, many foughtwith cent region of the Russian Allies against Otto- Russia.) Third, some Muslim man rule. Towards the end of the Ajars began to more peacefully war and in the period that foIlowed, agitate rorAjaria 's independence the Young Turk nationalist move- or its merger with Turkey (as ment took genocidal revenge brieflyoccurredin 1920-21). against Armenian civilians, kiIl- The Georgian government ing at least 600,000 and deporting '- accused the South Ossetians and two million more. An Armenian Abkhaz of merely serving as a diaspora was created in Syria, Leba- . front for Moscow, which it said non, Palestine, Iraq, France, the wanted to dismember Georgia in US and many other countries. The revenge for its refusal tojoin the ... successful "ethnic cleansing" of Ar- CIS. Soine Russian. troops did The Callcaslls.Map by ZoltanGrossman. menians from Turkey was later cited protect South OsseUan fighters by Adolf Hitler as a precedent for against the Georgian army, though Rus- women called for unity among ethnic his actions. There was little international sian troops have more recently served as Abkhaz, Georgians and Russians, say- outcry, though US President Woodrow peacekeeping Jorces jointly. with Geor- ing that the men on all sidesbore respon- Wilson proposed that all of Ottoman and gian forces. Russian officers and bomber sibility for the war. Russian Armenia become a US postwar pilots were captured while aiding After the fall of Sukhumi, mandate. Wilson's proposal shows an Abkhazian fighters, but it remains un- Shevardnadze aIleged that rebels had historic US interest in the region, though clear whether or not they represent a executed Georgian government officials, the Congress did not support it. Instead, rogue Russian nationalist element in the and that Russian forceshad overpowered the Russian part of Armenia joined a armed forces..The were also government troops. Gamsakhurdia then Transcaucasian federation that was soon aided by Russian Cossack.mercenaries returned from exile, announcing that he incorporated into the new Soviet Union, . and the Confederation of Mountain was the nationalist leader who could and the restbecamepart ofTurkey. . Peoples, a. group of ethnic minorities hold Georgia together, and vowing to In 1923, Stalin broke the Trans- who back independence from both Geor- topple Shevardnadze. The changing of caucasian republic into Georgia, Arme- gia and Russia, and who object to what Georgia's borders has led to more fight- nia, and Azerbaijan. In the process, he they call Georgian forced acculturation. ing among ethnic Georgians. Over purposely separated offa large partofthe The Georgian military (which has been 250,000 ethnic Georgians have fled ethnic Armenian population into implicated inserious human rights abuses Abkhazia. On October 8, Shevardnadze Azerbaijan in order to ensure that any in Abkhazia) has in turn received direct told Yeltsin that Georgia would acqui- future attempt at secession wouldbe dif- aid and training from the . esce to joining the CIS, and within 12 ficult. Most of these Armenians became One CIA agent training Georgian forces days Russian forces were deployed in part of the Nagorno-Karabakh autono- was killed elsewhere in the country, Western Georgia to protect vital supply mous republic within Azerbaijan, while though it remains unclear .whether the lines from Gamsakhurdia forces. They others ended up in the Nakhichevan en-

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~~, ,.. - During a demonstration for their president in the Central Square in Grozny, Chechen Republic, in Southern Russia, people take a moment for prayer.Photo~1993 by JasonEskenazi,Impact Visuals. - . clave of western Azerbaijan, and others open throughout much of the conflict. boring territory for "self defense." It is within Azerbaijan proper. Some ethnic Thetransport andenergycutoffhascaused this. development that threatens to in- Azens also ended up within Armenia. severe deprivation within Armenia, in- volve outside military forcessuchasthose In 1988, while still part of the Soviet cludingblackoutsinthe capitalofYerevan of Turkey and Iran. Union, an ethnic Armenian parliament that have led officials to reopena nuclear in Karabakh called for unification with reactor closed after a severe 1988earth- AZERBAIJAN Annenia. The move quickly turned into quake. According to the United Nations, Azerbaijanisthereal geopoliticalprize an ethnic Armenian rebellion, which 10,000 people have been killed in the in the Caucasus. The massive oil fields was backed by Anneniannationalists in war, while one million Azeris and half-a- around thecapitalofBaki (formerlyBaku) Annenia and its diaspora. Other ethnic million Armenians have been displaced. for years supplied the Soviet military- Armenians fled pogroms in Azerbaijani The conflict in Karabakh - the Rus- industrial complex.Azeris share a Turkic cities such as Sumqayit, while ethnic sian term Nagorno ('Highland') is rarely ethnic background with Turkey, and in- Azeris left Armenia and Karabakh in used now - has mostlybeen centered in dependent Azerbaijan is the cornerstone fear of the same. With the Soviet break- Karabakh itself. The tide ofbattle, which of Turkish plans for influencein ex- up in 1991, Karabakh declared itself an has shifted dramatically, rarely led to Soviet states. However, Azeris also share independent state determined to rejoin direct confrontation between the armed their Shiite Muslim religion with neigh- Annenia. The move was supported by forces of Armenia and Azerbaijan them- boring Iran, which also has historically Annenia, which joined the CIS and se- selves. In 1993, however, not only have competed for the region. Azerbaijan also cured someRussian military aidforKara- ethnic Armenians secured control over claims chunks of Armenia and Georgia, bakh Armenians (a number of Afghan Karabakh, but they and some fighters which both in turn claim sections of mujahadeen mercenaries have fought for from Armenia are now occupying one- Azerbaijan. . Azerbaijan). fifth of Azerbaijan, driving away thou- The interests of Russia, Turkey and . Azerbaijan retaliated by blockading sands of Azeri refugees. Karabakh had Iran can be seen clearly in recent devel- Armenia, including shutting offvital oil been territorially separated from Arme- opments in Azerbaijan. Moscow has pipelines and rail lines. Another oil pipe- nia, but the new conquests join them played its historical role in curbing the line through Georgia was blown up by together. Karabakh Armenian leader country's independence. Soon after its Azeri commandos, though another pipe- RobertKocharianseeshis enclavesas a 1991 independence, Azerbaijan joined line through Turkey strangely remained "second Israel" needing to occupyneigh- the CIS, but in 1992 nationalist Presi-

10 THE NONVIOLENT ACTIVIST/JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1994

.---..... -- -.-- -. -_.- -._..-- --- dent Albufaz Elchibey pulled the country of Naxc;ivan.) ish official denounced "a grand Russian out of the alliance. This year, a violent The boundary with Naxc;ivanis the design, a hidden hand in the Caucasus." military revolt ousted Elchibey, ostensi- sole territorial link that Turkey has with To make matters more complicated, bly due to the defeats he presided over in the five new ethnic Turkic states of the Naxc;ivan has historically been part of Karabakh. The parliament then restored ex-USSR - Azerbaijan; , Persia, joining Russia only in 1828. to power the pre-independence Commu- Turkmenistan, and Uzbeki- Though Azeris are fellow Shiites,Iran is nist Party chief Heydar Aliyev, who re-. .stan. Adherents ofpan-Turkism (the ide- no friend of Azeri nationalism. Most of joined the CIS. (Turkey and the US con- ology that all should be Northwestern Iran, in the region around tinue to recognize Elchibey as Azerbai- united) would like a stronger link be- Tabriz, is inhabited by ethnic Azeris. It jani president.) Aliyev is from Naxc;ivan tween Turkey and its new "sphere of wasoccupiedby SoviettroopsafterWorld' (formerly Nakhichevan), an enclave of influence." (This fact partly explains the War II, who withdrew only after Presi- Azerbaijan. ferocityofTurkish armyattacks onKurd- dent Truman issued a nuclear threat. Turkish leaders have often threatened ish separatists in southeastern Turkey, Iranian leaders fear that the example of to militarily support Azerbaijan in its who want to create an independent state an independent Azerbaijan could leadto war with Armenians. Turkey shares a that would cut Turkey off entirely from rebellion among Iranian Azeris and the two-mile border with Naxc;ivan, which Azerbaijan.) With the fall of Karabakh creationofa "Greater Azerbaijan"(which is separated from the rest of Azerbaijan and Armenian occupation of new Azeri would also create a larger Azeri border by a strip of southern Armenia. (Azerbai- territories, Turkish troops are poised with Turkey). While Tehran angered jan wants this strip as a corridor to along the frontier to protect Naxc;ivan.In many Azeris by maintaining neutrality Naxc;ivan,while Armeniaclaimsmuch the October 14New York Times, a Turk- throughout much ofthe Karabakh war, it

THE NONVIOLENT ACTIVIST/JANUARY.FEBRUARY1994 11 has recently moved Iranian troops into remains for the rivalry between Turkey. ethnic secession could start a virtual re- Azerbaijan to set up refugee camps for and Iran to grow violent where they most peat of the Soviet breakup. Mostly Mus- Azerisfleeing Armenianadvances. While feel their security is' at stake. Here, the lim autonomous republics -~th a total a humanitarian .gesture, the move also ethnic crises in the ex-USSR have a real of about 20 ethnic groups- formthe prevents thousands of nationalist refu- danger of spilling outside the former southern border of the newRussia, in the gees from entering Iranian Azerbaijan. Soviet frontier. area known as the North Caucasus. Many

At least 30,000 refugees have already . Thereis alsoa distinctpossibilityofa of these mountain peoples fi,ercely re- crossed the border fleeing Armenian direct United Nations military role in the sisted the imposition of Russian rule in forces, who have been burning villages context ofa peace settlement - involve- the 18th and 19th centuries, taking in- within sight of Iran. . ment that given recent trends could in- spiration from the Chechen Sufi leader The rivalry between Turkey and Iran volve US forces. In March 1992, then Sheikh Mansur (1732-94). InWorld War over influence in the e.x-SovietMuslim Secretary of State James Baker raised the II, after German invaders lost the war for states has pitted secularism against Is- possibility ofa NATO military role in the the oil-rich region, Stalin accuSedsome lamic fundamentalism, the Roman al- Karabakh crisis. There are a number of of the ethnic groups of collaboration. He phabet against the Arabic alphabet, and US bases nearby in the Kurdish region of exiledmany- the Chechen,Ingush, pro-US Turkish policies against (until southeasternTurkey. . , Karachay, and Kalmyks - to recently) anti-US Iranian policies. Iran Central ,thoughtheyhad their home- has lost the political battle for influence SOUTHERN RUSSIA lands restored after his death. in Azerbaijan to Turkey, and more re- Russia itself sees the Caucasus as When Russia replaced the Soviet cently to Russia. But the potential still amongits mostvulnerableflanks,where Union in 1991, some of the autonomous ! republics saw an opportunity for sover- I · eignty. In March 1992.President YeItsin l PEACE AND HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS signed the Federation Treaty. with 20 ethnic republics, promising them more WORKING ON THI; CAUCASUS . I ~. autonomy. In southern Russia, the treaty , was signed by. Adygea, Karachay- + Amnesty International (Moscow) Con- SEII .5HT,;Conta<;t:J~.!1athanCohen T~I~ Cherkessia,Kabardino-Balkaria,North I tact: Tanya SmlthTel. 7-095-291-29o.t <4<4~071...793-8383(Fax: 793-7975)1 Ossetia, , Ingushetia, and t , Longtimehuman rights trackingin.the Conflict resolution training in . The oI)ly two of the twenty- . region.Py~tigors~~~bar~in-~I~ia,~nd else! two republics that refused to sign were · ~~~~~' rich in oil - Tatarstan (in central Rus-

Armenia-Azerbaijan Initiative (Stanford. .. . .", sia), and Chechnia (in the Caucasus).' CA) Co~t3:F~:.Steve,Kadivar.J:el. .. t?- 1j.Memogai~t1o~ow) TeI.7+99~~.923-4~J.J In November 1991, the republic of 32S~7756 (Fax: 32S-7785) .. (fax: 973..209..) ...... Checheno-Ingushetia had seceded from "Buildinga Common Future" media- Human rights monitor:ing. I Russia. When YeItsin sent Russian com- ~Ionproiect. '.. '" ." w .JI-'~? mandos to the republic's capital of ; Nonviolence~nternationaJ;282 Fllow ~i.~ Grozny, they were surrounded at the Caucasian Institute for Peace. Democ- Norwalk,..CT..06850. Contact:'Andrel airport and YeItsin backed down. When iacyand Devel~pment (Tbiljsi)f7ax:8832- yKamen$bikovT el" 20J-866-'1s:4. ...;1....1 Chechen general JokharDudaevdeclared 950-855 .Obse rvingconflictsinAbkbazia,NortH independence, however, it was not nec- ," No~gov~r:nmentalan d. nonpartisan OS$etia.lngus?~~tla, elsewhere. ~ essarilya universallypopularmove. First, instit;uteln. . .Georgian capital.. d l1 t like elsewhere in Russia, the assertion of J Pax Christi' International. Oude autonomy has been carried out largelyby iHelsln'9 Ci~izen$ Ass~mbly,Panska?,G~Tar~ 2.'1'1OOO..£ku.~sels,Bel~~m~ regional leaders in order to preserve the

;prague+', Czech Republic. Contact Radha T et 322..502..5550 (Fax:S02--462~) '. I privileges they enjoyed in the Sovietera. Kumar,Tel. <422-220ISI(Fax:2209"8) Humanrightsfact-findinginCaucasus.- Sovereignty has not always been used to WinnersofOlofPalmePeacePrizeIn; 0 . i pass power to an oppressed minority, but conlund:ionwith Karabakh peace work. . Quaker Peace' andServlce,Fri~rids ironically to keep power in the hands of House. EustonRd.. London NWI ~BJ. a minority elite, or eveI}a local Russian ~e;lslnki Wat<;.h (Moscow) Contac~: Con.tact: Alan~.leydeIiTe.l,..tf-07J-3~7-i elite. (One ofYeltsin 's mainchallengers Rachel DanberT el. 7-095-241-0369 360I (Fax:38S: 1977).Also:Akademikan in the Moscow October revolt, Ruslan Human rights contacts in region. Kroleva..d9/2,Kv.2"3, 129515,Moscow, Khasbulatov, isan ethnic Chechen.) Sec- >. Russia...TeI.7~09S.;282..73"2. ~. <'"'... ' , ,-< ond, the Ingush did not want indepen- Institute of Ethnologyand Anthropology , Work on Karabakhcrisis;Bridgebuild- dence without first reclaiming territories (Moscow) Contact: Valery Tishkov Tel. Ing in N~rth Ossetla and Karach~Yi in North Ossetia, and 'seceded from the Cherkessla. .. ! 7-09~-938- IH7 (Fax: 938-0600) ! secessionists' to form Ingushetia. Third, Part of RussianAcademy of Sciences; , serious power struggles have split even works with Bruce AllynIn Boston (F~ StanleyFoundation (Muscatine, IA)Con-. the Chechen leadership. ~17-354-8467). tact: Dan Clark Tel. 319-263,.;3021 The Confederation of Mountain . Recently hosted conference on the Peoples(CMP)wantsto unitetheregion's International Alert. I Glyn St., London 'Caucasus. . autonomous republics in an independent North Caucasian Fed~ration.CMP fight-

12 THE NONVIOLENT ACTIVIST/JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1994

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ers aided Abkhazian forcesagainst Geor- Soon after the October putsch failed, covet the strategic position and resources gia, and have been active in defending police used Yeltsin' s state of emergency of the Caucasus. Like elseWherein the Chechnia from Russian forces. Ironi- to evict thousands of Azeri and Chechen , former Soviet bloc, economic 'shock cally, if Russian soldiers have aided tlie small merchants from Moscow. Non- therapy'.~nsures repayment of foreign Abkhazians in Georgia, they could find violence International's. Kamenshikov .bank loans more than it serves to im- their strategybackfIreas Caucasian fight- says that "what happens in Moscow prove living standards. .Kainenshikov ers fight for secession from Russia. Mos- affects the regions, but what happens in says that he ,does not see "too many cow has mediated Georgian- ~ the regional conflict zones also directly positive signs," whether in solving cur- Abkhazian talks, partly out of fear that impacts what happens in Moscow." rent conflicts or in defusing "time bombs session could spread into Russia~r the. While saying that the military does not ready to explode." North Caucuses) One ofthe reasonsMos- want a full-blown Caucasian war, The position of ,the US will most cow did not meet Georgia's request to Kamenshikov says that "Yeltsin now likely be to back its NATO ally Turkey , sealAbkhazia's borderwithRussiawas depends on the military more than the. against Iran"back the Georgian.govern- that it feared creating instability among military depends on him. The regions ment, use'the Karabakh crisis to extract the mountain peoples who have always were frightened byYeltsin's use offorce concessions from Armenia and oil from freely crossed the region's borders. But and may be more willing to cooperate, Azerbaijan, and to support Yeltsin's the Russians have little to worry about. but he s,hould expect more silent resis- crackdowns to preserve Russia's 'terri-

The dream of a united North Caucasus tance and sabotage." , torial integrity. ' In other wor4s, the self- has been severely tested by infIghting Whether in.Georgia, Armenia, Az- determination ofpeopleswhohavefought among the ethnic republics. Over 500 erbaijan, or southern Russia, the new for centuries against foreign rule will be were killed in late 1992as ethnic Ingush ethnic and political conflicts are clearly deemed as less critical than regional fought NOI1hOssetia over the disputed related. New leaders use violent ethnic "stability." The only real solution is for territory ofPrigorodny, creating an exo- strife to divert their own citizens' at- the ex-Soviet countries to turn into genu~ dus of 60,000 refugees. ' tention from worsening economic con- ine confederations, with equal sovereign ditions. Foreign regional powersjockey rights for each nationality. The blocking NO SOLUTIONS IN SIGHT for position, using local military forces of the inevitable drive toward sovereignty Facing pressure from Russian na- as easily as they dispose of them. Other will ensure that the present regional power tionalists, Yeltsin may not back down foreign powers, such as the United plays degenerate into an ethnic free-for- fromhis nextskirmishwithsecessionist States, turn a blind eye to abuses of all. In fact, that may be what has already forces, or with any ex-Soviet states. human and sovereign rights as they happened. .

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The sister of a 27-year-old soldier killed in the ongoing conflict between Georgia and Abkhazia is comforted duringfuneral serivices.Photo ~1993 by Jason Eskenazi, Impact Visuals.

THE NONVIOLENT ACTIVIST/JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1990413