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Politics from the Barrel of a Gun: Small Arms Proliferation and Conflict in the Republic of Georgia (1989–2001)

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Politics from the Barrel of a Gun: Small Arms Proliferation and Conflict in the Republic of Georgia (1989–2001) SMALL ARMS SURVEY 6 Occasional Paper No. 6 Politics From The Barrel of a Gun: Small Arms Proliferation and Conflict in the Republic of Georgia (1989–2001) Spyros Demetriou November 2002 A publication of the Small Arms Survey Politics from the Barrel of a Gun: Small Arms Proliferation and Conflict in the Republic of Georgia (1989–2001) Spyros Demetriou November 2002 A publication of the Small Arms Survey Spyros Demetriou The Small Arms Survey The Small Arms Survey is an independent research project located at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland. It is also linked to the Graduate Institute’s Programme for Strategic and International Security Studies. Established in 1999, the project is supported by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, and by contributions from the Governments of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. It collaborates with research institutes and non-governmental organizations in many countries including Brazil, Canada, Georgia, Germany, India, Israel, Norway, the Russian Federation, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Small Arms Survey occasional paper series presents new and substantial research findings by proj- ect staff and commissioned researchers on data, methodological, and conceptual issues related to small arms, or detailed country and regional case studies. The series is published periodically and is available in hard copy and on the project’s web site. Small Arms Survey Phone: + 41 22 908 5777 Graduate Institute of International Studies Fax: + 41 22 732 2738 1st Floor, 12 Avenue de Sécheron Email: [email protected] 1202 Geneva Web site: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org Switzerland Page ii Occasional Papers No. 1 Re-Armament in Sierra Leone: One Year After the Lomé Peace Agreement, by Eric Berman, December 2000 No. 2 Removing Small Arms from Society: A Review of Weapons Collection and Destruction Programmes, by Sami Faltas, Glenn McDonald, and Camilla Waszink, July 2001 No. 3 Legal Controls on Small Arms and Light Weapons in Southeast Asia, by Katherine Kramer (with Nonviolence International Southeast Asia), July 2001 No. 4 Shining a Light on Small Arms Exports: The Record of State Transparency, by Maria Haug, Martin Langvandslien, Lora Lumpe, and Nic Marsh (with NISAT), January 2002 No. 5 Stray Bullets: The Impact of Small Arms Misuse in Central America, by William Godnick, with Robert Muggah and Camilla Waszink, November 2002 No. 6 Politics from the Barrel of a Gun: Small Arms Proliferation and Conflict in the Republic of Georgia, by Spyros Demetriou, November 2002 Occasional Paper No. 6 Small Arms Survey Small Arms Proliferation and Conflict in the Republic of Georgia Contents Acronyms iv About the author v Acknowledgements vi Map of the Republic of Georgia viii Introduction 1 I. The tragedy of Georgian independence 3 The roots of the conflict 3 The conflicts of independence, 1989–1993 4 II. Evolution in availability of SALW 8 Sources of small arms and light weapons, 1989–1993 8 The magnitude of small arms proliferation, 1989–1993 15 III. Opening Pandora’s box: Small arms and the transformation of conflict, 1989–1993 22 Introduction 22 The progressive militarization of politics in Georgia 22 From social violence to full-scale war: Conflict dynamics in Georgia, 1989–1993 25 Page iii Facilitating Russian intervention 28 The human cost of SALW proliferation 29 IV. Consequences of SALW availability and use in the post-conflict period, 1994–2001 29 Introduction 29 Restoring order under Shevardnadze 30 The ineffectiveness of weapons collection and the new regulations 33 Where do the weapons go? 36 Continued weapons proliferation and institutional incapacity 38 Small arms and insecurity in Abkhazia 39 V. Conclusion 50 Endnotes 52 Bibliography 56 Small Arms Survey Occasional Paper No. 6 Spyros Demetriou Acronyms AK Generic designation for Kalashnikov assault rifles AO Autonomous Oblast (region) APC Armoured personnel carrier AR Autonomous Region ASSR Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic BSEC Black Sea Economic Cooperation CIS Commonwealth of Independent States CISPKF CIS Peace-keeping Forces DOSAAF Society for Support of the Army, Air Force and Navy EAPC Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council EU European Union FSU Former Soviet Union GCP Georgian Communist Party GDF Georgian Defence Foundation GRVZ Group of Russian Forces in the Transcaucasus GUUAM Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Armenia, and Moldova (regional alliance) ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross IDP Internally displaced person JPKF Joint Peace-keeping Force iv KGB State Committee for Security KOMSOMOL All-Union Leninist League of Youth KGNK Confederation of Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus KNK Confederation of Peoples of the Caucasus MFA Ministry of Foreign Affairs MIA Ministry of Internal Affairs MOD Ministry of Defence MSF Médecins Sans Frontières MVD Ministry of Internal Affairs NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization NKAO Nagorno Karabach Autonomous Oblast OMON Special Purpose Military Detachment OSCE Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Occasional Paper No. 6 Small Arms Survey Small Arms Proliferation and Conflict in the Republic of Georgia PfP Partnership for Peace PMG Paramilitary group RPG Rocket-propelled grenade (launcher) SALW Small arms and light weapons SAS Small Arms Survey SPETSNAZ Soviet Special Purposes Forces SSR Soviet Socialist Republic TRACECA Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia UN United Nations UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNOMIG United Nations Observation Mission in Georgia UNSG United Nations Secretary-General UNSO Ukrainian Self-Defence Organization USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics WWII Second World War ZakVO Transcaucasian Military District v Small Arms Survey Occasional Paper No. 6 Spyros Demetriou About the author Spyros Demetriou is a graduate of the Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva, Switzerland. He worked as a researcher at the Small Arms Survey between 1999 and 2001, after which he was appointed as a small arms regional liaison specialist at the United Nations Development Programme. Acknowledgements The author would like to express his gratitude to numerous individuals and organizations who provided essential support, advice and information, and without whom this work would not have been possible. Their courage in speaking on the issue of small arms brings hope that this problem can one day be addressed in Georgia. For reasons of security, they cannot be named. Special thanks to the staff at the Centre for Civil-Military Relations and Security Studies in Tbilisi, Georgia for their hospitality and support. Additional thanks go to the Small Arms Survey: Peter Batchelor, Nicolas Florquin, Aaron Karp, Anna Khakee, Estelle Jobson and Robert Muggah for their content knowledge, editing and input. Thanks too are due to our copyeditor, Michael James. Page vi Occasional Paper No. 6 Small Arms Survey Small Arms Proliferation and Conflict in the Republic of Georgia Page vii © Irakli Aladashvili Small Arms Survey Occasional Paper No. 6 Spyros Demetriou Republic of Georgia RUSSIAN FEDERATION Gudauta Sokhumi Tsalenjikha viii Tskhinvali Kutaisi BLACK SEA GEORGIA Lagodekhi Akhmeta Tbilisi AZER. Akhalsikke Batumi Rustavi Akhalkalaki TURKEY ARMENIA AZERBAIJAN Occasional Paper No. 6 Small Arms Survey Small Arms Proliferation and Conflict in the Republic of Georgia Introduction Over ten years have elapsed since the Soviet Union collapsed in late 1991. Radical transitions from one political system to another are by definition conflict-prone, involving fierce competition between differing visions, fluid political affiliations, social activism, power vacuums, and severe economic crises—if not collapse. In such contexts of instability and uncertainty, the recourse to armed vio- lence—as a form of expression and an instrument of power—is an attractive option. The collapse of the USSR engendered a radical transition culminating in the creation of 15 internationally recognized states. Although for the most part surprisingly peaceful, the transition to independence in four states— Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Moldova, and Georgia—was marked by widespread violence. This study focuses on one of these states, Georgia, and on one particular part of the violent transition to independence in Georgia, namely, the role played by small arms and light weapons. It attempts to shed light on how small arms proliferation and use framed the several conflicts that characterized Georgia’s transition to independence, continue to perpetuate widespread insecurity and instability, and hinder development and reconstruction. In so doing, this study hopes to shed light on the human costs of Soviet collapse, and in particular the devastating impacts of armed violence as a means to achieve post-Soviet political objectives. Georgia is a particularly interesting case to study in that, in the course of the conflict, weapons avail- Page 1 ability went from low to high. At the outset of the conflict, small arms were a scarce commodity, but, with the collapse of the Soviet Union in late 1991, arms from the Soviet military bases located in Georgia became widely available. This makes it possible to study the consequences of weapons transfers on conflict dynamics. Far more than simply being instruments of violence, small arms have served to catalyse conflict, increasing its scope and lethality, and led to the progressive militariza- tion
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