Georgia Watch: Feb. 27

Regular readers of this blog (all 9 of you ;) may recall a few pieces
I've done on Georgia (the former Soviet republic, not the state). I
know it was approximately 10,000 news cycles ago, but a few weeks back
the Georgian people overthrew their president in a stunning "velvet
revolution".
Within days of swearing in the replacement president, US Secretary of
State Colin Powell was on his way to Georgia to show support for the
new administration. It struck me as strange that America would take an
interest in such a small, seemingly inconsequential state. Obviously,
my first inclination was to follow the oil. After looking into the
situation a bit further I realized that the Bush cabal wasn't
interested in Georgia, but rather a smaller breakaway country called
Adjara. Adjara, though not having energy reserves itself, is the
corridor for a $3 billion pipeline through which huge supplies in
Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan must pass through to reach the
West.
And wouldn't you know it? Immediately following the coup some very
shady things started happening in Adjara:

• The Adjaran Government (on the SW border of Georgia) is claiming to have uncovered a secret Georgian plot to seize the republic and it's capitol city of Batumi
  
  
• The Head of Emergency Situations Department of Adjara was shot in the head by an unknown gunman five days ago.
  
  
• An intrinsic part of today�s oil transport network is the Batumi Oil Transport Facility.
  
  
• Both Anadarko and Chevron have been "long time users" of the Batumi Oil Transport Facility in Adjara.
  
  
• Condoleeza Rice was on the Board of Directors for Chevron.
  
  
• Bush created/served as a consultant to Anadarko.
  
  
• This weekend, Colin Powell is heading to Georgia to offer the new president a "symbolic stamp of U.S. approval."

(in-depth post here)

On February 25, the US Information Office issued this press release:

The president of Adjara, an autonomous region of the
republic of Georgia, has expressed "profound concerns" in a letter to
President Bush about mounting violence, intimidation and harassment by
the government of Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili against
independent media and political opposition parties.
"I write you to express profound concerns about recent and ongoing
tragic and unlawful actions by the President and federal security
forces that violate our constitution and threaten the prospects of
free, fair and democratic parliamentary elections on March 28," Adjaran
President Aslan Abashidze wrote to Mr. Bush.
Saakashvili, who met with Mr. Bush today, has instigated an increasing
wave of street violence and intimidation in the Georgian capital,
Tbilisi, and in Adjara, the autonomous region whose capital, Batumi, is
a major Black Sea port.
Saakashvili has made an "escalating series of reckless and bellicose
statements threatening the constitutionally guaranteed autonomy of
Adjara," Abashidze said. "In recently nationally televised comments, he
has declared that he has sufficient forces to invade and occupy Adjara
and has threatened to launch air strikes against Batumi.
Alarmingly, this appears to be his notion of how democracy should
function and his approach to addressing opinions that may differ from
his own world view.
"To put this in a parallel American context, this would be tantamount
to a U.S. President threatening to use U.S. military forces to bomb
Austin and invade and occupy Texas. Such an outrage would be
inconceivable to all Americans. Unfortunately, we find ourselves
confronted by a reality that is equally incomprehensible."
In recent days, Saakashvili's security forces have raided the parent
company of Iberia Television, an independent media outlet, and locked
out its workers. Several Adjaran citizens were injured in street
violence in Batumi last Friday (2/20), which was accompanied by gunfire.

There is an overt power grab going on in Georgia. By summer, I'll give
2 to 1 odds that Anadarko and Chevron are in control of the Batumi Oil
Transport Facility. As always, I'll keep my eye on this story as it
continues to unfold.

Posted by flow Frazao on February 27, 2004 at 08:56 PM | Permalink