Georgia Watch: Tensions Heighten

Looks like things are coming to a head in Georgia:

Tensions heightened in Georgia after police in the former
Soviet republic's semi-autonomous Adjara region barred President
Mikhail Saakashvili Sunday, March 14, from entering the coastal
province.
Saakashvili's motorcade was met with warning shots as it approached a
checkpoint near the town of Cholokhi , Agence France-Presse (AFP)
quoted the head of Georgia's Security Council as saying in televised
comments.
Head of Georgia's Joint Chiefs of Staff, Givi Yukuridze, told AFP that
the army has been put on a maximum state of alert.
Saakashvili, a 36-year-old firebrand who is Europe's youngest elected
head of state, discussed the situation during an emergency meeting with
his top security officials and Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania in Poti,
Yukuridze said.
Tanks were out in the streets of Adjara's capital Batumi, where
authorities were handing out arms to supporters, Merabishvili said.
�We have reliable information that the process of handing out arms to
the civilian population, which began a few days ago, is continuing�,
he said.
There were reports inside Adjara that local authorities had mobilized
tanks and were arming local people in anticipation of an attack by
Georgian government forces.
On Saturday, March 13, Adjara's head Aslan Abashidze charged that the
Georgian authorities were planning a coup against his leadership and
called on his traditional ally Russia for help.

This is the latest in a series of escalations in the Caspian region.
Speaking to a group of oil industrialists in 1998, then-Halliburton CEO
Dick Cheney remarked:

�I cannot think of a time when we had a region emerge as suddenly to become strategically significant as the Caspian.�

From the Associated Press we learn that:

Speaking on Georgian television late Sunday from Poti, a port city near the Adzharian border, Saakashvili issued a one-day ultimatum to Adzharian leader Aslan Abashidze to accept Tbilisi's authority and start disarming his paramilitary forces. Saakashvili said that air, land and sea routes to Adzharia would be closed and the government would also move to freeze foreign bank accounts belonging to Adzharian officials. Both men said they were ready for dialogue, but tensions persisted. Two Georgian armored personnel carriers could be seen near the Adzharian border, and Adzharian television reported that Georgian forces and heavy weapons were concentrated near Poti, where Saakashvili met with government officials Monday.

I don't want to keep repeating myself, but there's a lot more to this story. For more information, click here.

Posted by flow Frazao on March 15, 2004 at 07:56 AM | Permalink