Georgia: more effective controllers than current observers?
(BRUSSELS2) While the European Union, meeting this
Wednesday in the exceptional Council of Foreign Ministers (read: Ossetia-Georgia: the 27 decided to act. What was said in Brussels), and particularly the Frenchman Bernard Kouchner, evoke the possibility of sending an observation and monitoring mission from the EU to Georgia, one can wonder to what extent these monitors will have more power and freedom of action than had none on the ground even today, the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) so far. Just read the latest investigation report of the Secretary General of the UN, published at the end of July, on the situation in Abkhazia (part of the Georgian territory which seceded and declared itself independent) to perceive all the difficulty of such a mission.
NB: Directed by the Pakistani general, Niaz Muhammad Khan Khattak, the MONUG counted (on July 14) 130 military observers - including about fifty coming from Member States of the European Union (1).
The positions of the irreconcilable parties
This report had identified, in recent weeks, a "considerable deterioration of the situation on the ground, both politically and in terms of security", reporting violations of the ceasefire, both on the Russian or Abkhazian side and on the Georgian side. And, politically, the points of view were always so irreconcilable. The Abkhazians demanded the withdrawal of Georgian forces from the upper Kodori valley and the signing of a document on the non-resumption of hostilities as a prerequisite. The Georgians stressed the need to change the format of negotiations and peacekeeping forces, giving a role to the European Union and the OSCE.
Staff reinforcement
At the end of April, the Russian Federation had thus reinforced the peacekeeping force of the CIS, by "the introduction of military personnel and equipment into the conflict zone" including an airborne battalion of 525 men stationed men, responsible for increasing surveillance of the area of limited armamentss in the areas of Tkvarcheli and Otchamtchira as well as 20 men attached to existing battalions of the CIS peacekeeping force, deployed in the area below Gali". At the same time, Monug had "seen its freedom of movement restricted on several occasions by the de facto militia" (Abkhaz). In the upper Kodori Valley (controlled by the Georgians), the mission had noted the "construction of new infrastructure, including a road network, housing, a logistics facility and fuel tanks", which seemed to exceed needs.
Airplane flyovers
Monug had also recorded several incidents and violations of the ceasefire, both on the Russian-Abkhazian and Georgian side, in particular several overflights by planes. "The Mission was able to verify five Georgian drone flights over Abkhaz-controlled territory on March 18, April 20, May 4, May 8 and May 12, 2008. The Abkhazians had announced that they had shot down seven drones. The Georgians had started by denying their presence and then ended up recognizing "have lost three drones in total". The fact that one of the drones shot down on April 20 was by Russian forces also constitutes "a violation of the ceasefire" (...) "On May 17, two fighter jets were seen entering the limited armament area above the Senaki training area". etc
Serial explosions
Additional sign of tension: the "indiscriminate bombardment of public spaces in Gagra, Sukhumi and Gali". In Gali, in the UNOMIG area of responsibility, on 6 July "the most serious incident observed in recent years" occurred: an explosion in a café in Gali near the UNOMIG sector headquarters, 1 dead and 1 injured in the ranks of UNOMIG (linguistic assistants).
(1) 12 Germans, 3 Austrians, 5 Danes, 3 French, 4 Greeks, 7 Hungarians, 2 Lithuanians, 2 Poles, 5 Czechs, 2 Romanians, 5 British, 3 Swedes.
Photo credit: Unmomig
