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Story of Georgia 7: On the Road with an EUMM Patrol

(B2) The first task of the observers is to verify that the conditions prescribed in the “Medvedev-Sarkozy” ceasefire plan, concluded on August 12, are respected. Since the withdrawal of Russian forces from the security zone, they have above all ensured respect for the free movement of populations, the absence of prohibited weapons in the ranks of Georgian police officers, the presence of soldiers in their barracks, and provide information on the various incidents reported to them.

NB: All the testimonies collected in this report were collected under the seal of anonymity except for a long interview with General Janvier (quoted in this case). It was one of the conditions set by my interlocutors. Theoretically, moreover, the observers can only talk about "their personal situation, age, origin, ... and even if they wish", a person in charge of the mission told me. "Under no circumstances can they talk about those they see or what they can see. Even Off. On the other hand, it's up to you to follow them in your vehicle and see what they see" he added. Order/advice (almost) scrupulously respected...  NB: for the simplicity of the testimonies, I speak of an officer when it is a question of a person in charge (without that being able to denote the membership of a military or civil body).

Go to the field to gather information

In a country where rumor is king, the only way to get information is to go out into the field. Every morning, near Abkhazia or Ossetia, in each of the Field offices (Zugdibi near Abkhazia, Khaskhuri near Gori), several patrols leave to explore a sector, a road, a checkpoint. On the spot, the observers make contact with the authorities, the persons in charge of the checkpoints, the civilians, in order to extract a maximum of information, to be able to cross-check and analyze it. A specific cell at Headquarters is responsible for this work. The quality and objectivity of the information are a valuable element in enabling a clear political assessment of the situation.


Hotel Victoria, Gori - French gendarmes in front briefing
departure - © NGV

Departure on patrol towards the Tskhinvali checkpoint.The principle is to mix teams, nationalities, and profiles: a civilian expert, police officers, gendarmes. Each patrol consists of two vehicles. Both to ensure safety (if a car is hit or just breaks down). But also to ensure the objective of the mission. "A patrol is always mixed, at least in terms of nationality and experiences as well. And we are going to mix them more and more. It's an asset" says General Janvier, Deputy Head of Mission. The vehicles are armored, to deal with any problem. The situation remains tense, especially near the border. Several Georgian police officers have already been victims of shootings or attacks by improvised explosive device.

That day, several patrols leave from the Hotel Victoria, headquarters of the Gori Field Office. There is no leader as such. Nor rank. "We are not on a military mission" an officer told me. But, as it takes a leader. The accepted principle "is that the leader of the first vehicle takes the direction of the patrol". This morning, we are going to the mountains, far away. It is the Poles who are in front with their AMZ with a very military look. The French follow with their blue Panhard. Direction: Perevi, at the Russians. They took something to sleep on the spot (0 star hotel, that is to say without heating or electricity). The road, chaotic, is not really made to drive fast. And what as the crow flies represents 60 km requires a fairly wide detour, which takes at least 4 hours for all-terrain vehicles. This road is right for our vehicle (we are in a separate car, obligation of the EUMM which does not want a journalist in these vehicles, logical, but impractical). And fear binds on the face of our translator who panics, makes many phone calls to her boss, her cousin to end up telling me "we're not going any further, it's too dangerous". Anecdotal? No...revealing a feeling of feverishness and fear among some Georgians, at least those in Tbilisi, when there is no danger, especially...behind the two EUMM armored vehicles. We turn back on the way, leaving the bear in a cage to watch over the side of the road, at the edge of the gargotte...

Next patrol. Never mind, back to Gori, we take the next patrol. There are regularly, in general, two or three in the morning, departure at 8 am. And two, in the afternoon. departure: 16 p.m. The number of vehicles, patrols varies according to the news, and the orders. A certain autonomy is left to each person. The OHQ gives general guidelines. But the Field Office appreciates the situation locally. But the patrol leader also has a large autonomy to decide where he wants to go. There is a Bulgarian-Polish-French patrol, led by a civilian expert (former Ministry of Defense all the same): a Mercedes and an Amz. Direction unknown. We follow. In fact we go back to the Tskhinvali checkpoint. First objective: avoid potholes and hazardous traffic. Here is the plain. We are in a land of apple trees.

In the first village, in Karaleti, a herd of cows, the patrol passes between two herds. A few houses destroyed. The inhabitants look carefully at these military vehicles which they are not used to. To distinguish to whom they belong. Indeed the question of the visibility of these (mismatched) vehicles arises (read on the "issues and challenges"). Some children salute the patrol. We slowly circulate the village. And we continue on the road. Tirdznisi: some houses are already being rebuilt, new windows installed, framework. It goes quickly to rebuild. We are in the old "buffer zone" and if nothing is visible that is really traumatic, if we pay attention, we can see houses without roofs, burnt down, behind the trees, at least 3-4 per village or hamlet. There are a lot of peasants here. We live from small-scale agriculture. Eventually we will work on the city. Brsteletsi, Ergneti: more houses destroyed, around one in three, or burned.

We arrive at the checkpoint. Safety instructions are strict. Especially when the vision is not clear (as is often the case in the region, as night falls). Park far enough from the post, approach preferably on foot, with very clear descriptions, blue jumper marked with the EU and blue beret, walk slowly, to avoid any misunderstandings.


The "four musketeers" climb towards the Check Point © NGV

Handshake. Question from one of the Observers. How's it going ? "Everything is going well. Yesterday they threw stones at us". The two posts are separated by a few tens of meters. Both South Ossetian and Russian flags fly together on the post. "This morning, too, we heard explosions. In the distance, like training shots." There is a bit of provocation all the time. Georgian policemen in combat gear and machine guns – the normal outfit – are in prefabs. The conversation then turns to time, everyday life: "Well, we saw your colleagues yesterday in a white jeep. Astonishment of our observers: "Wasn't it the OSCE?" Answer : "Yes, this is the OSCE", nods the policeman, smiling (did he do it on purpose to tease our observers...). (*).


First contact between observers and head of the checkpoint © NGV

The Observers watch. They are in familiar country. And regularly visit the post. They won't go any further today. They must go elsewhere. "The OHQ comes from
report shots on A
. Given the nightfall, it is not very recommended", they explain. Obviously they don't want a guide. This time...

Georgian “policemen”. The Georgian “policemen” are there on duty. Special units, I'm told. But at first glance, difficult to distinguish that they are police. Dressed all in khaki, with helmet, American M4 rifle most often (the AK 47 when it comes to more ordinary policemen). EUMM Observers may require police officers' identity cards. To verify that they are not military. They can also enter police stations to check for heavy weapons. But in the end, as one observer would later admit, We have to trust them. They are presented as police officers, and have police cards”. Georgian soldiers do not have the right to approach the border. And heavy weapons are prohibited in the buffer zone. The Observers regularly check this point. If necessary at night...


Georgian police at the checkpoint © NGV

The interest of night patrols. This may seem anachronistic. But there are night patrols. For what ? “First of all, it's our mandate, to be there 24 hours a day,” General Janvier explained to me. Then "Patrolling at night is interesting. You can see things that you don't see during the day, make interesting observations". Like this movement observed by EUMM observers, in the middle of the countryside, one night at 24:23 p.m., of 30 Georgian 7 mm howitzers, outside the adjacent area, but still not far from the limits of Ossetia. ..

Patrols to South Ossetia. The forces normally patrol up to the Georgian checkpoint, or up to the administrative boundary, sometimes beyond to make contact with the Russian, Ossetian or Abkhazian checkpoint. Towards Abkhazia, this contact has so far remained limited. " The first time we arrived in Abkhazia, it went well. The Russians were a little surprised to see us, but not unhappy, we were able to push 200 meters further to the Abkhazian checkpoint. We haven't done it again since. Towards Ossetia, contacts are more common. Regularly, teams of observers cross to the other side, according to well-established rules. The Russian command or the de facto authority of the Ossetian Ministry of the Interior is notified beforehand, in order to avoid any misunderstanding. But the observers did not "go deeper" on the roads of the region. Which would be technically possible. Because sometimes the Russian or Ossetian checkpoint is several kilometers lower, for practical and strategic reasons as well. The principle has therefore been set - internally, within the EUMM -: "not to go more than a kilometer into the territory". Caution is the rule... The situation is very volatile. In fact, if the Russian checkpoints are visited regularly, those held only by the Ossetians are less so. “As much as the contacts with the Russians are good, the same with the South Ossetians, it is more difficult” assures an expert on the ground. " Russian troops are regular troops, they are disciplined and behave well (generallyment). The Russians themselves advised us to avoid the South Ossetians.”


Ossetian-Russian checkpoint near Tskhinvali (seen from the Georgian side)
© NGV

Procedures. There is no "rules of engagement (in the usual sense of the term). "We are not on a military mission and that would involve a confrontation. Our approach is purely civil." explains General Janvier. But there are nevertheless procedures for security, reporting, incident reporting, etc. If rules were built at the start, we also build a little while walking. Everyday, "we innovate and improve procedures" complete an officer.

Everyday, a report is thus sent to Brussels, supplemented by a weekly summary and a monthly summary. In the event of a serious incident, a special report is immediately drawn up. Similarly, in the event of an accident involving an observer, a telephone call is immediately made to the Civil Conduct and Planning Capability (CCPC) duty station in Brussels and to the cabinet of the High Representative, Javier Solana, to hold him aware. The observers also report the problem to the authority behind the incident (Russians, Ossetians or Abkhazians, Georgians) so that they can take action. Every Thursday, a general meeting takes place at Headquarter with all the ambassadors in post (EU, United States, etc.) and the international organizations present (UN, OSCE, etc.) to take stock.

The mission takes place over time.
One year first (maybe extended). In any case, some French observers who had left for a limited period (4 months for the French) were offered to stay longer, the time of this first year. And many of them have volunteered to extend as well.

(NGV)

(*) Update: in fact of OSCE - I learned it later -, it is rather about Pierre Morel, the special envoy of the European Union for the crisis in Georgia who was visiting to the de facto authorities of South Ossetia, and for this purpose uses the white vehicles of the OSCE

Nicolas Gros Verheyde

Chief editor of the B2 site. Graduated in European law from the University of Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne and listener to the 65th session of the IHEDN (Institut des Hautes Etudes de la Défense Nationale. Journalist since 1989, founded B2 - Bruxelles2 in 2008. EU/NATO correspondent in Brussels for Sud-Ouest (previously West-France and France-Soir).

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