On November 8-12 UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guehenno visited Georgia. The UN official offered the Georgian and Abkhazian sides to resolve the conflict on the basis of so called “Boden Document”, which confers wide autonomy to Abkhazia within the Georgian state.
“My visit is an indication of the great importance, which the UN Security Council is giving to the peaceful resolution of the conflict,” Jean-Marie Guehenno told journalists on November 11.
During the visit Guehenno met with heads of all branches of the Georgian government: the President, the Speaker of the Parliament, leader of the Tbilisi-based Abkhazian government-in-exile, the State Minister, as well as representatives of the self-declared Abkhaz authorities.
At the November 12 briefing, the UN official formulated main principles for the conflict resolution: maintenance of Georgia’s territorial integrity, right to self-determination for the Abkhaz, avoidance of armed conflict, resumption of the negotiations and elimination of criminal activities in the post-conflict area.
As Jean-Marie Guehenno stated, all these provisions are included in the document on distribution of power between Tbilisi and Sukhumi (breakaway Abkhaz capital), elaborated by the former representative of the UN Secretary-General to Georgia Dieter Boden.
It is known, that the document offers wide autonomy to Abkhazia within the Georgian state, while further details of the document remain confidential. The Abkhaz de facto government refuses to negotiate the document, demanding full independence for Abkhazia.
“We do not need this document. Our people clearly expressed their position in the referendum of March 3, 1998. We want to create an independent state,” stated Sergei Shamba, Foreign Minister of the unrecognized Abkhazian Republic, after meeting with the UN official in Sukhumi.
Moscow also remains skeptical of the document. “Many details are yet to be clarified in the Boden Document,” Vladimir Gudev, Russia’s ambassador to Georgia, stated in October.
This is acknowledged by the UN Under-Secretary-General, who stated that the “Boden Document is a ground for initiating negotiations between the sides and not the final plan.”
Jean-Marie Guehenno has reiterated UN support for the peaceful resolution of the conflict, a position fully shared by the Georgian government. “We want to settle the conflict peacefully. The war will benefit neither us nor the Abkhaz,” Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze said.
The Abkhaz side also favors the peaceful settlement. “We are glad that the UN supports only the peaceful resolution of the conflict. This will strengthen mutual trust between the sides,” said Anri Jergenia, Prime Minister of the separatists, after meeting with Guehenno.
However, after almost ten years of fruitless negotiations, the frustration is high and slogans in support of military means of conflict resolution become increasingly popular in Tbilisi.
Tamaz Nadareishvili, head of the Tbilisi-based Abkhazian government-in-exile urges for the military solution. “How can we return all that Abkhazians got with arms and Russia’s support, with peace? We are wasting the time in these peace negotiations,” Tamaz Nadareishvili told Civil Georgia.
Although the Chairperson of the Parliament Nino Burjanadze indicated to the high-ranking guest on November 12 that Georgian governments will for the peaceful resolution is thinly stretched. She stated, “we do not have enough arguments in support of the peace process for those IDPs who are waiting to return to their homes for ten years”.
During the visit of the UN official, the Georgian side put the issue of internationalization of the CIS peacekeeping forces in Abkhazia on the top of the agenda. However, Guehenno did not comment on this proposal during his meeting with journalists.
Russian peacekeepers have been stationed in the conflict zone for 8 years already. Georgian government accuses them of support for separatists and urges the involvement of other countries in the peacekeeping activity.
Jean-Marie Guehenno stated at the briefing on November 12 that the UN “does not back” the withdrawal of the CIS peacekeeping force from Georgia. He said that all members of the UN Security Council, especially Russia, should be actively engaged in the peace talks.
Tamaz Nadareishvili is disappointed by that the UN representative places such high importance on Russia’s role in the conflict settlement. “First of all everybody has to admit that this is not a Georgian-Abkhaz conflict, but Russia’s aggression against Georgia. Russia fought against us in Abkhazia and we have many facts to prove this,” he told Civil Georgia.
Before his departure from Georgia on November 12, the UN Under-Secretary-General said that his visit was “fruitful and important”. However, the reaction of the Georgian leadership shows that Tbilisi is not fully content with the UN’s activities to solve the problem. “We acknowledge the great role of the UN, but it is of course not enough,” Nino Burjanadze, Georgian Parliamentary Chairperson said after the meeting with Guehenno.
On November 12, Jean-Marie Guehenno left Georgia and arrived to Moscow to hold talks on the Abkhazian issue with the Russian authorities. He intends to meet Russian President’s special envoy for the Abkhazian conflict settlement Valeri Loshchinin. Georgian President’s representative for the Abkhazian conflict, Adjarian leader Aslan Abashidze and Prime Minister of self-declared Abkhaz Republic Anri Jergenia are in Moscow as well.
