Georgian Ambassador’s Letter to the UN Security Council over Abkhazia

New York, 26 October 2004

Dear Mr. President,

I have the honour to write to you and, through you, to draw attention of the Security Council to the recent developments in the conflict resolution process in Abkhazia, Georgia.

In doing so, I should like to express my sincere gratitude to the Secretary-General Mr. Kofi Annan and his Special Representative Ms. Heidi Tagliavini for their tireless efforts to bring about a comprehensive political settlement of the protracted conflict in my country.

The latest events in Abkhazia barely leave us grounds for optimism, and I think that this situation is objectively reflected in the report of the Secretary-General. Indeed, the UN-led peace process in the region has reached its critical juncture.

Ardzinba’s ethnocratic regime has always sought to thwart the peace process. His no-compromise policy is bringing our peaceful efforts to naught and could ultimately damage the peace talks beyond repair. In this context holding of the illegitimate and self-styled presidential elections by the Abkhaz separatists on October 3, is yet another attempt to imbue legality to the demographic changes resulting from the conflict. It is being done in flagrant disregard of the position of the international community manifested in the Security Council numerous resolutions and Presidential Statements to affirm illegitimacy of the elections when 300 000 Georgian population are forcibly driven out of the region.  By the same virtue, the elections fail to sustain even scant semblance of democracy putting aside its violation of international law in the environment where violence and human rights violations constitute routine of life. 

Against this background, the Ministry of the Russian Federation, which praised the elections in a statement of October 4, 2004, as “calm and democratic”, appeared to be the only dissenter in the international community.  With tension in the region at its height fuelled by the presence of the terrorist groups known as Confederation of Mountain Peoples, best known by their notorious commander Shamil Basayev, the situation is anything but calm (clarification: Shamil Basayev served as a Deputy Defense Minister of the separatist regime in 1990’s.).

Moreover, the presence of foreign terrorist groups of the Confederation highlights the acute problem of the illegal influx of arms and armed groups through the unilaterally open Abkhazia section of the Russian-Georgian border. Especially in the aftermath of the tragedy in Beslan, the Russia’s border policy comes at odds with the real needs and interest of combating terrorism and ensuring security. Otherwise one can not explain of closure of the only legally operating checkpoint in Zemo Larsi, while two other illegal checkpoints with the secessionist regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia remain opened. At the end these measures affect not potential terrorists but ordinary, law-abiding people from Georgia, Russia and Armenia, whose interests are mainly harmed by the unpredictability of the border crossing regime.  Numerous protests of Georgia on this matter remain unheeded.

The escalation of the situation in the region was preceded by unprecedented in breadth involvement and interference of certain political circles in Russia in Abkhazia, Georgia; President Putin himself in display of Russia’s support publicly met one of the “candidates for President of Abkhazia”. Russian political and pop-artists have been mobilized to support the Kremlin favorite.

The “electoral campaign” unfolded in milieu of reopening of a railway link between Moscow and Sokhumi after 12 years remaining dysfunctional. The event protested by Georgia as infringement upon its sovereignty and violation of international law attested to the level of damage caused to the UN-led peace process by the broken commitments – President Putin’s formula that implementation of economic projects in the region must be synchronized with the return of refugees and IDP’s is either completely ignored or cynically countered with the contention that they have already returned in Gali district. Those, who attempt to capitalize on spontaneous returnees, enduring almost everyday violence and intimidation, are deliberately mistaking organized return in safety and dignity for its antithesis.

Mr. President, notwithstanding this complex development, the Government of Georgia is committed to resume negotiations for the settlement of the conflict in Abkhazia, Georgia, with any leader who will succeed Mr. Ardzinba. However, the progress in this matter would require from the Abkhaz side to master the requisite political will for the constructive engagement in the negotiations, in particular on so called Boden document on “Basic Principles for the Distribution of Competences between Tbilisi and Sokhumi” as well as allow for establishment of the Human Rights Office branch in Gali, address the problem of teaching of Georgian children in their native language and consent on deployment of the UNOMIG civilian police component in Gali district, which as pointed out in the Secretary-General’s report is implemented only on Georgian side where it receives “good cooperation”. 

The same extends to the Russian side, which has to overcome its own bias in favor of the secessionists and take into account the interests of the peace process as a whole, in particular interest of thousands of refugees and IDP’s, instead of vehemently protecting and advancing of the interests of Abkhazs at any cost and at every international fora.  

In this respect, the attitudes instilled through the Russian media are both dangerous and alarming – overwhelming majority of them depict Abkhazia as a region of the Russian Federation inhabited by Russian citizens and Russia as duty-bound to protect them by all means against the Georgian “aggressors” including use of military force and mercenaries, interference in the “election process” for installing local political leaders loyal to Moscow, etc. For many in Russia these actions are appropriate modus operandi in carrying out the role of the mediator in the conflicts. 

Mr. President, in finalizing, I should like to go back to the point with which I started this letter – the substantial progress in the UN led peace process is contingent upon willingness of all its participants to honor their commitments and to engage into constructive negotiations with the genuine aim of resolving conflict. In the absence of this, the Security Council resolutions are bound to become mere exhortations of good intentions by a supreme organ of the UN, implementation of which depends on the political whim of the Abkhaz side (why not if the Abkhaz side is almost convinced that intransigence will always go unabated).

Mr. President, all would agree that present status-quo in the process of the conflict resolution in Abkhazia, Georgia, is untenable and therefore resolute steps are required to overcome the present stalemate. Otherwise, and I can not but ring an alarm here, the more this “frozen” conflict remains unresolved, the more difficult it becomes to find a compromise for long-lasting peace.

The Security Council has both authority and, I hope, willingness to take lead in reinvigorating the UN led peace process. Therefore, we wholeheartedly invite the Security Council to foster its involvement in the conflict-resolution process in Abkhazia, Georgia. One of the steps that the Security Council could make at this stage, we think, would be field visit to Georgia – particularly to Sokhumi –to learn firsthand the reality on the ground and try to come out of stalemate in the conflict-resolution process.

I should be grateful if you would have the text of the present letter circulated as a document of the Security Council.

Sincerely,

Revaz Adamia
Ambassador, Permanent Representative