Sokhumi Refrains to Deploy UN Civilian Police in Gali

During a meeting with UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Gu?henno in Sokhumi on February 15, Speaker of breakaway Abkhazia?s Parliament Nugzar Ashuba said that the Abkhaz side deems it ?unreasonable? to deploy UN civilian police to the Georgian-populated Gali district of Abkhazia, Apsnipress news agency reported.

The Civilian Police Component of the UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG), which consists of 11 officers from five countries: Russia, Poland, Hungary, Switzerland, and Germany, currently operates only on the Georgian side of the administrative border, in the Zugdidi district, which borders the unrecognized republic?s Gali district. The UNOMIG Civilian Police aims at improving security conditions by assisting in training and equipping local law enforcement agencies.

The speaker of the Abkhaz Parliament said that civilian police are less effective even in Zugdidi, where the mission already operates. ?However, the Abkhaz side does not reject discussions over this project,? Nugzar Ashuba added.