RUSSIA-GEORGIA: BACKLASH AGAINST THE BACKLASH?

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 011489

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/12/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM GG RS
SUBJECT: RUSSIA-GEORGIA: BACKLASH AGAINST THE BACKLASH?

REF: MOSCOW 11414

Classified By: Charge Daniel A. Russell. Reasons: 1.4(B/D).


1. (C) Summary: The Public Chamber has condemned
bureaucratic moves that have targeted ethnic Georgians, but
few elected officials have followed suit. Deportations have
temporarily slowed, but arrests of Georgians who are accused
of not having legal status in Russia continue. There is
anecdotal evidence that day-to-day harassment of ethnic
Georgians has not let up. We are seeking a more
comprehensive picture of the scope of deportations from
migration and human rights contacts. End Summary.
.
Public Chamber Takes a Step Forward
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2. (C) While defending official sanctions against Georgia,
Public Chamber Secretary and Academician Yevgeniy Velikhov
condemned "irresponsible steps of toadying officials" that
have hurt ethnic Georgians. He added that relations between
Tbilisi and Moscow should not depend "on the anti-Russian
policy of the Tbilisi regime or the anti-Georgian campaign of
short-sighted bureaucrats." Duma Culture Committee Chairman
Iosef Kobzon, often dubbed the "Russian Frank Sinatra" as
much for his mob connections as for his voice, also called
for an "emotional, honest and fundamental" dialogue between
Russians and Georgians. The Union of Right Forces has
condemned moves against Georgians as a hysterical reaction
that is fueled by those around Putin who want him to remain
in power beyond 2008 and who are trying to create enemies
that would justify their position. Yabloko has called for
the equal application of the law to all nationalities in
Russia. Few politicians (particularly those in parties
poised to enter the 2007 Duma),however, are prepared to
denounce the discriminatory campaign given the gut-appeal
among the electorate for an anti-foreigner message. While
the press has reported possible Duma consideration of
legislation that would ban top Georgian officials from
entering or transiting Russia, a procedural hiccup might
delay passage of the legislation for a short time.
.
Pace of Deportations Slows Temporarily
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3. (C) Vyacheslav Postavnin, Deputy Head of the Federal
Migration Service, publicly claimed on October 12 that there
were no special anti-Georgian immigration raids. However, a
human rights lawyer in St. Petersburg supplied us with copies
of orders from a Major General in the Saint Petersburg
Interior Ministry Office which demand that militia officers
work in coordination with the Federal Migration Service to
arrest and deport Georgian citizens who are not legally
entitled to be in Russia. In a separate order, a militia
colonel in Saint Petersburg demands daily reports on the
number of Georgian citizens arrested for crimes or
misdemeanors, including violations of the passport regime,
and asks that details be provided of any weapons, ammunition
or drugs found with the arrested Georgians.


4. (C) George Karalashvili, the Political Counselor at the
Georgian Embassy, told us October 12 that fewer than 10
Georgians were deported on Wednesday but that he expected
more than 100 would be deported on Saturday depending on the
availability of transportation. He said that arrests
continued and that the Georgian Embassy was receiving a
steady stream of calls complaining about ill treatment on its
24 hour hot line The press has reported that almost 600
undocumented Georgians have been ordered to be deported
during the last week, but the Georgian Embassy was unable to
confirm that figure. (Comment: We hope to have better
numbers from human rights groups and the Georgian Embassy on
Friday.)
.
Driving While Georgian
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5. (C) We continue to hear anecdotal evidence that traffic
stops and harassment of Georgians has increased. As
Karalashvili told us, once the traffic police determine from
the license that the driver's name has the suffix of "ze" or
"ili" (common to many Georgians),then the level of
harassment and the required bribe has gone up, even when the
driver can prove Russian citizenship. We have heard of at
least two instances where drivers with "Georgian" names were
required to go to the police station to be photographed and
fingerprinted following a routine traffic stop.


6. (C) An ethnic Georgian lawyer who immigrated from
Abkhazia to Moscow in the early nineties explained to us the
impact of the crackdown on the resident Georgian community.
She said that she knew of Georgian parents of school-age

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children who were keeping their children at home because of
fears of harassment and said that many parents of older
children were fearful their children would not be accepted
into university this fall because of their ethnicity. Her
own son, who was a Russian policeman, was afraid he would
lose his job. The lawyer -- who claimed that she was not a
supporter of Saakashvili -- said she had few places to turn.
She had immigrated to Russia as a young person and could not
return to Abkhazia because of the frozen conflict. She would
not be able to return to Tbilisi and professionally establish
herself because she spoke Russian well but not Georgian. She
said several Georgians she knew that were in a similar
position were looking to Ukraine as a possible place of
refuge.
RUSSELL