GEORGIA: SITREP 22: HUMAN CHAIN SHOWS GEORGIAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TBILISI 001496 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/CARC AND TASKFORCE-1 E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/26/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM RU GG SUBJECT: GEORGIA: SITREP 22: HUMAN CHAIN SHOWS GEORGIAN UNITY REF: TBILISI 1482 Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOHN F. TEFFT FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (C) Summary. On September 1 as many as 1.5 million Georgians rallied across the country to express national unity and opposition to Russia's actions. The OSCE did not observe any confrontations or movements, but did see the presence of heavy vehicles in an ethnically Georgian village southwest of Akhalgori. The government has decided to annul the legal basis for the presence of Russian forces anywhere in Georgia and is in the process of implementing this decision. The government is preparing a human rights case to submit to the International Criminal Court. Georgia's Patriarch told the Ambassador that he was frustrated and unable to understand why Russia was behaving as it was. End Summary. THE HUMAN CHAIN -------------- ¶2. (SBU) A massive pro-Georgia rally was held in Tbilisi, with other smaller rallies around Georgia, to coincide with the September 1 EU emergency meeting in Brussels. An estimated 1 to 1.5 million people participated across the country, with Speaker of Parliament Bakradze estimating the number of participants to be at 1.2 million. We saw at least 100,000 people in downtown Tbilisi. The government encouraged attendance by declaring the work day over at 2:00 P.M. and instructing government workers to participate. Crowds started gathering well before 2:00 on Freedom Square and Rustaveli Avenue; by 2:30 large crowds had gathered throughout the downtown area, stopping car traffic. Vehicles draped with Georgian flags drove throughout the city, some with (primarily young) people hanging out of them, waving flags as well. The atmosphere was festive, even raucous, with a palpable sense of defiance, as spontaneous chants of "Sakartvelo" ("Georgia") and renditions of the national anthem broke out. All ages and strata of society were represented in the remarkably incident-free rally. Embassy observers noted scores of U.S., NATO, and various European flags as well. In one instance an individual carrying an Israeli flag stood a few feet from another carrying an Iranian one. ¶3. (SBU) Reminiscent of the Baltic protests in 1991, participants formed a human chain that stretched for miles down Rustaveli Avenue, along Chavchavadze to the Russian Embassy, across the river, along the other side, and back across the river to join together in a huge loop. A large-scale media campaign preceded the event, which was nominally organized by "Stop Russia," a nebulous group dedicated to providing what it describes as accurate information about the conflict to counter Russian propaganda. The organization's "I Am Georgia" and "Stop Russia" placards, posters and T-shirts, in English, were ubiquitous, including an enormous English-language billboard on Freedom Square. On August 31 President Saakashvili made a late-night appeal to the Georgian public to attend the rallies, and Patriarch Ilia II blessed the event in his Sunday sermon. The president made his way through the crowd on Freedom Square to loud applause, with little security apparent. He addressed the crowd from a balcony, praising Georgia's unity, strength and resolve, using typically fiery language to say that Georgia had stopped "21st-century hordes," and that Georgia would be the graveyard for Russian imperialism. ¶4. (SBU) Representatives Joe Donnelly (D-IN) and Steve King (R-IA) drove past the human chain in downtown Tbilisi during their visit and were very impressed with the positive energy and enthusiasm of the participants. In a public statement, Rep. Donnelly compared the flag-waving crowds to Americans celebrating the Fourth of July, and Rep. King made sure to acquire a Georgian flag to bring back as a reminder of the excitement of the day. OSCE NOTES CALM, BUT OBSERVES VEHICLES -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Russian troops continue to refuse access to areas north of the outer ring of checkpoints and to the conflict zone in South Ossetia, with no change coming from OSCE Head of Mission Hakala's August 29 meeting with Russian General Kulakhmetov (see reftel). In the meantime, OSCE monitors are currently attempting to visit as many sites as possible in the area south of the checkpoints. Recently arrivals have doubled the number of monitors from 8 to 16, with four more monitors expected this week. The OSCE is now able to have three patrols out at a time. TBILISI 00001496 002 OF 002 ¶6. (SBU) On September 1 the OSCE heard reports of movements of heavy vehicles from west to east in the area of predominantly Georgian villages just west of Akhalgori. The monitors then confirmed the presence of at least 12, and possibly as many as 48, large vehicles, including BTRs, in the small village of Monasteri southwest of Akhalgori, just north of the administrative border of South Ossetia. The OSCE did not observe any vehicle movement. Their immediate purpose and destination were unknown, although OSCE speculated that they were meant to provide "protection" for South Ossetia and its border and deter any Georgian action. ANNULMENT OF BASIS OF RUSSIAN PRESENCE -------------- ¶7. (C) Further to the discussion in reftel, Deputy Speaker of Parliament (and minority faction Christian Democratic Movement member) Levan Vepkhvadze clarified that the provisions of the August 28 parliamentary resolution calling for the severance of all diplomatic ties with Russia and the annulment of all legal acts providing for Russian forces on Georgian territory were non-binding recommendations to the government. Minister of Reintegration Yakobashvili has stated publicly that Georgia must maintain a minimal diplomatic relationship with Russia to protect its citizens in Russia. He informed the Embassy, however, that the government has already promulgated a decision nullifying the legal acts, including withdrawal from the 1992 Sochi and 1994 Moscow agreements, and was in the process of implementing this decision. (In a separate conversation, Deputy Minister for Reintegration David Rakviashvili explained that the legal steps for withdrawal from the two agreements would be different, because one was a bilateral agreement with Russia and the other was a multilateral CIS agreement.) Yakobashvili went on to explain that the only practical impact of the provision was to indicate that Georgia no longer accepts the previous peacekeeping arrangements, and that the six-point cease-fire agreement was the only acceptable basis for any new plan. The implication seemed to be that Georgia would consider any new peacekeeping plan based on the new cease-fire, presumably even one involving Russian forces. GEORGIA PURSUING CASE WITH THE ICC -------------- ¶8. (C) The Prosecutor's Office confirmed that the Ministry of Justice is preparing a case to file with the International Criminal Court, likely alleging human rights abuses such as ethnic cleansing in South Ossetia by Ossetian militias and Russian forces. Human Rights Watch has privately encouraged such a step, citing significant evidence of abuses, including ethnic cleansing. PATRIARCH QUESTIONS RUSSIAN MOTIVES -------------- ¶9. (C) The Ambassador met with a visibly frustrated and tired Patriarch Ilia II on August 29. The Patriarch thanked the Ambassador for the assistance which the United States was giving Georgia in its hour of need, particularly humanitarian assistance for the new internally displaced persons. Ilia II said he was tired of watching on television the horrible things done to innocent Georgians by Russians and South Ossetians. He said that he had traveled to the zone of conflict after the cessation of open hostilities to retrieve the bodies of dead soldiers and civilians, because the Russians respected only his office. It was dangerous but the only way to give the victims a proper burial. He had traveled to South Ossetia with side cars shielding him from possible shooting by Russian forces. Ilia II said he had written to both President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin, asking that they rescind their decision to recognize the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. He asked the Ambassador how we could convince the Russians to withdraw their forces and to walk back their recognition decisions. What kind of face-saving step did they want? The Patriarch said he simply could not understand the rationale behind Putin's decision to invade Georgia. It would solve no problems and generate more anger and hatred toward Russia. VISITORS -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Representatives Donnelly and King completed their visit September 1. OVP continues its preparations. TEFFT