GEORGIA: SITREP 26: STORIES ABOUND IN ABKHAZIA,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TBILISI 001527 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/CARC E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM RU GG SUBJECT: GEORGIA: SITREP 26: STORIES ABOUND IN ABKHAZIA, BUT LITTLE CONFIRMED REF: TBILISI 1523 ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Stories persist of Abkhaz plans to construct a wall along the border, but UNOMIG observers have discovered only limited evidence. Villagers are also reporting rumors of Abkhaz plans for Russian passports, conscription, and compulsory use of the Abkhaz language in schools. The OSCE was refused all movements past Russian checkpoints September 8 and informed that advance notification would now be required; the OSCE is protesting. A group of Baltic and Scandinavian officials was also refused access past a Russian checkpoint September 5 and protested publicly. Two by-elections in Tbilisi and local elections in Ajara will be held November 3. The September 5-6 visit of the USS Mt. Whitney and associated delivery of humanitarian assistance went smoothly. End Summary. ABKHAZIA DEVELOPMENTS: RUMORS RAMPANT -------------- ¶2. (SBU) UNOMIG gathered scattered but still inconclusive evidence of preparations for the construction of a wall along the Abkhazia administrative border. A Georgian defense official told UNOMIG officials that the Abkhaz side was beginning construction of a wall, but provided no further information. Local residents near Rukhi reported they had seen construction of a wall between a CIS peacekeeping checkpoint and an Abkhaz post, with some comparing it to the Berlin Wall, but UNOMIG officials did not themselves see it. A man in Tkaia reported seeing Abkhaz dig along the Inguri River. A local official in Zugdidi told UNOMIG officials that, although he himself had not seen it, he knew that three truckloads of barbed wire had arrived in Gali for construction of a border fence; he also had heard reports of fence posts holes being dug. Some individuals suggested that Abkhaz construction activity, including digging, was meant only to strengthen existing checkpoints, not establish a border wall; a Russian peacekeeping commander confirmed that such activity was taking place. The only activity observed by UNOMIG officials themselves that might relate to the construction of a wall was a backhoe digging near a bridge in late August and some activity in early September at the same location with a few meters of sheet metal/siding that could be construed as a wall. These actions at the time did not strike the UNOMIG officials as unusual and did not appear in 
official reports. ¶3. (SBU) UNOMIG officials have heard reports that locals can apply for Abkhaz "passports" by the end of September. One villager indicated she and her family would apply because they have no means to support themselves on the Georgia proper side of the border. Other locals report that Abkhaz "authorities" will introduce conscription by the end of September as well; individuals will allegedly be able to avoid the mandatory two years of service by paying $300 to the "government." In Sabchota-Chai, a teenager told UNOMIG he heard that Abkhaz education "officials" plan to use Abkhaz as the official language in school, although no changes had yet been made. Payments for border crossings near Samarkvalo reportedly vary from 25 lari to cross from Abkhazia into Georgia proper with documents, 50 lari without documents; it then costs 10 lari to cross back. ¶4. (SBU) UNOMIG also happened upon and helped defuse a confrontation between journalists from TV station Rustavi 2 and Russian personnel at a checkpoint in Tsaishi (southwest of Zugdidi),which Rustavi 2 reported as the detention of its staff. Upon the appearance of the UNOMIG patrol, four Russian armored personnel carriers departed the location at high speed. UNOMIG noted that all four vehicles were 400-series BTRs, which have not been recorded before in the Zugdidi sector, and therefore new to the area of responsibility. ¶5. (SBU) Locals in Gamogma Kariata (north of Poti) reported on September 7 they had heard that the Russians would be leaving September 8; however, there has been no movement as of yet. OSCE: NO ACCESS WITHOUT PRIOR APPROVAL -------------- ¶6. (SBU) On September 8 Russian forces did not allow OSCE observers to pass any checkpoints and informed the OSCE that groups of monitors could not arrive at checkpoints unannounced and expect passage, but that all movements must be coordinated in advance at a senior level. The OSCE plans to protest this apparent change in the modus operandi. On TBILISI 00001527 002 OF 002 September 6 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent out an alert suggesting that Ossetian militias were threatening to burn down the village of Nikozi, a few kilometers southeast of Tskhinvali, if local residents did not pay $10,000. Russian forces did not allow OSCE monitors into Nikozi to check on the situation, but told the OSCE that only one house was on fire, and that local firefighters successfully extinguished it. The Ministry of Internal Affairs confirmed that Russian forces indicated they would ensure the security of the village. ¶7. (U) On September 5 ambassadors to Georgia from Estonia, Latvia and Sweden, along with the Deputy Foreign Minister of Lithuania, were refused passage past the outer ring of Russian checkpoints in two locations, at Variani and Karaleti. The officials issued a public statement condemning the refusal as a violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the cease-fire agreement and expressing concerns of possible ethnic cleansing in villages in South Ossetia. BY-ELECTIONS TO BE HELD NOVEMBER 3 -------------- ¶8. (SBU) The Georgian Central Election Commission (CEC) announced September 6 that majoritarian by-elections for two Tbilisi districts, Didube #2 and Vake #8, would be held November 3. These are the seats that David Gamkrelidze and David Saganelidze won but refused to accept. Several opposition parties, including the United National Movement (UNM),Labor Party, New Rights Party, and the Republican Party, declared they would not participate. While the ruling UNM explained that it would refrain to give the opposition "the chance to consolidate," Republican leader Dato Usupashvili protested the timing, suggesting that current circumstances rendered a normal campaign or free and fair elections impossible. The CEC also announced that elections to the Ajara Autonomous Republic Supreme Council, to be organized by the Supreme Election Commission, would also be held on November 3. VISIT OF USS MT. WHITNEY A SUCCESS -------------- ¶9. (SBU) On September 6, the USS Mt. Whitney offloaded humanitarian assistance from its position one mile off the coast of the Port of Poti. The shipments met with no subsequent difficulties in their overland transport past Russian checkpoints outside Poti. The visit received broad coverage from local and international press, and the local American Chamber of Commerce expressed its appreciation to post for the positive signal the visit sent to investors regarding the operation of the port. TEFFT