GEORGIA: BORDER CONTROL CHANGES WORRY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TBILISI 000207

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/26/2019
TAGS: PARM PREL PGOV DOE KNNP GG
SUBJECT: GEORGIA: BORDER CONTROL CHANGES WORRY
INTERNATIONAL DONORS

REF: TBILISI 2107

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires a.i. Kent Logsdon for reasons 1.4 (B)
AND (D).


1. (C) Summary and comment. Organizational changes within
the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MOIA) effective January 1,
specifically in the Border Police and Patrol Police, have
changed operations at Georgia's ports of entry. Previously,
the Border Police controlled operations and passenger
processing at all ports of entry and along the "green"
border. Under the reorganization, which took effect on
January 1, the Patrol Police will now be responsible for
functions at the ports of entry. The Border Police retained
control of the green borders and the Coast Guard for the open
waters. Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Eke Zguladze
assured DCM that the reorganization was part of a management
decision to improve the efficiency of border post operations
and to combat corruption with Border Patrol ranks. However,
the transition has been disorganized and poorly executed.
Although there were reports of individuals at the border
posts being intrviewed in order to retain their jobs,
Zguladze insisted that the vast majority of the Border Police
officers trained over the years with USG assistance will
remain at their posts, and simply be transferred to the
Patrol Police. Emboffs will continue to monitor these
changes closely to ensure that the transfer of functional
responsibility at the ports of entry does not impair
operations, especially given the substantial U.S. investment
in training border personnel and providing equipment. In one
case, Emboffs learned that portal monitors at some ports of
entry are not being used. End Summary and comment.

ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES


2. (U) As of January 1, the oversight of operations and
passenger processing at the ports of entry were transferred
from the Border Police to the Patrol Police. The Border
Police aviation unit was transferred to the Ministry of
Defense, but airborne assistance will be furnished by the MoD
in response to specific requests for support by the Patrol
Police. In addition, the Border Police rapid response unit
was disbanded. The Border Police Command and Control Center
(C3) was restructured into two units directly under the MOIA:
the Operational Management and Border Technology Center in
the Operational Technical Department, and the Operational
Support Office in the Information Analytical Department.
These units manage the maintenance of the technical systems
at the borders and service all of the border agencies. The
Georgian Navy has been dissolved and is in the process of
being integrated into the Coast Guard, which remains a law
enforcement agency within the Border Police, but it is now
only in charge of open water operations. The Police Academy
will be responsible for training all of the officers working
at the border crossings; the maritime academy in Batumi will
provide training for the Coast Guard. The Police Academy
plans to add five full-time instructors and fifteen
contractors to their current staff in order to meet the
additional requirements resulting from the reorganization.
The Government of Georgia stated that the reorganization was
necessary to increase transparency of the Border Police and
decrease incidents of corruption at the borders; the
government has already credited the reorganization with
Qgovernment has already credited the reorganization with
success in the latter. Just one week after the transfer of
responsibilities took place, the press reported on the
arrests of three individuals who attempted to bribe officers
at the borders.

RESULTS ACHIEVED WITH THE HELP OF US ASSISTANCE


3. (C) Through the Georgian Border Security and Law
Enforcement (GBSLE),Export Control and Related Border
Service (EXBS),and Second Line of Defense (SLD) programs,
the U.S. government has enhanced Georgian border security by
providing extensive advisory support, training,
infrastructure, equipment, and other assets to Georgian
border agencies. The training and equipment enabled the
Border Police to operate and maintain communications and
border data management systems and radiation portal monitors
and related equipment; to identify and interdict dual-use,
special nuclear and other radioactive materials; and to
perform effective inspections on vehicles and cargo arriving
at air, land, and sea ports of entry.


4. (C) Because we have a robust program of support and
cooperation planned for 2009, DCM called on Deputy Minister

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of Internal Affairs Eke Zguladze January 22 to ask for
additional information about the planned reorganization.
Zguladze, accompanied by Police Academy Director Khatia
Dekanoidze, assured the DCM that the changes were part of a
management plan to break up the inefficient Border Police by
transferring some of its functions to the Patrol Police.
Zguladze also noted that the reorganization was partly
intended to reduce corruption within the Border Police and
said that the changes would not negatively affect working
level operations. She told the DCM that the vast majority of
personnel at the border check points would not lost their
jobs; instead, they would simply "change uniforms" and
continue to do their jobs. Zguladze said that the Patrol
Police planned to retain the majority of personnel at the
borders who had been trained by the USG and were experienced
in using and maintaining the equipment. She appreciated our
interest in ensuring that proposed training was given to the
right officers and pledged to work with us to make that
happen.

PROBLEMS FROM REORGANIZATION REMAIN


5. (C) Emboffs have had meetings with officials in the MOIA,
Border Police, Patrol Police and Police Academy to understand
how they plan to resolve issues related to the
reorganization, but no one has been able to articulate a
comprehensive strategy to deal with the concerns raised.
Georgian officials have, however, expressed their desire for
continued cooperation and willingness to work with the U.S.G.
towards a resolution of these issues. During visits to Poti
and Batumi ports and the Vale border crossing on January 26
and 27, Department of Energy (DoE)/SLD officials had a
difficult time determining the extent to which previously
trained officers were or were not operating at earlier
installed sites. At Poti, a Coast Guard official informed
the SLD team that while two officers who had been trained
were transferred from the Border Police to the Patrol Police,
their skill and knowledge levels were incompetent. At Vale,
one person remained who had received some training in 2007,
however, he admitted that he had not retaned what he had
learned. Encouragingly, officials with the Operational
Management and Border Technology Center said they will go to
the sites to determine who needs to be trained or retrained,
check on hand-held equipment availability and operability,
and perform a general equipment check.

COMMENT: ADJUSTING TO THE NEW REALITY


6. (C) The reorganization of the MOIA and transfer of
functions from the Border Police to the Patrol Police is
commendable in its goal of combating corruption. However,
our experts are concerned that the Patrol Police may have
difficulty immediately operating and maintaining existing
equipment at field locations. We are also concerned about
the ability of the Police Academy to provide training to
newly employed or assigned staff in the numbers necessary to
maintain effective enforcement at ports of entry, given that
they have not focused on border-related training programs.
We will have to coordinate closely with the Ministry and the
individual law enforcement agencies to ensure that our
training programs are focused on the appropriate personnel
and that Georgia is not vulnerable to illicit trafficking of
nuclear and other radioactive material.
Qnuclear and other radioactive material.
LOGSDON