GEORGIA: FOREIGN MINISTER BRIEFS ON MUTINY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TBILISI 000866 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/06/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL MOPS RS GG SUBJECT: GEORGIA: FOREIGN MINISTER BRIEFS ON MUTINY REF: A. TBILISI 857 ¶B. TBILISI 852 TBILISI 00000866 001.2 OF 003 Classified By: Ambassador John F. Tefft for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary. On May 5, Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze briefed the diplomatic corps on the attempted mutiny earlier in the day, which ended peacefully. He offered additional details on the event itself, which he described as designed to disrupt the NATO Partnership for Peace exercise; he and the NATO Secretary General nevertheless agreed by phone to go forward with the exercise. Vashadze did not make any specific allegations about Russian involvement; he noted that the individual arrested on the eve of the mutiny had boasted of Russian support, but said the investigation would need to determine whether these statements were accurate. Vashadze did suggest, however, a number of steps taken recently by Russia were suspicious. On May 6, according to press reports, 10 military officers and 13 civilians were detained in connection with the mutiny; another 50 military officers were being questioned. End summary. ¶2. (C) Foreign Minister Vashadze provided assembled ambassadors an overview of the May 5 events, which echoed information post had already gathered from various sources (reftels). Suggesting that the episode had been blown somewhat out of proportion, he offered the following additional details. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also released a statement (see paragraph 5). -- The incident ended peacefully by 1500, with no violence. Although the mutineers had announced they would not obey orders, they also announced they would not leave the confines of the base, so there was never much likelihood of bloodshed. -- An investigation is underway. In response to a question from the British ambassador, Vashadze offered his assurances that the investigation would be conducted in a transparent fashion. -- The Constitutional Protection Department detained a Georgian citizen, Gia Ghvaladze, at 11 P.M. on May 4 (the night before the mutiny) on suspicion of helping to plan the uprising. He served as a major in the special forces under Shevardnadze, and he is known to have had contacts with Russian special forces. Authorities are looking for Georgian citizen Koba Otanadze, who served in Shevardnadze's government and was associated with a mutiny at the same Mukhrovani base in May 2001. -- According to Ghvaladze himself, the primary purpose of the action was to disrupt the planned NATO Partnership for Peace exercises. Vashadze spoke with NATO Secretary General by phone, and the two agreed the exercises would proceed. In response to a question from the Israeli ambassador, Vashadze said that the government had not received official notification of the withdrawal of any of the countries planning to participate in the exercises, although there had been some speculation in the press. -- These individuals, and possibly others, were in contact with current officers at the Mukhrovani base and helped plan today's mutiny. In response to a question from the Ambassador, Vashadze said that the government does not have concrete information about the nature of the connection between the alleged ringleaders, who are primarily retired from the military, and the active officers involved, such as the commander of the battalion. Although it is premature to Qthe commander of the battalion. Although it is premature to speculate before the investigation has been completed, it would be hard to imagine how a plot involving an active military unit could have been created with coordination with the unit's current command. -- Many of the soldiers in the unit did not know what was going on. More broadly, the vast majority of the military did not know what was going on, and there was therefore little likelihood that the mutiny could have spread. In response to a question from the papal nuncio, Vashadze said that there was no evidence of any other disturbances or questionable units in the military -- that in fact, there was evidence of the opposite, that everyone else was acting quite normally. -- In general, no one would be allowed to return Georgia to the lawless period of the 1990s, when armed groups ran the country. TBILISI 00000866 002.2 OF 003 RUSSIAN INVOLVEMENT? ¶3. (C) Regarding the possibility of Russian involvement, Vashadze said the government does not yet have concrete information proving that Russia was involved in any way in this plot. The government does know, however, that several of the individuals connected with the event have in the past had contacts with Russian secret services. Furthermore, Ghvaladze was recorded on tape as stating that Russia would provide support to the mutiny. The GOG is investigating whether there was any truth to Ghvaladze's claim. (Note: A tape shown on national television, supposedly made by an undercover agent, seems to show Ghvaladze telling possible co-conspirators that Russia would provide help, including money from South Ossetia and 5,000 troops, presumably also from South Ossetia.) Vashadze also noted that the conspirators already had considerable funds, and that there was only one likely source for such money: Russia, although perhaps not the government. He speculated, for example, that an individual like Aslan Abashidze could have supplied the funds. ¶4. (C) Although Vashadze refrained from making any direct accusations about Russian involvement, he did suggest that Russia would not hesitate to use any political unrest to its own advantage. He also noted that a series of recent steps by Russia raised serious questions about their intentions. He remarked that the Black Sea Fleet had been deployed and the amount of Russian forces in the occupied regions had tripled. Although the Russian security service had not announced any special regime along the boundary lines, he said that local residents had reported extra measures were in place. The head of the EU Monitoring Mission told the assembled diplomats that he had received word from Colonel Tarasov, Russian commander of South Ossetia, that Russian forces had reinforced their observation posts along the South Ossetian administrative boundary in response to the incident, because they did not have much information about what was happening, but would not take any further steps. In response, Vashadze said he found it suspicious that the Russian Ambassadors to NATO and the UN had only the day before, on May 4, made allegations about a buildup of Georgian forces, including 2,500 special forces, near Abkhazia and South Ossetia. MFA STATEMENT ¶5. (U) Begin text of Georgian MFA statement on the mutiny, released on May 5: On the Failed Military Mutiny At present, the situation in Tbilisi and the rest of Georgia, including the Mukhrovani military base where a failed mutiny was planned, is calm and under full governmental control. According to the organizers of the failed mutiny, their primary intent was to disrupt planned NATO-PfP exercises scheduled to begin in Georgia on May 6, 2009. Other claims made by the organizers cannot be confirmed and are the subject of an on-going investigation. On 4 May 2009 at approximately 2300 the Constitutional Security Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Georgia detained a Georgian citizen, Mr. Gia Ghvaladze, on charges of organizing a military mutiny. Mr. Ghvaladze previously served as a Major in the Special Forces Department at the now disbanded Ministry of State Security. The Constitutional Security Department of the MIA is QThe Constitutional Security Department of the MIA is continuing its investigation into the case including the whereabouts of Mr. Koba Otanadze (born in 1967),who is at present wanted by Georgian authorities. Mr. Otanadze is under investigation for his role in organizing the mutiny. Mr. Otanadze was previously associated with leading a military mutiny at the Mukhrovani military base in May 2001. Another suspect in the case, Mr. Zaza Mushkudiani, the Head of the Ranger Battalion of Georgian Ministry of Defense, and close associate of Mr. Ghvaladze is also under investigation. For further information please contact the Head of the Information and Analytical Department at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, Mr. Shota Utiashvili, at 995-77-50-60-56 or shota.security@gov.ge. End text. TBILISI 00000866 003 OF 003 TEFFT