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From: Tony Abdo <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: [SLDRTY-L]: Who are the US allies in the Caucasus?
Date: Sun, 09 Jan 2000 20:22:20 -0800
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 We keep coming across mistaken assertions,  that the US is allied with
the Russians in the Caucasus conflict.     These comments and articles
are prominent in the Left press,  from ZNet to Green Left Weekly.

This is reminiscent of the rhetoric that the West was an enabler of
Milan Milosevic.      The position was that Milosevic had to be stopped
from committing a genocide.      And that only cowboys led by Clinton
could do it.

The Institute of War and Peace Reporting is one of only many sources
that can inform about the true situation.    The truth of the matter is
that the US and Russia are involved in a historic battle for control of
this region.      The focal center of this battle lies in Georgia,  not
Chechnya.

Can the US and it's ally,Shevardnadze,  push Russia out of the region?
Or will the Russians be able to draw the line,  and push Shevardnadze
and NATO out of Georgia?

We, as US Socialists, should be opposing the  efforts of our imperialist
government in their greed to grab this oil.       Instead, many Leftists
are parroting Washington's line,  that this is a brutal assault against
a nation looking for freedom, Chechnya.

If Socialists don't begin to counter this trend in the SD/ liberal
components of our movement, we are in for a repeat of what happened in
The Balkans when the majority of The Left was derailed from opposing
NATO by Left intellectuals with a bullshit line.

........................Tony Abdo.................
Sunday, January 9, 2000=A0
Knocking On NATO's Door?

Relations between Russia and Georgia are more strained than ever
following Georgia's signature on key agreements at the OSCE summit which
underline a shifting alignment towards Europe and the United States.
By Sozar Subeliani in Tblisi (CRS No. 9, 3-Dec-99)

Georgia signed up to several crucial agreements at the OSCE summit in
Istanbul (November 18-19). Declarations on the Baku-Ceyhan and
trans-Caspian gas pipelines have opened up a whole new world of
opportunities for the republic.
Furthermore, Russia and Georgia issued a joint statement on the
Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty, signed in Istanbul,
setting terms and negotiating conditions for the complete withdrawal of
the Russian forces from Moldova and Georgia.
The Georgian media hailed the moves as one more step towards Georgia's
full independence.
But the Russian media were less celebratory, issuing 'an open threat'
based on accusations that Georgia and Azerbaijan are aiding 'terrorists'
in the breakaway Russian republic of Chechnya.
Given its geographical position, a compliant Georgia is key to Russian
influence across the Caucasus. Linked with Turkey, Iran and her
strategic partner, Armenia, Russia would continue to influence every
ongoing process in the Near East and would wield considerable influence
along the Euro-Asian economic corridor.
But the proposed pipelines and sustained pressure to downgrade her
military presence in the region have begun to chip away at Russia's
position. Russia risks losing her dominant influence in the Caucasus,
should a fully independent Georgia emerge.
Neighbouring North Caucasian nations may be inspired to follow suit and
seek a route to the outside world that bypasses Russia.
With this in mind, the motive behind Russia's repeated accusations of
Georgian collusion with Chechen militants becomes all to clear. Such
accusations are part and parcel of Russia's increasingly vocal campaign
in support of her military presence in Georgia. Russia is preparing the
ideological ground for a final blow to Georgian independence.
On March 12, 1995 the then Russian defence minister Pavel Grachev and
his Georgian counterpart, Vardiko Nadibaidze, initialed an agreement on
"the location of Russia's military bases in Georgia".
According to the agreement four military bases were to be located on
Georgian territory - Vasiani, a large airbase 15 kilometres from Tblisi,
Gudauta in separatist Abkhazia, Batumi in Adjaria and Akhalkalaki in the
predominantly ethnic Armenian southern region of Georgia. Under the
agreement Russia would control the bases for 25 years.
The deal was not well received at home. Nodar Natadze, Chairman of the
Parliamentary National Defence and Security Committee at the time,
described the deal as the greatest crime committed against Georgia this
century. Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze had to vow on national
television that he would only ratify the agreement if Russia assisted in
the restoration of Georgian territorial integrity.
But Shevardnadze failed to keep that vow. Georgia's territorial
integrity was not restored. On September 15, 1995 Shevardnadze ratified
the agreement with then Russian prime minister Viktor Chernomyrdin
together with a protocol "transferring additional cities to Russia's
military sub-units".
According to secret unpublished protocol, Russia was granted permission
to locate military bases in three additional regions - Senaki, Telavi
and Akhalqalaki. In fact, Georgia and Russia have signed more than 43
military agreements since 1995, but not one has been ratified by the
Georgian parliament.
In the run-up to the elections on October 31 the removal of Russian
bases was a key campaign promise for virtually every hopeful candidate.
Shevardnadze, true to form, preferred to make vague and non-committal
statements on the issue. The president claimed Georgia would "knock on
NATO's door in 2005".
Then Shevardnadze qualified this statement by saying that knocking on
the door means one thing and entering another, adding that NATO
membership required serious preparation.
The mere mention of "knocking" on NATO's door produced a storm of media
criticism in Russia. The Moscow daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta wrote
"Georgia's President declared that his country will become a NATO member
by 2005 and the Azeri government intends to locate a U.S. military base
near Baku. Should NATO troops be located in the Caucasus, we will
witness the rise of separatism in the North Caucasus".
Again, such views were badly received in Georgia. Russian General
Vyacheslav Borisov did the pro-Russian Revivalist/Batumi Alliance
political bloc no favours when he claimed that a Batumi Alliance victory
would guarantee Russian military presence in the country for 25-30
years. Borisov's comments provoked fury among the electorate and wiped
out the Alliance's electoral prospects.
Russia's continued military presence in Georgia is considered a constant
threat to stability in the North Caucasus. Negotiations on the subject
in Istanbul were fraught with difficulty and dragged on through the
night before a consensus was agreed.
In 1992-93, during the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict, the Georgian Defence
and Security Committee Chairman, Revaz Adamia, claimed that Abkhaz
separatists were receiving supplies from Gudauta military base. And on
August 29, 1995 Shevardnadze nearly assassinated. Days later one of the
prime suspects, pro-Russian former Security Minister Igor Giorgadze,
left Georgia from Vaziani military base. Giorgadze is still in hiding.
Again on February 9, 1998 another attempt was made on Shevardnadze's
life and again fingers were pointed at Russia. On February 8 an
unidentified aircraft had landed at Vaziani airbase. The aircraft left
on February 10 and Russian officials refused to comment on the nature of
the flight, other than to say 'someone came for talks'.
Adamia claims Russia's Vaziani base is a weapons smuggling centre. He
claims weapons were smuggled into Chechnya, Armenia and probably
Azerbaijan during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. "There is a lack of
political interest here", Adamia said. "Weapons are being sold to all
parties from here".
The coup d'etat in Azerbaijan in 1993 was planned at the Russian base in
Gyandzha. But the new Azeri President, Heydar Aliev, brought to power
with Russian assistance, has proven to be as pro-Western and pro-Turkey
orientated as his predecessor. Accusations abound of repeated
unsuccessful Russian attempts to remove Aliev.
There are currently 10,663 Russian troops in the Trans-Caucasus (Georgia
and Armenia) 4,947 of them in Georgia. There are 141 tanks, 437 armoured
vehicles, 155 artillery pieces and 10 military helicopters in Georgia. A
central office in Tblisi controls the Russian bases in Georgia. But the
Gudauta military base in Abkhazia, which houses 142 armoured vehicles
and 11 artillery pieces, is under the command of Russian paratroop
headquarters in Moscow.
According to the terms of the agreement signed in Istanbul Russian
military equipment in Georgia must not exceed 153 tanks, 241 armoured
vehicles and 140 artillery pieces by December 31, 2000. The military
bases at Vaziani and Gudauta and the tank maintenance plant in Tblisi
must be withdrawn by December 31, 2000. OSCE member countries will
provide financial assistance for the programme.
A decision on the Akhalkalali and Batumi bases will be negotiated during
the coming year. Adamia has said these bases will remain in Georgia for
only three years at the most. But Georgian officials hope part of the
Russian military hardware will stay behind in Georgia when Russian
troops withdraw.
The Georgian government also hopes to receive Western support and
assistance during negotiations with Russia over the proposed troop
withdrawals. The U.S. Congress National Library's Strategic Center
recommended to Congress that financing to Georgia should increase over
the next 2-3 years to ensure "Georgia's political and military
integration into NATO and Western structures as soon as possible".
A genuine fear that such "integration" may provoke an aggressive
response from Russia will not, however, hinder Georgia's push for
greater autonomy from her northern neighbour - or its willingness to use
US weaponry to do it.
On the eve of the October election, the Speaker of the Georgian
Parliament, Zurab Zhvania joined his three-year-old son for a joyride on
a US military helicopter. Asked why, he quipped: "My son has to get used
to U.S. and NATO military equipment".

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1999 issues Dec 9-12 Nov 5-8 Oct 1-4
ENCODING
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IWPR in the media
"The Russians are waging an information war... blocking all information
from Chechnya."
IWPR Caucasus Project Coordinator Saule Mukhametrakhimova
speaking on CNN.
RELATED LINKS
Russian Government Chechen Crisis 'Informational Centre'
The Chechen Republic Online
Armenian Assembly of America
Azerbaijan Links
Caucasian Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development
Georgian-European Policy and Legal Advice Center
Memorial
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Georgia
National Press Institute, Moscow
OSCE Istanbul Summit Website
Sakartvelo, Georgian Links
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