Kavkazcenter.com

Boycott 2014 Olympics in Russia: Shevardnadze

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:15:08 GMT

Georgia's former president Eduard Shevardnadze said Russia will live to regret its recognition of rebel regions and called for a boycott of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, in remarks published Thursday. Russia on Tuesday recognized the breakaway Georgian areas of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, despite strong Western objections, after sending troops into its southern neighbour. Shevardnadze, who was also a foreign minister of the former Soviet Union, said that Moscow's move would "encourage separatist movements within ethnically diverse Russia." Font:****"They will live to regret it," Shevardnadze told Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper. "This will lead to discussions to recognise the independence of Chechnya and Dagestan," he added, referring to two regions in the Caucasus that have sought freedom from Russian rule for centuries. Shevardnadze supported calls raised by some US lawmakers to strip Russia of the 2014 Winter Olympics, to be held on the Black Sea resort of Sochi, or to boycott the Games if they go ahead. "Due to this military conflict, the reasons for a boycott are now more than ever," Shevardnadze said. The United States led a boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics over the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Human rights groups also targeted this year's Beijing Olympics. Shevardnadze served for eight years as Georgia's president before being ousted by current leader Mikheil Saakashvili in the bloodless Rose Revolution of 2003. The former president accused his successor of being too close to the United States. "In my era I built good relations with both Russia and the US, but this balance has crumbled," he said. He said Georgia was the clear loser from the current conflict, particularly as Russian forces were still in the Black Sea port of Poti. Georgia has "virtually lost its territorial rights and the economic damage (from the conflict) is huge," he said. Source: AFP

Russian warships sent to Abkhazia

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:06:26 GMT

Russia has sent a missile cruiser and two other ships to a Georgian port, while a US military ship has docked at another southern port in a show of force amid an escalating standoff with the West over a nation devastated by war with Russia. The dockings came a day after Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, recognised the two Georgian breakaway territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states, prompting harsh criticism from Western nations. Georgia reacted by recalling all but two diplomats from its embassy in Moscow. The US Coast Guard cutter Dallas, carrying 34 tons of humanitarian aid, docked in the Black Sea port of Batumi, south of the zone of this month's fighting between Russia and Georgia. The arrival in Batumi avoided Georgia's main cargo port of Poti, which is still controlled by Russian soldiers. The US embassy in Georgia had earlier said the ship was headed to Poti, but then retracted its statement. Zaza Gogava, the head of Georgia's joint forces command, said the port in Poti could have been mined by Russian forces and still contained several Georgian ships sunken in the fighting. Poti's port reportedly suffered heavy damage from the Russian military. In addition, Russian troops have established checkpoints on the northern approach to the city and a US ship docking there could have been seen as a direct challenge. Meanwhile, the Russian missile cruiser Moskva and two smaller missile boats are anchored at the port in Sukhumi, the capital of Abkhazia, some 180 miles north of Batumi. The Russian navy says the ships will be involved in peacekeeping operations. Although Western nations have called the Russian military presence in Poti a clear violation of a European Union-brokered ceasefire, a top Russian general has called the US practice of using warships to deliver aid "devilish". Colonel General Anatoly Nogovitsyn warned that Nato has already exhausted the number of forces it can have in the Black Sea, according to international agreements, and warned Western nations against sending more ships. "Can Nato - which is not a state located in the Black Sea - continuously increase its group of forces and systems there? It turns out that it cannot,'' Nogovitsyn said. Many of the Russian forces that drove deep into Georgia after fighting broke out on August 7 in South Ossetia have pulled back, but hundreds are estimated to still be manning checkpoints that Russia calls "security zones'' inside Georgia. European leaders responded to the moves on Wednesday by raising fears that Russia could set its sights on other neighbouring countries after its stated recognition of the two breakaway regions. Ukraine and Moldova are both vulnerable, Bernard Kouchner, the French foreign minister, said as condemnation from Western countries, including China, continued about Russia's actions. Russia has breached international law by recognising the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Kouchner said in a French radio interview. "It's very dangerous. There are other objectives that one can suppose are the objectives of Russia, in particular Crimea, Ukraine and Moldova." On a visit to Kiev, David Miliband, the British foreign secretary, warned the Ukraine government against provoking Russia. He said Ukraine must act "not to provide any pretext for Russian actions because of course the Russians have used those pretexts in the Georgian case and it's important to not repeat that". The southern Ukrainian region of Crimea is mainly populated by ethnic Russians and houses the Russian Black Sea fleet at Sevastopol. Transdniestr, in eastern Moldova, fought a brief independence war after the Soviet Union's collapse but is not internationally recognised. It hosts a contingent of Russian troops. The European Union should clearly support Ukraine's membership of the bloc to prevent it from becoming a Russian target, Olli Rehn, the EU enlargement commissioner, said. "Ukraine could be the next target of political pressure by Russia, whose doctrine on its nearby neighbours is reminiscent of sphere politics," Rehn said in a speech to Finnish ambassadors. The Georgian conflict was a stark reminder that Russia is the EU's biggest foreign policy challenge, he said. Meanwhile, in the village of Karaleti near the border with South Ossetia, several prisoners were exchanged between Georgia and Ossetian forces. Some 85 Georgian civilians who were detained and kept in South Ossetia's capital Tshkinvali were transported on yellow buses across the border and delivered to the town of Karaleti. They were reportedly the last of a group of Georgian civilians who were captured during the conflict. But there is still an undisclosed amount of Georgian soldiers being held, according to the Georgian parliamentary defence and national security committee. The release was in exchange for some 13 Ossetians, including four soldiers, some of whom were jailed by Tbilisi prior to the conflict on terrorism charges. Also on Wednesday, Georgia's prime minister said the war with Russia had caused about $1 billion in damage but did not fundamentally undermine the small country's economy. Georgia's entire national budget for last year was about $3 billion, and Georgia is hoping for substantial economic aid from the West to help it recover, said Lado Gurgenidze. Reuben Jeffrey, the US undersecretary of state for economic affairs, is leading a US delegation examining Georgia's postwar economic recovery needs. Agencies

Russia-Georgia conflict raises Black Sea tensions

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 07:49:52 GMT

Ukraine said on Wednesday it wanted to discuss charging Russia more for the lease of a Black Sea naval base, a move that could aggravate regional tensions already enflamed by Moscow's conflict with Georgia. humanitarian supplies to Georgia, Russia said its navy was watching "the build-up of NATO forces in the Black Sea area" and had started taking measures to monitor their activity. NATO nations condemned Moscow's decision to recognize two rebel Georgian regions, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, as independent states. They called on Russia to reverse the step, which cemented the secession of the two provinces and effectively made them into Russian protectorates. "Russia's actions have called into question its commitment to peace and security in the Caucasus," the 26-nation military alliance said in a statement. Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili urged the West to stand firm in upholding international law. "Russia clearly intended this as a blatant challenge to world order. It's now up to all of us to roll Russian aggression back. If they get away with this, they will carry on ... they will also attack other countries in the neighborhood," he told Reuters in an interview. Russia quickly routed Georgian forces in a brief war over South Ossetia this month, the first time it has sent its forces into combat abroad since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. The crisis has rattled the West and alarmed other former Soviet republics with sizeable Russian minorities, particularly Ukraine and the Baltic states. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko joined Western nations in condemning the Russian move on Tuesday to recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states under Moscow's protection. "We are sorry about this decision, for Ukraine it is unacceptable and therefore we cannot support this position," he said in an interview with Reuters. Yushchenko said Kiev wanted to raise the question of increasing Russia's rent on its Sevastopol base in Ukraine's Crimea region, the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea fleet. Russia has said any renegotiation would break a 1997 agreement between the two countries, under which it currently leases the base for $98 million a year until 2017. "We will see how this will develop. We are sticking to the conditions on the timetable for the Russian fleet's presence there strictly," Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy chief of the Russian General Staff, told a news briefing. Nogovitsyn accused NATO nations of "ratcheting up tension" in the Black Sea, but said Russia was not planning to increase its own presence there. "Now we have people flexing their muscles, demonstrating force. We can only regret that," he said. A US Coast Guard ship carrying post-war aid to Georgia arrived on the country's Black Sea coast on Wednesday, but dropped an earlier plan to dock in a Russian-patrolled port. The cutter Dallas had been due in Poti, where Russian troops are still manning checkpoints after pushing into Georgia during the war over South Ossetia. Instead it docked 80 km (50 miles) south in Batumi. "This decision was taken at the highest level of the Pentagon," a US Embassy spokeswoman said, declining to explain the reason for the change. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has accused the United States of shipping weapons into Georgia, a comment dismissed by the White House as "ridiculous." The Kremlin said Medvedev spoke to German Chancellor Angela Merkel -- his first contact with a Western leader since Moscow recognized Georgia's breakaway regions -- and gave "exhaustive explanations" in response to her questions. The deputy speaker of Georgia's parliament, Gigi Tsereteli, said the assembly would meet on Thursday and would probably discuss whether to sever diplomatic ties with Russia, although Saakashvili appeared to brush off this suggestion in an interview with Reuters. "This is beyond bilateral relations now," the president said. "Evil Empire 2" screamed a front-page headline in Georgian daily "Rezonansi," using a phrase once applied by US President Ronald Reagan to describe the Soviet Union. "Is Georgia torn up now?" asked another paper, Sakartvelos Respublica. Russia says it was obliged to intervene militarily to prevent Georgian "genocide" and defend the lives of South Ossetians, many of whom are Russian citizens, after Georgia attempted on Aug. 7 to retake the rebel region by force. While some Western governments have said Saakashvili bore at least partial responsibility for the outbreak of the conflict, there was strong and unanimous condemnation of the latest Russian move. "Russia's action only exacerbates tensions and complicates diplomatic negotiations," US President George W. Bush said. Source: Reuters

Dismissed to 'reserve' Yamadayev says that 20 Chechen girls left for the mountains

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 11:43:10 GMT

In his interview to Utro.ru website, a ringleader of "Vostok" (East) gang who had just been dismissed to "reserve" with preservation of "ranks and awards", said that a number of young people, who leave for the mountains to the Mujahideen increasing in Chechnya and other parts of the Caucasus Emirate. He also said that recently 20 Chechen girls left for the mountains to join the Jihad. "There is information that 20 girls from 15 to 20 years left for the forest in Chechnya....� The exodus continues.� We have the data on who goes into the mountains. There are people from Saudi Arabia in Jamaahs who fighting in Chechnya. We know who feeds them. If previously their strength was diminishing, then this year they got a lot of people. Number of clashes and casualties are increased. The Jamaahs have intensified in Dagestan and Ingushetia. If we won't normally work now in the North Caucasus, then a South Ossetia would be repeated elsewhere, or a third campaign in Chechnya will be provided. The fight with our ones and the displacement of unwanted led the Wahhabis to raise their heads. Caucasus is Russia's vulnerable place. Many want to blow it up in order to weaken Russia", the ringleader of "Vostok" gang Sulim Yamadaev said.

Kavkaz Center

Russia �fails to comply� in Georgia

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 07:06:59 GMT

The United States and France have criticised Russia for failing to comply with a ceasefire agreement to end the conflict Georgia, as hundreds of troops remained on Georgian territory. Moscow said it had completed its pullout from Georgia on Friday, abiding by its side of the European Union-sponsored six-point pact. But Russian troops continued to man checkpoints inside Georgia on Saturday, carrying out what Moscow described as a "peacekeeping role". "The pullout was carried out without any incidents and was completed according to plan at 19:50 Moscow time," Russia's defence ministry said in a statement on Friday. "Peacekeeping checkpoints in the security zone have started carrying out the tasks set before them. In this way, the Russian side has implemented the agreements set out in the Moscow principles by Medvedev and [French President Nicolas] Sarkozy." George Bush, the US president, and Nicolas Sarkozy, his French counterpart, "agreed that Russia is not in compliance and that Russia needs to come into compliance now," Gordon Johndroe, White House spokesman, said. "Compliance means compliance with that plan," he said. "We haven't seen that yet. It's my understanding that they have not completely withdrawn from areas considered undisputed territory, and they need to do that." Robert Wood, a US state department spokesman said that the Russians had "without a doubt failed to live up to their obligations". "Establishing checkpoints, buffer zones, are definitely not part of the agreement." David Miliband, the UK's Foreign Secretary, said he was "deeply concerned" that Russian forces had not withdrawn to their positions before the outbreak of hostilities on August 7, as agreed in the ceasefire plan. Moscow said it had set up checkpoints in a "security zone" extending beyond South Ossetia and would also establish checkpoints along the de facto border between Georgia and the other breakaway region, Abkhazia. An unknown number of combat troops also remain inside South Ossetia as well as Abkhazia, which both broke away from Tbilisi in the 1990s. The ceasefire pact demands that both Russian and Georgian troops move back to positions they held before fighting broke out August 7, but Russian forces also can be in a security zone that extends 7km into Georgia from South Ossetia. A presence along the border with Abkhazia, another separatist Georgian region, is also allowed under a 1994 UN-approved agreement that ended a war there. However, in Moscow, Colonel General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, the deputy chief of general staff, showed journalists a map detailing what he said would be� a "zone of responsibility" for some 500 Russian "peacekeepers". �� This included control of a key highway linking the Georgian� capital to the Black Sea. Military posts were to be established outside the port city of Poti and troops would have the right to deploy anywhere on the road� between Poti and Senaki, according to the map. Temur Yakobashvili, Georgia's minister of reintegration, told The Associated Press news agency that the formation of a buffer zone outside South Ossetia "is absolutely illegal". Frederic Desagneaux, French foreign ministry spokesman, said that the ceasefire deal allows Russian peacekeeping forces to operate only "in the immediate proximity of South Ossetia" and only in patrols, suggesting that the new Russian posts outside South Ossetia and Abkhazia could be seen as violations. Georgian security forces regained control over the strategically important town of Gori, 30km from South Ossetia and controlling the main road from the capital Tbilisi to the Black Sea in the west. "We are in control of the streets of the city of Gori,'' Vano Merabishvili, Georgia's interior minister, said outside the city hall. Russian troops entered Georgia in response to a Georgian offensive on August 7 to reassert control over South Ossetia, which broke away from Tbilisi in the early 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Source AlJazeera and agencies

NATO ships enter Black Sea for exercises

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:39:44 GMT

NATO warships entered the Black Sea on Thursday for what the alliance said were long-planned exercises and routine visits to ports in Romania and�Bulgaria. The move is not linked to the tensions over Russia's invasion of Georgia, which lies on the eastern shore of the Black Sea, about 900 kilometers (550 miles) from the Romanian coast, said officials at NATO's military command in southern�Belgium. Three warships - from Spain, Germany and Poland - sailed into the Black Sea on Thursday. They are due to be joined by a US frigate, the USS Taylor, later this�week. They are "conducting a pre-planned routine visit to the Black Sea region to interact and exercise with our NATO partners Romania and Bulgaria, which is an important feature of our routine planning," said Vice-Adm. Pim Bedet, deputy commander at allied maritime headquarters in Northwood,�England. However, the move risks increasing tensions with Russia which has deployed ships from its Black Sea fleet to the Georgian�coast. The NATO flotilla includes Spain's SPS Adm. Juan de Bourbon, Germany's FGS Luebeck and the Polish ship ORP General K Pulaski. Romanian and Bulgarian ships will join them for exercises during a three-week deployment which NATO says has been planned for over a�year. The two Navy ships and a US Coast Guard cutter are carrying relief supplies including bottled water, blankets, hygiene kits, baby food, milk and nappies, said last Friday Commander Scott Miller, spokesman for the US 6th Fleet.

He said the McFaul and the Coastguard cutter Dallas were expected to arrive in Georgia next week and the command ship Mount Whitney around the month-end. We would like to remind that Moscow has previously claimed that its fleet "has a full control of the Black Sea area". "The Black Sea Fleet has a full control of the Black Sea area, without waiting for external security threats", said Russian Deputy Chief of General Staff Anatoly Nagovitsyn. "The Black Sea is under control of the Black Sea fleet, by not forecasting a threat", Nagovitsyn said and confirmed that on the eve German and Spanish naval ships had entered the Black Sea in the course of Georgia. However, Nagovitsyn did not say anything regarding NATO exercises. Meanwhil, according to AP, "Russian troops manned checkpoints and controlled traffic on major highways across Georgia and Russian military helicopters buzzed overhead Friday, the day that Russia's president had said a pullback would be complete". Meanwhile, ethnic Russians, in particular residents of Poti, do not want to have anything to do with Russia. According to French portal The Observer, Samira Kuznetosva a Russian blogger from Poti, writes: "I'm Russian, I speak Russian and I feel Russian, but I have the Georgian nationality and I have always lived here, my family moved here a century ago. I don't feel any animosity specifically against me from native Georgians. This is a small town and we all grew up together. I can imagine that some people feel resentment, but most realise that this invasion was decided by Russia's government, not by its people. I would also like Russians to leave my town. Yesterday, I went to a demonstration demanding their departure. But they don't seem ready to withdraw."

Kavkaz Center

Mujahid eliminated 3 invaders and became a Shaheed (inshaAllah)

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:19:15 GMT

Kavkaz Center's source inside Wilayah (Province) Nokhchicho (Ichkeria/Chechnya) of the Caucasus Emirate repots that last week one of the Mujahideen run into a checkpoint of Russian invaders in the area PAP-1 (outskirts of capital Jokhar) and shot 3 Russian invaders. During the firefight Mujahid became a Shaheed (inshaAllah). Kavkaz Center does not have information regarding the name of the Muahid

Kavkaz Center

An explosion occurred in Nazran city

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 06:19:48 GMT

According to occupation sources in the Wilayah (Province) of Ghalghaycho (Ingushetia) of the Caucasus Emirate, a bomb exploded in Nazran city near a house, where the village of Maisky's mosque imam was living. "The explosion took place around 03:00 on Thursday near the house of Aslan Korohoyev, the imam of Maisky village mosque", Ingush puppet "Ministry of Internal Affairs" official told. The bomb was set up near the gate of imam's house.

Kavkaz Center

Mujahideen entered Dai village and destroyed occupation commandant�s office

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:26:30 GMT

According to Kavkaz Center's source, on night of 16 Sha'ban 1429 (18 August 2008) the units of the Mujahideen of South-Western Front of Armed Forces of the Caucasus Emirate entered the village of Dai (Shatoi district) and attacked occupation commandant's office. All roads leading into the village were also sealed off. There were not any attempts from occupation forces of the puppets murtadin gangs to attack or persuade the Mujahideen. According to the source, Mujahideen took control of the village for about 3 hours. Commandant's office was burned down. There were killed and wounded among the invaders and their henchmen. The exact number has not been reported. According to the source, during the operation to destroy commandant's office, Mujahideen have also conducted prevention actions among local population. Mujahideen did not incur any casualties in the operation. The operation has been carried out under command Amir Assad.

Kavkaz Center

Zakayev to return to Chechnya soon. His security guaranteed by Kadyrov

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:09:09 GMT

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of CRI (Chechen Republic of Ichkeria) in the government of President Aslan Maskhadov, Akhmed Zakayev, may soon return to Chechnya . This information was reported by the envoy of Ramzan Kadyrov (head of pro-Russian collaborator, puppet "president" of Chechnya), former defense minister of CRI Magomed Khanbiyev, who defected to the Russian invaders several years ago. In his interview to the "Gazeta" edition Khanbiyev said that "Zakayev does not rule out such an opportunity". Khanbiyev has recently returned from his trip to Europe where he traveled with his brother Umar Khanbiyev, who was representing CRI government abroad for some time. In Moscow he was met by the ringleader of Chechen murtadin (apostates/pro-Russian collaborators) Ramzan Kadyrov. "I did not give any promises to my brother. He is a doctor and he can always find a job in Chechnya . To be honest with you, I was not sure that Umar might return," - Magomed Khanbiyev said. - "I wanted to meet with Zakayev, but he was unable to come to Italy to meet with me because of some problems with the documents. His assistant Yaragi (Yaragi Abdullayev, "state minister" / "minister without portfolio" in Zakayev's "telephone government", his special trustee) came to the meeting instead." Magomed Khanbiyev said that after his conversation with Yaragi Abdullayev he had a telephone conversation directly with Akhmed Zakayev, who promised to give his final answer on his return in September, as Moscow-based Interfax news agency reports. According to the ex-defense minister of Ichkeria, Ramzan Kadyrov guarantees security to Zakayev and his circle. "They can fell free to return home, and no one is going to prosecute them. This is what Kadyrov promised,"- said Khanbiyev, and then he added immediately, - " And I have not met or talked with criminals". Zakayev confirmed that he thinks of returning to Chechnya . As the periodical writes, Akhmed Zakayev said that he had never had any idea that he or his children would ever return to Chechnya. "But there is no specific day or month when I could return," - he said. - "There are certain reasons. I am trying to find a political way out of the situation, because there is no military solution". Meanwhile, Kadyrov believes that Ahmed Zakayev has to finally open up his eyes. He has to give an impartial evaluation to the situation and agree that the way to the welfare and prosperity of Chechnya lies not through separatism, but through "unity with Russia, close ties with all regions of the country, development of the economy, raising of social standards, and bringing the institutions of civil society to perfection". "Zakayev has work experience in the area of culture, he is a popular theatrical actor," Kadyrov reminded - "On August 23 we are opening the theatrical concert hall. It will be the most gorgeous one in the North Caucasus region. Chechen Drama Theater, which is so dear to Ahmed Zakayev, has been put into operation earlier. That's where Zakayev belongs, instead of London, where he is being manipulated and where he has to be making some biased statements about Chechnya to please some powers," Kadyrov related. Ringleader of the Chechen apostates expressed hope that Ahmed Zakayev, who recognizes the "positive changes" that have taken place in Chechnya, "will be wise and courageous enough to understand the truth and find the way leading to his homeland". In April 2008 Zakayev's representative, Dr. Hasan Baiyev (who is now living in the US ) met with Kadyrov on the order from Zakayev. After that, famous Chechen bard singer Timur Mutsurayev went over to Kadyrov's side, and Mutsurayev also announced that he had coordinated all of his actions with Akhmed Zakayev. According to Mutsurayev, he was pursuing "peacekeeping goals" and striving for "reconciliation between the Chechens". In his subsequent statements Mutsurayev announced that he had transferred all "peacekeeping" functions to Akhmed Zakayev, and he once again confirmed that all of his steps were coordinated with Zakayev. In this connection we would also like to point out that Akhmed Zakayev has been vigorously praising Ramzan Kadyrov throughout the recent years by calling him a "decolonizer", and calling his gangs "the Chechen police". In one of his interviews of the Echo of Moscow ("Ekho Moskvy") Zakayev announced that he was preparing some documents that will help "reconcile the resistance fighters with the Chechen police". Zakayev also stated that he does not "fight against Ramzan Kadyrov" and does not call him a "national traitor". In response, Kadyrov related the message through his circle that he is willing to negotiate with Zakayev. He called him a "talented actor who contributed much to the Chechen culture". We would also like to remind our readers that after the dismissal of Chechen Republic of Ichkeria and proclamation of the Caucasus Emirate by former CRI President, Commander-In-Chief (Amir) Dokka Abu-Usman (Umarov) on October 7, 2007, Akhmed Zakayev announced setting up the "CRI government in exile" in London . The "government" was formed by using the method of "telephone voting", in which 5 members of the former CRI parliament living in Europe had participated. Ever since then the London group, -- the "telephone government of Euro-Ichkeria in exile" headed by Zakayev, has been pretty active on the Internet in its statements against the Caucasus Emirate and the Mujahideen (the Caucasus Armed Forces), -- with the help and patronage by Boris Berezovsky (Russian exiled oligarch).�� Kavkaz Center

Russian invaders destroy civilian infrastructure of Georgia

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 14:35:25 GMT

On picture: Members of pro-Moscow Abkhaz formations. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia calls upon the international community to stop Russian actions aimed at destroying the Georgian statehood. The ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia released an official statement on Saturday. "Despite the international community's efforts and the signing of documents on cessation of hostilities, the Russian Federation's armed forces continue military actions against Georgia, destroying civilian infrastructure", said in the statement. "On 16 August 2008 troops of the Russian occupation army mined and exploded the Metekhi-Grakali span of the railway bridge in the Kaspi district (Eastern Georgia). This subversive-terrorist act resulted in the severing of railway links between the east and west of Georgia and connections with Georgia's seaports. Moreover, the bridge used to provide a route for refugees from the Russian-occupied territories into safe places", the statement says. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia states that "Russia is pursuing deliberate policy aimed at undermining Georgia's statehood, including through bringing about humanitarian catastrophe". Meanwhile, the Kremlin has officially signed the ceasefire agreement to end Georgian-Russian conflict, consisting of six previously agreed principles. Earlier peace plan was signed by Georgian President Saakashvili. Moscow also insisted to have signatures of puppet leaders of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in the document. The "six-point plan" of resolving the conflict was developed during the meeting of Sarkozy and Medvedev in Moscow on August 12. The six principles: 1. No recourse to use violence between the protagonists. 2. The cessation of hostilities. 3. The granting of access to humanitarian aid. 4. The return of Georgian armed forces to their usual quarters. 5. Russian armed forces to withdraw to the positions held before hostilities began in South Ossetia. 6. The opening of international discussions on the modalities of security and stability of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. There were no signs of Russian forces withdrawal from the position they are in control of outside the conflict zones, Georgian mass media reports. The Russian troops remain in control of Gori and even advanced further to other areas. An eyewitness told Civil.Ge on August 16 to have seen at least 20 Russian armored vehicles in Khashuri, a small town, on the major highway, in the west from Gori. Reports are coming from various locations across the territories now under the control of the Russian forces, that they were digging in positions at those locations.

Kavkaz Center

Rebels call on Caucasus not to support Russia in its war with Georgia

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:25:02 GMT

The Russian-Georgian conflict over control of the Georgian breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia has become an international crisis. The United States, the European Union, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey are now involved in the conflict in various ways, in addition to Russia and Georgia. Other forces in the conflict are the pro-Kremlin separatist regimes in Abkhazia and South Ossetia and the governments of the North Caucasian republics inside Russia. There is also another actor in the conflict, one that is hidden in the shadows: the North Caucasian insurgency.

On August 9, the day after Georgian forces attacked Tskhinvali, the South Ossetian capital, the North Caucasian rebels' main ideologist, Movladi Udugov, declared that the militants had been monitoring the movements of the Russian forces in areas around Georgia. To confirm his declaration, Udugov cited two Russian armored motorcades that had moved from Chechnya to North Ossetia, and then to the Roksky pass located on the South Ossetian side of the Russian-Georgian border, the day before his statement. This information was confirmed by the Ingushetiya.ru website, which reported on August 8 that a huge column of Russian tanks and armored personnel carriers was moving from Chechnya to North Ossetia via Ingushetia (Ingushetiya.ru, August 8).

Udugov added that the rebels' intelligence apparatus had warned him that Russia planned to attack Georgia in August. The rebel envoy claimed once again that the rebels are active in all the mountain areas of the North Caucasus, from the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea.

Udugov stated: "So far, neither Tbilisi nor Washington have turned to us with any requests or proposals." He also described Russian media reports about volunteers from the North Caucasus fighting on Russia's side against Georgia as "propaganda" and called the Caucasian squads fighting in South Ossetia "puppet formations" of the North Caucasian republics' "pro-Moscow regimes."

It is interesting to see how the rebel Kavkaz-Center website has been covering the Russian-Georgian war. Usually very anti-Russian, the website has focused more on Georgian failures and Russian successes, particularly during the first two days of the war. Given Udugov's declaration, it looks as if the Caucasian separatists were hoping for a situation in which the Georgian government would have to appeal to them for military help. Were that to happen, the insurgency in the North Caucasus would have a chance to be recognized as a political force and not simply a gang of Islamic terrorists.

The Kremlin also fears that the rebels in the North Caucasus could try to stab the Russian army in the back. Simultaneously with the invasion of the Russian troops into South Ossetia, the latter's borders with other Caucasian republics-Kabardino-Balkaria, Ingushetia and Chechnya-were closed. On August 11, Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Aleksandr Bortnikov ordered the FSB, the Border Guard Service and the National Anti-Terrorism Committee to take measures to tighten border security in Russia's Southern Federal District. During a meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev, Bortnikov described the situation in the North Caucasus as "difficult, but under control." That same day, the FSB chief declared that according to intelligence reports a group of "foreign mercenaries" had made its way into Dagestan (Regnum, August 11).

On August 11, the Russian military forces in Ingushetia started to set up fortified checkpoints at the entrances to Ingush settlements such as Troitskaya, Plievo and Karabulak. Russian military and police garrisons are located in Troitskaya and Karabulak, while Plievo is a village on the road to Nazran, the largest city in Ingushetia, which is full of military and administrative facilities (Ingushetiya.ru, August 11).

It seems logical that the insurgents would use the fact that the best-trained Russian forces were focused on Georgia to conduct a large-scale raid on a city in the North Caucasus. That feeling is only reinforced by the suspicious calm in the region, including Ingushetia. However, on August 13, the Kavkaz-Center website posted a video statement by the two top rebel leaders, Dokka Umarov and Supyan Abdulaev, concerning the war between Russia and Georgia. Umarov and Abdulaev offered no direct support for Georgia's actions in South Ossetia, but simply called for peace between Georgia, on one side, and Abkhazia and South Ossetia, on the other. The main point of the declaration was that all Caucasian nations should unite against Russia.

"Russia has been firing up hostility between Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia for the last several years," said the two rebel leaders, who also strongly criticized the separatist leaders of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, calling them "the Kremlin's slaves." At the same time, they said that there is no winner in a war between Caucasian nations-a message that could be addressed both to the Georgians and the Ossetians. The rebel leaders said that that all Caucasians have a common mentality and culture, while Russia hates them all and the Kremlin foments hatred of Caucasians among Russians. "The Russian leadership also acts like fascist thugs that kill Caucasians on the streets of Russian cities," the declaration continued. Doka Umarov called on all Caucasians not to help Russia fight Georgia and not to join volunteer squads to go to South Ossetia.

"We should concentrate on driving the Russian colonialists who killed us for centuries out of the Caucasus," the two rebel leaders stated. "Only then will real peace be restored in the Caucasus."

Thus the leaders of the insurgency in the North Caucasus have not unequivocally taken the side of Georgia rebels, but instead are trying to act as peacemakers or mediators and unite the Caucasus on an anti-Russian basis. Source: The Jamestown Foundation
Kavkaz Center

Russia ''used cluster bombs'' in Georgia: Rights group

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:17:57 GMT

A U.S. human rights group on Friday accused Russia of dropping cluster bombs in populated areas of Georgia during its military offensive that began last week, but Moscow denied the charge.

Human Rights Watch said Russian aircraft had used cluster bombs in two separate raids on the towns of Ruisi and Gori on Tuesday, Aug. 12, killing at least 11 civilians and injuring dozens.

Asked about the report, the deputy chief of Russia's General Staff, Colonel-General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, told a news conference: "We never use cluster bombs. There is no need to do so."

The Gori strike killed at least eight, Human Rights Watch said, including a Dutch cameraman. An armoured vehicle belonging to Reuters news agency was perforated with shrapnel.

Reuters reporters on the ground could not immediately verify the cause of the rapid series of explosions near the main square in Gori, nor who might have been responsible.

The journalists were covering the aftermath of a Georgian pullout from the town after days of heavy fighting with Russian forces 25 km (15 miles) north in South Ossetia.

"Cluster bombs are indiscriminate killers that most nations have agreed to outlaw," said Marc Garlasco, senior military analyst at Human Rights Watch.

The rights watchdog cited interviews with victims, doctors and military personnel, as well as photos of craters and video footage of the Gori attack, to support its assertion that Russia had used cluster bombs.

It said video showed more than two dozen simultaneous explosions during the attack, characteristic of cluster bombs. The munitions contain dozens or hundreds of smaller submunitions or bomblets and explode across a broad area.

Reuters journalists had witnessed Russian jets bombing what appeared to be Georgian artillery positions on hillsides above the town earlier the same morning.

More than 100 nations have agreed to ban the use of cluster bombs. Russia has not.

The group called on Russia to provide "precise date on its cluster attacks in order to facilitate clean up of the inevitable lingering contamination from cluster bomb submunitions that failed to explode on contact but remain deadly."

Source: Reuters

Kavkaz Center

Russian forces sink Georgian ships

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:36:19 GMT

Russian forces have sunk several vessels in Georgia's military port of Poti, Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel Hamid has reported from the scene. The attack on Wednesday follows a day of dramatic developments in the Russia-Georgia conflict amid what appears to be an escalation of military action on the ground. Abdel Hamid said: "Russia is clearly on the offensive. "We have seen more and more Russian troops coming into the area all day - a continuous build up of forces including columns of tanks and truck all along the roads here. "They came into this area and destroyed six Georgian vessels. "From what we understand, they came with the specific task of destroying all the military facilities of the Georgians," she said. Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull said: "Poti is one of the most important ports in the Black Sea. "The offensive means that the ceasefire is dead - back to ground zero." Convoy tailed Russian military vehicles earlier headed towards the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher reported. Fisher tailed a convoy of Russian armoured vehicles� on the road from the town of Gori, less than 60km from Tbilisi. "Right in front me, no more than 100 metres away is an armoured personnel carrier with three Russian soldiers on top ... behind that there is a long convoy of Russian military vehicles," Fisher reported. "They're not moving at a fast speed, but they are moving towards Tbilisi. "It is only 60km from Gori to Tbilisi, but this doesn't look like an invasion force." He later said the convoy had come to a halt before turning round and heading back to Gori. "Act of provocation" "The fact Russian forces have moved so far into Georgian territory will be seen as an act of provocation," Fisher said. Georgian and Russian officials have traded accusations that troops from each side have been acting against the spirit of a peace plan agreed the previous day, Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull, reporting from Tbilisi said: "This seems to have overstepped the bounds of the Russian side of this ceasefire, they pledged not to move from their positions and stop firing." He said that the move could be to secure the main Gori-Tbilisi highway. "What this adds up to however ... while we may have have a ceasefire on the ground, this is an extraordinary show of Russian force." The events came a day after Nicholas Sarkozy, the French president, hailed an EU-mediated ceasefire agreement reached in Moscow between Georgia and Russia. Aljazeera's Neave Barker, reporting from Moscow, said: "These are disturbing developments given all the work that was done by the EU yesterday. He said the Russians had agreed with the Georgians on Tuesday to withdraw to the positions they were in before the outbreak of the conflict. But he added: "We have heard from our colleagues on the ground that this isn't the case." Earlier the secretary of Georgia's security council told local television that 50 Russian tanks and armoured personnel carriers were in Gori, about 30km from the breakaway region of South Ossetia. 'Occupying forces' "Russian occupying forces were continuing movements across Georgia despite the ceasefire," Mikheil Saakashvili, Georgia's president, said early on Wednesday as he stood alongside the leaders of other former Soviet states. But General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, Russia's deputy chief of staff of the armed forces, said it was Georgian forces that were violating the ceasefire. "Georgian forces have begun their pullback towards Tbilisi but no active withdrawal has yet been observed," he said. "We are still obliged to fulfil our mission by taking out firing positions, snipers and so on." Earlier Al Jazeera's Fisher reported that Russian forces in tanks and armoured personnel carriers had essentially "taken over the town of Gori". "I myself saw three personnel carriers on the edge of the town ... but there was no doubt they were moving towards Gori," he said. However, Russia's military on Wednesday repeatedly denied that any troops were inside Gori. "Neither Russian peacekeepers nor any units subordinate to them are present in Gori," the Interfaxagency quoted a Russian military spokesman as saying. Russian demand Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, said that a commitment in the peace plan drafted by the French under which Georgian forces would withdraw to "permanent positions" meant they should return to barracks. "Upon the withdrawal of Georgian troops to their barracks, Russian troops will return to the territory of the Russian Federation," Lavrov said. "Our peacekeepers will remain in South Ossetia," he said, referring to peacekeeping units separate from the regular army that have been deployed in the Georgian province for 15 years. Saakashvili said on Wednesday that Russia was responsible for "Balkan-type and World War II-type ethnic cleansing and purification campaigns" during the conflict. "We are getting reports of large-scale violation of human rights of the worst of the case," he said. "The town of Tskhinvali was turned into Grozny Two by Russian carpet bombardment and I really want people to go in and check and verify what kind of bombs are these. "I have been hearing accusation that this was Georgian bombing and this is not true."� Source: Al Jazeera and agencies Kavkaz Center

Saakashvili: Georgia to leave CIS

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:57:15 GMT

Mikheil Saakashvili, Georgia's president, has told tens of thousands of people at a rally outside the country's parliament that Georgia will quit the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and urged Ukraine to follow suit. The president said: "We have taken a decision, Georgia is quitting the CIS." The CIS is an alliance consisting of ten former Soviet Republics, including Russia. Other speakers shouted slogans against Russia and Vladimir Putin, its prime minister, shouting "Georgia, Georgia!" Posters denounced Putin, the former Russian president, with one depicting him with the caption "Wanted: Crimes against humanity in the world." Saakashvili has appealed for international support after Russian forces moved into Georgia on Friday after the Georgian army launched an offensive to bring South Ossetia, which broke away in the early 1990s, back under government control. Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's president, called a halt to military operations on Tuesday. However, Georgia says that Russia is still continuing operations inside Georgia. Nato concern In Brussels, Nato ambassadors voiced serious concern at the situation in Georgia, with many nations saying it could not be "business as usual" with Russia. The ambassadors from the 26 Nato nations met in the Belgian capital on Tuesday ahead of talks with the head of Georgia's Nato mission. Kurt Volker, the United States ambassador to Nato, said there was "serious concern about the events in Georgia" including the humanitarian situation, support for a ceasefire and the withdrawal of forces. An extraordinary meeting requested by Moscow of the joint Russia-Nato council did not take place. Volker said: "Given the events in Georgia, many allies expressed the� sentiments that there cannot be business as usual with Russia." Meanwhile, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, the Nato secretary general, said "I think that the Bucharest communique stands. That was the situation and that is the situation and that has not changed" despite the current conflict with Russia. At their Bucharest summit in April, Nato member states agreed that neither Georgia nor Ukraine were ready for Nato candidate status, a preliminary to joining the alliance, but that they could become members of the alliance one day. Source: Agencies

Kavkaz Center