Two corpses for minister: Moscow outlook

In Tbilisi there is a new scandal. An anonymous Internet user posted a video about the so-called Mukhrovani Mutiny of May 5, 2009. Let me remind you that five years ago the Georgian authorities announced the disclosure and suppression of the uprising of an armored battalion stationed in the town Muhrovani, near the Georgian capital. The conspirators - about 15 people - were sent to jail for 3 to 15 years, and the declared leaders - officers Koba Otanadze, Levan Amiridze Shota Gorgiashvili for 29, 28 and 19 years, respectively. General Koba Kobaladze who had been held in the case, was acquitted, and General Gia Krialashvili died on May 20, 2009 in a suburb of Tbilisi during the governmental raid to capture the leaders of the rebels.Despite the transparency of court proceedings and the evidence presented, the Georgian community still had serious doubts about the Mukhrovani case. Some details of the mutiny looked odd and didn't coincide with the "story. " On the first day, the opposition claimed that the incident had been inspired by the authorities, and there had been no rebellion at all - it had just been Saakashvili's preemptive strike against the army that could go over to the political opposition, that in those days had organized large protests demanding the resignation of the authorities.

 

Georgia's new government conducted a large-scale amnesty. Amongst the first ones to be released were former soldiers who had been serving time for theMukhrovani case. Some of them began seeking an acquittal in court and wanted to resume their service. Others gave up and began to adapt to the new reality. But law enforcement and Georgian Themis did not intend to close the book. The Mukhrovani Mutiny appears in the case of Vano Merabishvili - ex prime minister of Georgia who, during that period, was Head of the Interior Ministry. One article of his indictment is related to the events of May 2009. However, Mr Merabishvili pleads not guilty to everything.

 

The video posted on YouTube shows Mr Merabishvili arriving in Mukhrovani in civilian clothes and giving orders to officers. You can also catch a glimpse of Mr Saakashvili and other senior officials - all in civilian clothes. At some point Mr Merabishvili, tells the officers: "Bring me two corpses. I need two corpses. The award will be big. Come on!" The officers divide into several groups and go in different directions.

 

These orders from Merabishvili blasted Georgian society and gave a reason for new charges against the ex-premier. He himself, explaining the situation from the dock, at first said that there was nothing strange - it was all about delivering the leaders of the military mutiny alive or dead. Soon, however, he made an odd remark: they say there was information that the Mukhrovani battalion mutiny was led by two Russian instructors, and when the rebellion failed they were gotten rid of, and these two bodies were required to demonstrate to the local population and the international community that Russia was involved in this particular mutiny, and that Moscow's general strategy was to destabilize the situation in Georgia.

 

However, this seemingly coherent version was shattered by the question: why did the authorities keep the two corpses of "Russian instructors" in secret for so many years, and why they have not been found? However, the accusations against the former government, and specifically Merabishvili, of inspiring the Mukhrovani uprising are not flawless either. 

 

For example, the representative of the United National Movement, MP Nugzar Tsiklauri on Saturday night television show "Position" asks the question: what is a rebellion, and how would current authorities have interpreted the events in Muhrovani if they had found out about the unrest in the battalion and arrived to the place of dislocation, and the defense minister had not been allowed to the territory by armed men in masks? "After all, this is what happened with the then MinisterSikharulidze! If the authorities staged a provocation, why on May 20 did they need to do everything to save the leaders of the rebellion - Amiridze and Otanadze, who were seriously wounded during the raid? And the goal was simple - they had to appear before the court for the society not to have questions about who is right "- said Tsiklauri. According to him, no one would be surprised it was Amiridze and Otanadze who had led the revolt - these officers had "distinguished" in a similar manner several years before. Indeed, even under President Eduard Shevardnadzethe Mukhrovani battalion during exercise arbitrarily started moving through the area where the maneuvers were conducted. But then the story was explained by their desire to draw the attention of the military authorities to the severe conditions of service - they allegedly lacked uniforms, supplies, etc. "They are recidivists", concluded Tsiklauri. - "And their today's testimony is used by the court to throw one of the leaders of the country in jail".

 

Irakli Sesiashvili, MP from the ruling party "Georgian Dream", an expert on military matters and Nugzar Tsiklauri's opponent, started hitting the weak points of his version "If the battalion rebelled, then why was all the equipment in the garage? No movement armored vehicles moved around the territory. Only the day before a faulty tank had been towed to the repair department. " Sesiashvili also finds it strange that the leaders of the country - Saakashvili, Merabishvili and others, who never missed a chance to wear camouflage uniforms, arrived in Mukhrovani in civilian clothes. Well, and the most suspicious is behavior of officer N, who seems to have been an agent of the Georgian special services. According to the testimony of the majority of convicts, it was officer N who incited to revolt, promised incredible money (mind you, in Russian rubles although Georgia had long been accustomed to settling accounts if not in the national currency, then at least in dollars), and, trying to expand the "zone of rebellion," freely shuttled between the units of the Georgian army. Sesiashvili remembered, "When the investigator asked him about how he had intended to pay, in case the rebellion failed, the officer said he had been planning to rob any bank in Tbilisi, when the riot would have spread to the capital. With all this the "obvious organizer" was sent in jail for a total of two years, of which he served half. " According to Sesiashvili, this strangeness already gives reason to suspect the involvement of the authorities themselves in events in Mukhrovani.

 

Given the diametrically opposed views of the authorities and the opposition to the military uprising in 2009,the correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza interviewed Vakhtang Maisaya, a Georgian expert on military matters .

- What do you think happened on May 5, 2009 in Mukhrovani battalion?

- The incident really took place. But it should not be interpreted as a revolt. The battalion officers protested against the authorities' decision to hold a the festive military parade on May 26 - Independence Day of Georgia. And you can understand them. It is the Mukhrovani battalion and rangers of another division, who were also accused of involvement in the insurgency, who had suffered the greatest losses in August 2008. Their logic in those days was simple: what was actually to celebrate half a year after the loss of territories and lost war? Thus, inMukhrovani there was a protest, an act of defiance, but it was no military insurrection or rebellion. "

 

- Why did the authorities need to emphasize what had happened?

- In those days Tbilisi was swept by a powerful wave of protest. Opposition united, presented strict requirements to the authorities, the protest grew gradually and could cover all of Georgia. Under these conditions, the Saakashvili regime needed a "diversionary political maneuver. " The regime also feared that the army could stand up to the opposition. Inspiring the "Mukhrovani mutiny" in the wake of the latent protest sentiment among members of the armed forces, Saakashvili's authoritarian regime tightened political terror in the country, as well as in the army, where severe cleanings were conducted using the methods of the NKVD of the late 1930s. The army eventually came under tough tutelage of the Georgian Interior Ministry. It is exactly the style of leadership attested by the controversial video, where Interior Minister Merabishvili orders to deliver corpses not so much to his subordinates, but to. . . Deputy General Staff of Georgian Armed Forces General Nairashvili and Land Forces Commander Colonel Telia. 

And then there were the political assassination of General Gia Krialashvili liquidated on May 20 during a "special operation" against the ringleaders of the "Mukhrovani mutiny," Colonel Sergo Tetradze, tortured in prison, Sergeant Roin Shavadze and others. Besides, were dismissed all the soldiers that were considered insufficiently loyal - about 800 officers were literally expelled from the army. Increased the politicization of the Georgian Armed Forces at all levels - from the General Staff to army units. And all this happened under tough tutelage of the Georgian Interior Ministry. Only the change of government after the parliamentary and presidential elections - in the autumn of 2012 and 2013, respectively - put an end to this nightmare.