By Georgi Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza
Emzar Kvitsiani, an ex-presidential envoy to the Kodori Gorge in Abkhazia, has been sentenced to 12 years of jail by the Gali–Gulripsh District Court of Abkhazia for a coup attempt and disobedience. The Georgian government was in control of the Kodori Gorge from September 1993, when the Georgian-Abkhaz war ended, until August 2008.
The leader of the local Svans (ethnic Georgians speaking in the Svan dialect) was a combatant. President Shevardnadze appointed Emzar Kvitsiani as his representative to the gorge. Kvitsiani served until the Rose Revolution of 2003. He was opposed to the revolution because he felt that revolutionaries were trying to disrupt the status quo in conflict zones, such as the Kodori Gorge.
New President Mikheil Saakashvili appointed a new representative, but Kvitsiani remained an authoritative field commander and controlled the local Svan militia called Monadire (Hunter). Nonetheless, obeying the ultimatum, Kvitsiani left Kodori, moved to a different region, engaged in business and refrained from interfering in the developments of the gorge until the summer of 2006, when President Saakashvili and Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili decided to disarm Monadire and deploy about 2,000 troops in the Kodori Gorge.
Svans called Emzar Kvitsiani, he left all business and returned to the gorge, publicly denouncing Saakashvili. He was forced to move to Russia, the gorge turned into a Georgian military outpost, altering the military and strategic situation in the north-western part of the Caucasus.
Neither Moscow nor Abkhazia nor the North Caucasus elites put up with the decision. Though Kvitsiani was a man of rural origins, he knew Abkhazians and the 1990s well. After the war, he was actively negotiating peace with them. Russian peacekeepers and the Georgian government convinced Abkhazians and Svans to reach an unofficial and informal strategic compromise: the Abkhaz side gave up plans to control the upper part of the Kodori Gorge (where Svans lived) and conceded to the influence of Georgia in the area. Kvitsiani promised that no Georgian forces would be deployed in the “Abkhaz Autonomous Republic.” Kvitsiani understood that Abkhazians would not put up with that and would try to punish violators with an informal agreement.
In 2001, President Shevardnadze made an irresponsible decision by sending a group of Chechen field commander Ruslan Gilayev’s forces from the Pankisi Gorge (400km from Abkhazia) to the Kodori Gorge. The incident almost caused a conflict between Russia and Georgia. Kvitsiani helped settle the problem, Gilayev’s troops returned back to Pankisi. In 2006, the Kodori Gorge was renamed Upper Abkhazia, forces were moved to the Abkhaz Autonomous Republic, the area became a military base. Monadire was disbanded, many Svan militiamen were put behind bars and labeled bandits. The ruling team admitted that Kodori was a good platform to force Abkhazia back to Georgia.
As Kvitsiani predicted, the situation had a sad ending for Georgia and local Svans in 2008. Abkhaz formations pushed Georgian forces and the Svan population out with the help of Russian forces. Thousands of Svans became refugees, losing hope of returning home. Abkhaz authorities decided to turn the highland gorge into a natural reserve.
Emzar Kvitsiani returned to Georgia in February 2014, hoping that the new government would not jail a man who had tried to save the gorge and resisted plans of the old government. He was wrong.
Of course, Kvitsiani should have properly evaluated his miscalculations in late 2012, when the Georgian Dream coalition refused to put his name on the list of political convicts and political refugees of Saakashvili’s regime. It seems that the new government considers a precedent of armed disobedience to be dangerous. Although Kvitsiani and his troops showed no real resistance in 2006, when Georgian forces unwilling to shoot compatriots were entering Kodori.
The sentence given to Emzar stirred up the public. Protesters gathered in front of the parliament in Tbilisi and demanded his release, claiming that he was trying to save his people.
Kvitsiani’s crime is that he was standing against adventurists, trying to save his people from being driven out of their homelandBy Georgy Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively for Vestnik KavkazaEmzar Kvitsiani, an ex-presidential envoy to the Kodori Gorge in Abkhazia, has been sentenced to 12 years of jail by the Gali–Gulripsh District Court of Abkhazia for a coup attempt and disobedience. The Georgian government was in control of the Kodori Gorge from September 1993, when the Georgian-Abkhaz war ended, until August 2008.The leader of the local Svans (ethnic Georgians speaking in the Svan dialect) was a combatant. President Shevardnadze appointed Emzar Kvitsiani as his representative to the gorge. Kvitsiani served until the Rose Revolution of 2003. He was opposed to the revolution because he felt that revolutionaries were trying to disrupt the status quo in conflict zones, such as the Kodori Gorge.New President Mikheil Saakashvili appointed a new representative, but Kvitsiani remained an authoritative field commander and controlled the local Svan militia called Monadire (Hunter). Nonetheless, obeying the ultimatum, Kvitsiani left Kodori, moved to a different region, engaged in business and refrained from interfering in the developments of the gorge until the summer of 2006, when President Saakashvili and Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili decided to disarm Monadire and deploy about 2,000 troops in the Kodori Gorge.Svans called Emzar Kvitsiani, he left all business and returned to the gorge, publicly denouncing Saakashvili. He was forced to move to Russia, the gorge turned into a Georgian military outpost, altering the military and strategic situation in the north-western part of the Caucasus.Neither Moscow nor Abkhazia nor the North Caucasus elites put up with the decision. Though Kvitsiani was a man of rural origins, he knew Abkhazians and the 1990s well. After the war, he was actively negotiating peace with them. Russian peacekeepers and the Georgian government convinced Abkhazians and Svans to reach an unofficial and informal strategic compromise: the Abkhaz side gave up plans to control the upper part of the Kodori Gorge (where Svans lived) and conceded to the influence of Georgia in the area. Kvitsiani promised that no Georgian forces would be deployed in the “Abkhaz Autonomous Republic.” Kvitsiani understood that Abkhazians would not put up with that and would try to punish violators with an informal agreement.In 2001, President Shevardnadze made an irresponsible decision by sending a group of Chechen field commander Ruslan Gilayev’s forces from the Pankisi Gorge (400km from Abkhazia) to the Kodori Gorge. The incident almost caused a conflict between Russia and Georgia. Kvitsiani helped settle the problem, Gilayev’s troops returned back to Pankisi. In 2006, the Kodori Gorge was renamed Upper Abkhazia, forces were moved to the Abkhaz Autonomous Republic, the area became a military base. Monadire was disbanded, many Svan militiamen were put behind bars and labeled bandits. The ruling team admitted that Kodori was a good platform to force Abkhazia back to Georgia.As Kvitsiani predicted, the situation had a sad ending for Georgia and local Svans in 2008. Abkhaz formations pushed Georgian forces and the Svan population out with the help of Russian forces. Thousands of Svans became refugees, losing hope of returning home. Abkhaz authorities decided to turn the highland gorge into a natural reserve.Emzar Kvitsiani returned to Georgia in February 2014, hoping that the new government would not jail a man who had tried to save the gorge and resisted plans of the old government. He was wrong.Of course, Kvitsiani should have properly evaluated his miscalculations in late 2012, when the Georgian Dream coalition refused to put his name on the list of political convicts and political refugees of Saakashvili’s regime. It seems that the new government considers a precedent of armed disobedience to be dangerous. Although Kvitsiani and his troops showed no real resistance in 2006, when Georgian forces unwilling to shoot compatriots were entering Kodori.The sentence given to Emzar stirred up the public. Protesters gathered in front of the parliament in Tbilisi and demanded his release, claiming that he was trying to save his peo
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