Key
developments since May 2001: A Defense Ministry official told Landmine
Monitor that Georgian Armed Forces laid antipersonnel mines in several passes in
the Kodori gorge in 2001. The government has denied this. There were reports
of private armed groups from Georgia laying antipersonnel mines in Abkhazia.
Russia began the process of destroying its obsolete landmine stocks in Georgia.
According to the ICBL Georgian Committee, in 2001 there were 98 new landmine/UXO
casualties in Georgia.
MINE BAN POLICY
Georgia has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty,
although it has frequently expressed support for a global ban on antipersonnel
mines. In a July 2002 letter to Landmine Monitor, Georgia said it
“attaches great importance to the issue of banning antipersonnel
mines” and expressed support for the “noble goal [of a] mine-free
world.”[1] On 29 November
2001, Georgia voted in favor of United Nations General Assembly Resolution
56/24M, calling for universalization and full implementation of the Mine Ban
Treaty. It has supported similar UNGA resolutions in the past.
Georgia has stated that it is unable to accede to the Mine Ban Treaty at this
time because it has no jurisdiction over mined areas in Abkhazia and Samachablo,
and because it will have difficulty clearing the mines and unexploded ordnance
(UXO) left by the forces of the former Soviet Union and
Russia.[2] Georgia has said
that “without financial and technological assistance, Georgia will not be
able to fulfill its obligations” under the Mine Ban
Treaty.[3]
Georgia did not attend the Third Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban
Treaty in September 2001, nor did it attend the intersessional Standing
Committee meetings in January or May 2002.
Georgia is party to the 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its
original Protocol II, but it has not ratified Amended Protocol II on landmines.
Georgia did not participate in the Third Annual Conference of States Parties to
Amended Protocol II, nor the Second CCW Review Conference, both held in Geneva
in December 2001.
USE
Georgia has had an official moratorium on the use
of antipersonnel mines in place since September
1996.[4] However, in February
2002, a representative of the Ministry of Defense admitted that in 2001,
Georgian Armed Forces laid antipersonnel mines in several passes in the Kodori
gorge on the border with
Abkhazia.[5] In July 2002, the
Defense official confirmed this information, including that antipersonnel mines,
not antivehicle mines, were used by Georgian
forces.[6]
A press report in July 2002 stated that “Georgian frontier guards blew
up while laying mines in the upper Kodori gorge of Abkhazia,” noting that
one died and another was seriously wounded. It said that a press release from
the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) peacekeepers office stated that
“the staff of Georgian Border Protection Department are laying mines in
the upper part of the Kodori gorge...in particular the territory between the
107th post of CIS peacekeepers and the village of
Kvabchara.”[7] It said
Georgia’s Defense Minister requested Russian peacekeepers to provide
timely evacuation of the servicemen.
Abkhazian officials also accused Georgian troops of using antipersonnel mines
in Kodor valley in October
2001.[8] (see below). In early
May 2002, Russian peacekeepers and United Nations military observers on patrol
in the Georgian-controlled section of the Kodor valley in Abkhazia reportedly
found a stockpile of weapons in a school, including 600 landmines. The
Georgians are reported to have said that they “did not manage to get rid
of it on time,” and promised to remove the weapons as soon as “the
roads open.”[9]
In an initial response to a Landmine Monitor letter about allegations of
mine use, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia stated in July 2002,
“Let me assure you that the official structures of Georgia, including the
Georgian Armed Forces, strictly observes the moratorium declared by President
Shevardnadze in 1996. Since then Georgia has been strictly abstaining from use,
manufacture and import of antipersonnel
mines.”[10] In a second
response, after receiving a full draft of the report from Landmine Monitor, the
Deputy Minister said, “Georgian side reiterates that during the year 2002
[sic] neither Georgian Armed Forces nor the staff of the State Department of the
State Border Protection or any other official structures of Georgia laid any
anti-personnel mines in the Pankisi and Kodori gorges or elsewhere in
Georgia.”[11]
Private armed groups from Georgia continued in 2001 and 2002 to cross into
Abkhazia and lay antipersonnel and antivehicle mines. It has been alleged that
these groups are linked to the Georgian
government.[12] In January
2002, the armed groups “White Legion” and “Forest
Brothers” reportedly began mining footpaths linking Georgia’s
Zugdidi region with the Gali region of Abkhazia, including paths to CIS
peacekeeping positions. They reportedly warned the CIS peacekeepers of
mine-laying. They also reportedly mined the left bank of the Inguri River,
separating Abkhazia and
Georgia.[13]
In October 2001, Abkhazian officials alleged that armed irregulars, with the
active support of regular Georgian troops, moved into the northern part of the
Kodor valley in violation of the cease-fire agreement of May 1994 and deployed
new mines during the military
operation.[14]
However, in his July 2002 letter, the Deputy Foreign Minister said that the
“Georgian side would like also to reiterate its position and state that
the government of Georgia has neither tacitly nor openly supported Georgian
partisans in their alleged use of antipersonnel
mines.”[15]
PRODUCTION, TRANSFER, AND STOCKPILING
Officials continue to state that Georgia has never
produced, exported, or imported antipersonnel landmines since independence.
Georgia, however, inherited what is believed to be a small stockpile of
antipersonnel mines from the former Soviet Union. The exact size and
composition of that stock remains unknown. An inventory of the landmine stocks
was conducted three times in 2001 by representatives of the Defense Ministry,
the office of the military prosecutor, and the security
service.[16]
Russia began the process of destroying its obsolete landmine stocks in
Georgia during the reporting period. Russia is believed to have landmines
stockpiled at three military bases in
Georgia.[17] On 15 March 2002,
Russia reportedly destroyed 500 mines stored at its former base at Sagarejo.
However, differences remain between Moscow and Tbilisi regarding the timeframe
for completing destruction of the Sagarejo stockpile. Tbilisi believes the
process can be finished within nine months. Moscow believes it will take three
years.[18]
Police confiscated 38 antivehicle shells, one antivehicle mine, grenades, and
bullets from the inhabitants of the Kotchubani village in the Sagarejo region,
indicating that stockpile security is a problem in
Georgia.[19]
LANDMINE PROBLEM AND MINE ACTION
Past editions of Landmine Monitor have described
the landmine problem in Georgia in detail. (See also separate Landmine Monitor
entry on Abkhazia in this edition). Mines pose dangers to civilians in Georgia
mainly in areas near the border with Abkhazia and near Russian military bases.
The majority of accidents in 2001 took place near military bases. In March
2002, it was reported that HALO Trust and the Georgian Defense Ministry were
going to conduct a survey of two Russian military
bases.[20] HALO Trust, a
British demining organization, operates primarily in Abkhazia, but does some
survey and assessment work elsewhere in Georgia.
Georgia has no State programs for humanitarian mine clearance, mine
awareness, or survivor assistance. Responsibility for mine clearance in the
zone of military actions and at military bases is entrusted to the Ministry of
Defense, whereas the Ministry of Internal Affairs is responsible for populated
areas, roads, and railroads, and the State Department of Border Guards is
responsible for border areas.
During the reporting period, Georgia’s Defense Ministry demined three
paths of the Kodori gorge in the region of Amtkeli and Verkhniy Adjari; Georgian
troops defused and removed numerous items of UXO and munitions.
Peacekeeping forces in the zone of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict found and
destroyed four landmines in February 2001; peacekeeping forces in the region
regularly clear unexploded
ordnance.[21]
As a part of the “Beecroft Initiative,” the US transferred
demining equipment to Georgia in 2001 and 2002. In 2001, the US transferred to
Georgia five mine detectors, two generators, a computer, a car, and various
engineering materials.[22]
In March 2002, the equipment included seven mine detectors, 10 sets of
Personnel Protective Equipment, four SUVs, a truck, and other equipment,
totaling US$80,000.[23]Present at the 12 March 2002 transfer ceremony were the US Ambassador to
Georgia, the Georgian Assistant Minister of Defense, and a representative from
the US State Department’s Office of Humanitarian Demining
Programs.[24] The US trained 20
Georgians as instructors, who have in turn trained 34 others, giving Georgia a
force of 54 trained
deminers.[25]
The US has said that the “recent creation of a US Train and Equip
program” in Georgia has prompted the US to consider again Georgia’s
request for mine action assistance, and a Policy Assessment Visit will occur in
Georgia in the August-September 2002
timeframe.[26]
The Assistant Minister of Defense announced at the March 2002 ceremony that
Georgian sappers were ready to participate in demining operations on the
territory of Abkhazia.
MINE RISK EDUCATION
Other than in Abkhazia, there are no governmental
or non-governmental programs for mine risk education. The International
Campaign to Ban Landmines Georgian Committee (ICBL GC) has criticized the
Georgian Minister of Education for not taking measures to adequately educate
students on the dangers of
landmines.[27] The Minister of
Education wrote in response that a decree was issued in 2001 requiring all
secondary schools to teach a course on “Extreme situations and Civic
Defense.” The Minister also said that such courses had been taught since
1995 during primary military training and in secondary schools in mountain and
border regions, in addition to one day a year devoted to mass defense
activities. The ICBL GC has not been able to identify any instances of such
courses being taught.[28]
LANDMINE CASUALTIES
In 2001, the ICBL GC collected data on 98 new
casualties in Georgia caused by landmines, UXO or improvised explosive devices
(IEDs): 34 people were killed including four children, and 64 people were
injured including 14
children.[29] Casualties
continue to be reported in 2002: in February, a 14-year-old boy was injured in
Khashuri,[30] two young men died
in an incident in the Sagaredgo
region,[31] and a seven-year-old
boy was injured in the eye and his mother in hand in an incident in the
Sachkhere region.[32] The ICBL
GC also reports 33 casualties from 1 January to 23 July 2002.
There are no comprehensive official statistics on the number of people killed
or injured by landmines and UXO in Georgia. The Central Hospital of the
Ministry of Defense registered four military mine injuries in
2001.[33] The Defense Ministry
registered three mine casualties in the Pankisi gorge: one border guard was
killed, one military officer was injured, and one local inhabitant of the Kodori
gorge was killed.[34] The Head
of Zugdidi Republican Hospital, the main health facility in the border region
with Abkhazia, reported treating nine mine casualties in
2001.[35]
SURVIVOR ASSISTANCE
Hospitals throughout Georgia, including in
Abkhazia, routinely run short of basic medical supplies due to a lack of
funding. The International Committee of the Red Cross regularly provides
equipment, supplies, and medicines to surgical hospitals, including the Zugdidi
Republican Hospital, the regional referral hospital, and two facilities in
Darcheli and Jvari. Three referral hospitals and two front-line hospitals were
also assisted in Abkhazia. In October emergency surgical assistance was
provided to the Agudzera military referral hospital and several other
facilities. In 2001, 14 mine/UXO casualties benefited from ICRC assistance,
including three in Abkhazia.[36]
The ICRC, in collaboration with local authorities, supports two
prosthetic/orthotic centers in Tbilisi and Gagra, for the disabled, including
landmine survivors. The centers are the only facilities available for physical
rehabilitation in Georgia. The main activities of the centers are the delivery
of services to the physically disabled and professional training for technical
staff.[37] In 2001, physical
rehabilitation services were provided for patients who were fitted with 463
prostheses; 21 percent of the fitted amputees were mine
survivors.[38] The Centers
also produced 612 orthoses, 28 wheelchairs, and 688
crutches.[39] All
responsibilities for the running of the Gagra Center have been handed over to
the Abkhaz health
authorities.[40]
Since May 2000, six orthopedic technicians have been undergoing training in
order to reach a higher professional level in prosthetics and orthotics,
equivalent to the International Society of Prosthetic and Orthopedics (ISPO)
level II. Final examinations took place in May 2001 and five passed. The
training course and its final diploma have been internationally recognized by
ISPO.[41]
The government-run Social Rehabilitation Center for the Disabled in Tbilisi
provides orthopedic devices to persons with disabilities. The center currently
assists 10 to 13 patients a month with orthopedic appliances, however it has the
capacity to assist as many as 30 a month. The center’s budget has been
decreasing over the last few years. The 2001 budget was only US$4,800 (10,656
Georgian Lary).[42] The center
produces upper and lower limb prostheses, and other assistive devices. The
center also operates a repair service for prosthetic devices. In 2001, 343
prosthetic devices were produced and 112 prostheses repaired at the center.
There are currently 1,500 people on the waiting list for orthopedic appliances.
All services at the center are
free.[43]
The Ministry of Labor, Health, and Social Affairs is developing a special
program to establish centers for the care and rehabilitation of the disabled in
Tbilisi, Kutaisi, and
Batumi.[44] In 2002, the budget
for the program is US$100,000 (222,000 Georgian Lary); part of the budget,
US$25,000 (55,500 Georgian Lary), will go toward the ICRC Orthopedic Center and
US$75,000 (166,500 Georgian Lary) to the Social Rehabilitation Center for the
Disabled.[45] Nevertheless,
specialized medical rehabilitation and psychological support appears to remain
inaccessible, or unavailable, for many mine
survivors.[46]
In May 2002, a representative of the UN Mine Action Service visited Georgia
to discuss mine awareness and victim
assistance.[47]
DISABILITY POLICY AND PRACTICE
The June 1995 Law on the Social Protection of the
Disabled outlines the rights of the disabled; however, it has not been fully
implemented because of the economic situation in
Georgia.[48]
[1] Letter from Deputy Minister of Foreign
Affairs Merab Antadze to Mary Wareham, Coordinator, Landmine Monitor, 19 July
2002. [2] Interview with representative
of the Ministry of Defense, Tbilisi, 6 February 2002. The representative also
provided written answers to questions submitted by Landmine Monitor. One
written answer stated: “There do still exist the mined territories in
Abkhazia and Samachablo, on which do not apply the jurisdiction of Georgia and
naturally on these territories Georgia cannot carry out monitoring nor demining
works. Besides on the territory of Georgia there are hundreds of military
objects left by forces of former Soviet Union and Russia, objects where are set
mines, explosive substances and the sources which cause various professional
diseases, and in the budget of the state and the Defense Ministry of Georgia
there were not foreseen the means for liquidation of sources of
danger.” [3] Note Verbale from the
Permanent Mission of Georgia to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE), FSC. DEL/12/01, 17 January
2001. [4] The moratorium was proclaimed
by President Shevardnadze at the United Nations in September 1996 and has been
repeated by officials many times since. See Landmine Monitor Report 1999, p.
792, and Note Verbale to the OSCE, 17 January
2001. [5] Interview with representative
of the Ministry of Defense, Tbilisi, 6 February 2002. The use of mines was
confirmed in written answers to questions submitted by Landmine Monitor. He
also stated mines were used in the Pankisi
gorge. [6] Telephone interviews with
Ministry of Defense official, Tblisi, 23 and 24 July 2002. He stated that the
areas where the antipersonnel mines were laid are inaccessible to
vehicles. [7] “Georgian frontier
guards blown up on a mine in the upper Kodori gorge,” Caucasus Press
(Sukhumi) Georgia, 2 July 2002. [8]
Apsnypress (Abkhazian State Press Agency), accessed at:
www.apsnypress.narod.ru, 9 October 2001; RFE/RL Caucasus Report, Vol. 5, No. 13,
12 April 2002; Landmine Monitor Abkhazia researcher interview with
representative of the Engineering Forces of the Abkhazian Ministry of Defense,
Sukhum, Abkhazia, 3 November 2001. [9]
Apsnypress Report No. 092, 6 May 2002, available at:
www.apsnypress.narod.ru. [10] Letter
from Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Merab Antadze to Mary Wareham,
Coordinator, Landmine Monitor, 19 July
2002. [11] Letter from Deputy Minister
of Foreign Affairs, dated 31 July 2002, received 6 August
2002. [12] A. Studenikin,
“Terrorism as Means for Achieving Political Goals, on the Example of
Contemporary Georgia,” Research paper submitted to the international
conference “Terrorism in Today’s World: Factors, Aspects and
Tendencies,” sponsored by William R. Nelson Institute, James Madison
University, held in Kishinev, Moldova, 29-30 September 2001. See also,
Apsnypress, 9 October 2001; RFE/RL Caucasus Report, Vol. 5, No. 13, 12 April
2002. [13] Anatoliy Gordienko,
“In Abkhazia are mined the posts of Russian peacemakers,”
Nezavisimaya Gazeta, 23 January 2002, p. 5; Apsnypress Report No. 10, 22
January 2002; “Prime-News,” TBS (Georgian news agency), 22 January
2002; “Black Sea Press,” Issue 4, 22 January
2002. [14] Landmine Monitor Abkhazia
researcher interview with representative of the Engineering Forces of the
Abkhazian Ministry of Defense, Sukhum, 3 November 2001. See also, Apsnypress, 9
October 2001; RFE/RL Caucasus Report, Vol. 5, No. 13, 12 April
2002. [15] Letter from Deputy Minister
of Foreign Affairs, 19 July 2002. [16]
Information provided by the Ministry of Defense to ICBL Georgian Committee,
February 2002. [17] As reported in
Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 878, mines are at Sagarejo, Batumi, and
Akhalkalaki bases. [18]
“Ammunition is transferred from Russian military stock in Sagaredgo”
Svobodnaya Gruzia, (Free Georgia) 16 March 2002, p. 3; Independent TV channel of
Georgia, “Kurier” program, 15 March
2002. [19] “Why did she need such
arsenal?,” Khronika, 4-10 February
2002. [20] Email from Chris Barron,
Program Manager, HALO Trust in Georgia, to ICBL-GC, 14 March
2002. [21] Dilis Gazety, 21 February
2001. [22] Information provided by the
Ministry of Defense to ICBL Georgian Committee, February
2002. [23] Email from Black Sea Press
Agency, 11 March 2002. [24] Email from
Black Sea Press Agency, 6 March
2002. [25] US Department of State Fact
Sheet, “Humanitarian Mine Action Subgroup Minutes of June 14, 2002,”
10 July 2002. [26]
Ibid. [27] Letter No. 3-09 from ICBL
Georgian Committee to Alexander Kartozia, Minister of Education, 7 September
2001. [28] Letter from A. Kartozia,
Minister of Education, to ICBL Georgian Committee, 11 October
2001. [29] The ICBL GC collects data on
incidents from hospitals and media reports and records the information in a
database. [30] Tamar Absava, Akhali
Taoba, 5 February 2002, p. 7. [31]
“Two young men become the victims of explosion,” Akhali Taoba, 7
February 2002, p. 7. [32]
“Explosive substance at home?” Khronika, 11-17 February 2002, p.
19. [33] Information provided by
Surgeons Department, Central Hospital of the Ministry of Defense, 30 December
2001. [34] Information provided by the
Ministry of Defense to ICBL Georgian Committee, February
2002. [35] Fax to ICBL GC from Nona
Tacidze, Director, Zugdidi Republican Hospital, 12 March
2002. [36] ICRC, “ICRC Special
Report, Mine Action 2001,” ICRC, Geneva, p. 34; see also Landmine Monitor
Report 2001, p. 883. [37] ICRC,
“ICRC Special Report, Mine Action 2001,” Geneva, p.
34. [38] ICRC Physical Rehabilitation
Programmes, Annual Report 2001, accessed at
www.icrc.org. [39] Interview with Rainer
Knoll, Head of Orthopedic Program, and Peter Schoenenberger, Ortho-prosthetist,
ICRC Orthopedic Center, Tbilisi, 8 January 2002.
[40] ICRC, “ICRC Special Report,
Mine Action 2001,” Geneva, p.
34. [41] ICRC Georgia, “Even Wars
Have Limits,” January 2002. [42]
Interview with Archil Shavdia, General Director, Social Rehabilitation Center
for the Disabled, 4 January 2002. [43]
Interview with Ramini Kravelishvili, Director, Social Rehabilitation Center for
the Disabled, 8 January 2002. [44] See
Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp.
883-884. [45] Interview with Marina
Gudushauri, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs, 7
February 2002. [46] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2000, p. 826. [47] Email from
Alexander Russetsky, ICBL GC, 27 May
2002. [48] Letter to ICBL GC from Marina
Gudusauri, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs, Ref.
17/06-134, 23 April 2001.