PRESS CONFERENCE BY GEORGIA

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE BY GEORGIA

Negotiations to resolve the conflict in Abkhazia, Georgia, were deadlocked and a more radical solution was needed, correspondents were told this morning at a Headquarters press conference sponsored by Georgia's Mission.

Londer Tsaava, who introduced himself as "Prime Minister of the legitimate government of Abkhazia in exile," said he was visiting the United Nations as part of a delegation of Georgian parliamentarians and other public officials. The delegation had met with members of the Security Council to provide updated information on the situation in the conflict zone and share views on the process for resolving the conflict and the problem of internally displaced persons and refugees.

In the Gali region, civilians were being killed, tortured and their houses were being burned, he said. As a consequence of the May 1998 events there, the Georgian population had been forced to flee. As a result, about 300,000 internally displaced persons and refugees were now living in such grim conditions that their very survival was in question.

He said that for the past five or six years, the Abkhazian separatist regime had conducted a policy of ethnic cleansing. Georgia's Government could provide the international community with ample evidence of that fact. The situation had been classified as ethnic cleansing according to resolutions of the Organization for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) in Europe and he was surprised that the United Nations had not made a similar determination.

The Abkhaz separatist regime was obstructing the peace process, he continued. The Russian Federation was not fulfilling its role as facilitator of the peace process. Its passivity essentially promoted Abkhazian policies. The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) peacekeeping forces had not fulfilled their obligations and sometimes acted in concert with Abkhazian separatists against the civilian population. The international community and the United Nations must become more actively involved.

The resolution adopted Thursday, 28 January, by the Security Council had not accurately reflected the dynamics of the conflict and the process for a political settlement, he said. Bilateral discussions were increasingly called for, but, in fact, such talks were disappointing. The means for reaching a peaceful resolution to the conflict had been exhausted.

The United Nations should move from acting under Chapter VI of the United Nations Charter to Chapter VII, and put more pressure on the Abkhaz side, he said. It should evaluate the situation in Abkhazia as ethnic cleansing. Such actions would yield positive results in resolving the situation.

Georgia Press Conference - 2 - 29 January 1999

[Chapter VI refers to pacific settlement of disputes, while Chapter VII covers action with respect to threats to the peace, breaches of the peace, and acts of aggression.]

A correspondent asked what future actions were anticipated. Mr. Tsaava said that he would continue to work to have the policies of ethnic cleansing categorized as such, and to have the United Nations exert greater pressure on the Abkhaz side.

Asked for his vision of a political settlement, Mr. Tsaava said the situation could move in two different directions. With the international community's involvement, the peace process initiated by the United Nations could continue and yield a positive outcome. However, there were 300,000 persons in desperate straits, who were difficult to control. In the absence of a peaceful solution, those refugees and internally displaced persons might try to use force to return to their homes. The Georgian Government was not advocating or even considering that second possibility at the present time, and it hoped it would not have to do so.

As facilitator and peacemaker, the Russian Federation could contribute greatly to bringing about a positive result, he said. Also, the international community's active involvement in the process would be of great help. Otherwise, as his Minister of Foreign Affairs had told the Security Council yesterday, the situation was a closed circle. The peace process was deadlocked. More talks with the Abkhaz side were suggested, but there was not enough pressure on that side to move the issues. It could be an endless exercise. More radical steps were needed.

Would he consider an international authority temporarily organized to run part of the area? a correspondent asked. The Georgian Government hoped for a greater international presence in the conflict zone, Mr. Tsaava said. The issue was how the Russian CIS peacekeepers could be substituted for or complemented by an international peacekeeping force.

It had been proposed to the Abkhaz side that Abkhazians have the highest autonomy within the territorial borders of Georgia, and he believed that was reasonable, he said. The return of refugees and internally displaced persons to their homes was a matter of utmost importance. Recently, negotiations on returns had been held with the Abkhaz side. Sadly, the Abkhaz side had refused a proposal put forth by the international community and the Secretary- General's Special Representative involving joint administration under international control and other measures.

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