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#22 - JRL 2006-183 - JRL Home
From: "Alexander Melikishvili" alexanderm@miis.edu
Subject: [re: Abkhazia] Response to the op-ed by Jeffrey Sweetbaum/ No. 181

Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2006

I would like to ask you to publish the following response to the op-ed "Abkhazia Less Separatist Than Already Separated" by Jeffrey Sweetbaum, which appeared in the Johnson's Russia List (Issue No.181, 10 August 2006) and The Moscow Times (Issue No.3472, 10 August 2006, Page 9).

Alexander Melikishvili
Research Associate
International Export Control Observer, Co-Editor
Center for Nonproliferation Studies
Monterey Institute of International Studies
I want to stress that my response does not reflect the views of the Center for Nonproliferation Studies or the Monterey Institute of International Studies.

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I found Jeffrey Sweetbaum�s appeal to recognize the independence of Abkhazia (�Abkhazia Less Separatist Than Already Separated,� The Moscow Times, Issue 3472, August 10, 2006, Page 9), which is a secessionist part of Georgia, very disconcerting. Disguised as an idle pontification of a Westerner, who recently spent three weeks cycling around this no man�s land, Sweetbaum�s op-ed actually advances a very dangerous proposition. The recognition of the separatist statelet of Abkhazia will ignite a chain reaction that will destabilize not only Georgia but also the entire Transcaucasus region and beyond. It will also legitimize the ethnic cleansing of Abkhazia, which resulted in more than 300,000 Georgian internally displaced persons, who essentially remain refugees in their own country. It is regretful that Mr. Sweetbaum chose to remain mum on this subject. Equally regretful is Mr. Sweetbaum�s clearly biased characterization of the outcome of the Georgian-Abkhaz war as an �unlikely victory against Georgia.� If Mr. Sweetbaum actually had some time to read about the Georgian-Abkhaz war, he would have undoubtedly discovered that throughout the conflict the Russian armed forces, Cossack volunteers and North Caucasian militants, including the recently killed Shamil Basaev, actively aided the Abkhaz side and significantly contributed to the defeat of the poorly organized Georgian forces. There was nothing unlikely about that victory. The United States and European Union support Georgia�s position not for �certain strategically opaque reasons,� as Mr. Sweetbaum puts it, but because of the primacy of the concept of territorial integrity of a sovereign state, which is enshrined in the international law. Even the Russian Federation formally recognizes the sanctity and inviolability of Georgia�s state borders. The simple and inconvenient truth is that the Abkhaz people cannot exercise the right for self-determination with the majority of the population of Abkhazia, who are Georgian, forcefully expelled from the province. While I cannot hope to dispel Mr. Sweetbaum�s skepticism about Georgia�s ability to reintegrate Abkhazia, I would, nevertheless, like to assure him that the Georgian leadership does not entertain the forceful solution to this conflict. In fact, Saakashvili�s government has consistently exhibited considerable restraint in dealing with the separatist leaders in both South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Tbilisi sees solution to these conflicts within the framework of the growing confidence building measures and the comprehensive resolution of the mutual grievances (perceived and real), which should include the dignified return of the displaced persons. As a pragmatic Western entrepreneur, Mr. Sweetbaum extols the tremendous tourist potential of Abkhazia and laments the fact that the investments cannot be made in developing the beautiful coastline. However, Mr. Sweetbaum forgets to mention that already cohorts of Russian businessmen led by the Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov began acquiring and developing large swaths of prime real estate. This is hardly surprising. After all, Mr. Luzhkov has a long history of coddling Georgia�s separatists (suffice it to mention that the former ruler of another Georgian province, Adjaria, Aslan Abashidze found refuge under his tutelage in Moscow). Be that as it may, Mr. Sweetbaum�s incendiary vignette on Abkhazia reflects the kind of Western cultural arrogance that, for instance, allowed The Economist recently to collectively call small countries torn by internal territorial conflicts the �fiddly little places with tragic histories.� With attitude like this and with little knowledge of the Abkhaz conflict in general, let alone its many nuances, Mr. Sweetbaum�s op-ed is well equipped to provoke tensions rather than to suggest a workable solution to the once �frozen conflict,� which is rapidly thawing.