Key developments
since March 1999: It appears that Georgian groups continue to lay
antipersonnel mines inside Abkhazia. The Georgian government acknowledges that
it is considering mining the Chechen stretch of the Russian-Georgian border.
Russian aircraft dropped mines inside Georgia in what Russia called an accident.
Mine Ban Policy
Georgia has not acceded to the 1997 Mine Ban
Treaty, even though as early as September 1996, President Shevardnadze said:
“I, as the President of Georgia, declare that Georgia takes the obligation
never to produce, use or import antipersonnel
mines.”[1]
At the treaty signing conference, in December 1997, the representative of
Georgia stated that the country could not sign the Mine Ban Treaty for two
reasons: first, antipersonnel mines have been used in the region of Abkhazia and
Georgia cannot fulfill its treaty obligations to conduct mine clearance until
Abkhazia is reintegrated with Georgia; second, Georgia lacks funds, proper
equipment, and trained deminers to conduct the mine clearance
operations.[2]
In February 1999 President Shevardnadze stated his intention to sign the ban
treaty,[3] but the Ministry of
Defense remained opposed, insisting on the right of the military to use
antipersonnel mines.[4] In
March 2000, in a letter to the ICBL Georgian Committee, the Ministry of Defense
cited additional reasons for not joining the treaty: (1) Russian military forces
located on Georgian territory have “great amounts of landmines;” (2)
“none of the states of our region” have signed; and (3)
“Russia continues mining of Georgian
territories....”[5]
Georgia was one of twelve observer delegations at the May 1999 Maputo First
Meeting of States Parties of the Mine Ban Treaty. It voted in favor of the
pro-Mine Ban Treaty United Nations General Assembly resolution in December 1999,
as it had in 1997 and 1998. In a July 2000 letter to Landmine Monitor, a
representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “I would like to
underline that Georgia has been a supporter of the ‘Ottawa Process’
and shares its ultimate goal of complete elimination of the landmines. I would
also like to reiterate our support to the International Campaign for Banning
Landmines and express our will to reach one of the most important goals of
mankind – world free of
landmines.”[6]
An NGO-sponsored regional conference on landmines was held in Tbilisi in
early December 1999 and was attended by military and governmental
representatives from the region as well as NGOs.
Georgia is a state party to the 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons and
its Protocol II on landmines, but has not ratified 1996 Amended Protocol II. It
did not participate in the December 1999 first annual conference on Amended
Protocol II. Georgia is not a member of the Conference on Disarmament.
Production, Transfer, and Stockpiling
As reported in Landmine Monitor Report
1999, officials state that Georgia is not a producer or exporter of
antipersonnel landmines, and has not imported AP mines since
independence.[7] Georgia
inherited what is believed to be a small stockpile of antipersonnel mines from
the former Soviet Union, though the exact size and composition is not known. It
has not destroyed any of its landmine
stockpiles.[8] In addition,
there are antipersonnel mines stockpiled at military bases under Russian
control. The most commonly found types of mines in Georgia and Abkhazia are
MON-50, MON-100, MON-200, MON-90, OZM-72, PMN, PMN-2 (former Soviet Union); and
the TS-50 (Italy).[9]
Use
The resumption of fighting in Chechnya has had an
impact in Georgia. On 9 August 1999, two Russian Su-25 aircraft entered
Georgian airspace from Dagestan, where Russia was involved in fighting against
Dagestani rebels, and bombed in and around the village of Zemo Omalo; three
people were wounded, one
severely.[10] Georgian military
identified the weapons used as KSS-1S cluster bombs, containing PFM-1S
antipersonnel mines.[11] On 17
August, it was reported that Air Force headquarters would “[o]n behalf of
the Russian Defense Ministry...officially apologize to Georgia in the near
future for mistakenly dropping mines on Georgian territory 9 August 2000.”
The incident had been confirmed by a special commission set up to investigate
the incident.[12]
In April 2000, it was reported that the “military leadership and border
services of Russia and Georgia have adopted the decision to mine several
stretches of the border” in order to stop the flow of men and material
between Georgia and Chechnya. Russian military spokesmen said that over twenty
mountain passes and dozens of pathways would be mined along an 80 kilometer
stretch of the border near the southern Chechen Argun
Gorge.[13] The Georgian
Department for the Protection of the State Border, for its part, has stated
officially it is “considering the possibility of mining the Chechen
stretch of the Russian-Georgian border.” That possibility was said to be
a direct response to the decision of the Russians to mine the
area.[14]
Both Georgian and Abkhazian forces laid tens of thousands of mines during the
intense fighting in 1992-93.[15]
In 1999 and 2000, there continued to be numerous reports of groups from Georgia,
allegedly linked to the Georgian
government,[16] infiltrating
into Abkhazia and laying antipersonnel mines. (See report on Abkhazia). At the
Regional Conference in Tbilisi in December 1999, an official from the Georgian
Ministry of Defense noted, “Those mines and ammunition we use at present
are military secrets. Landmines have their importance and let us leave it in
secret.”[17] Areas of
Lower Gali Region in Abkhazia are subject to ongoing limited
conflict.[18]
In a response to Landmine Monitor regarding potential use during this
reporting period (March 1999-May 2000), the Georgian Foreign Ministry stated
that Georgian armed forces have been “strictly abstaining of laying
landmines since long before March 1999. Unfortunately, as you are aware,
certain parts of Georgia are not under the control of the Government of Georgia,
therefore we are not able to control any kind of military or paramilitary
activities there. Neither the Government of Georgia is supporting or
controlling the paramilitary units functioning on the above mentioned
territories.”[19]
There have in the past been allegations of Abkhazian military groups or
partisans laying mines in
Georgia,[20] but Landmine
Monitor is not aware of allegations in the March 1999-May 2000 time period. A
January 1999 UN Security Council resolution “condemns the
activities by armed groups, including the continued laying of mines, which
endanger the civilian population, impede the work of the humanitarian
organizations and seriously delay the normalization of the situation in the Gali
region, and deplores the lack of serious efforts made by the parties to
bring an end to those
activities....”[21]
Landmine Problem
According to the United Nations, there are
approximately 150,000 landmines in Georgia and Abkhazia, the majority of which
are near the Inguri River separating Georgia and
Abkhazia.[22] The U.N.
Development program has estimated that there are 15,000 mines just in two
heavily mined areas along the Inguri River and the Gali
canal.[23] Outside of Abkhazia,
mines pose dangers to civilians in Georgia mainly in areas near the border with
Abkhazia and near military bases, which have been mined. (See Landmine
Monitor Report 1999 for more details). There are also mines on the border
with Turkey.
Mine Clearance
Georgia has no national programs for humanitarian
clearance, mine awareness, or survivor assistance. Responsibility for mine
clearance is entrusted to the Ministry of Defense for the zone of military
actions and territory of military bases, to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for
populated areas, roads, and railroads, and to the State Department for frontier
areas. Since 1994, CIS peacekeepers have conducted demining operations in the
security zone along the Inguri River. The non-governmental organization HALO
Trust has been conducting humanitarian mine clearance in
Abkhazia.[24] (See Landmine
Monitor report on Abkhazia).
In 1999, the government of Georgia requested U.S. assistance to “clear
protective minefields surrounding two ex-Soviet military bases in Georgia so
that the areas may be returned to civilian
use.”[25] The U.S. has
budgeted $1,062,000 for mine action assistance for Georgia and Abkhazia in U.S.
fiscal year 2000.[26] Georgia
will host a unique U.S.-sponsored joint humanitarian demining training exercise
with personnel from Armenia and Azerbaijan from September-November
2000.[27]
Apparently, discussions are underway between officials of Georgia and Turkey
regarding an agreement to demine the border and prohibit future use on the
border, similar to an agreement Turkey has made with
Bulgaria.[28]
Mine Awareness
The ICBL Georgian Committee has begun a mine
awareness campaign, including mapping mined areas, organizing lectures and
seminars for teachers in high-risk regions, and publication of a mine awareness
brochure for people in Georgia and Abkhazia. The ICBL Georgian Committee is
cooperating with Abkhazian NGOs on these issues. During the Tbilisi Regional
Conference in December 1999, ten teachers and 300 school children were involved
in mine awareness activities with the Georgian Committee.
Landmine Casualties and Survivor Assistance
The ICBL Georgian Committee believes that there
has recently been a reduction in the number of people killed or injured by
antipersonnel landmines in Georgia, primarily because a large number of people
have left the mined territories. However, after displaced persons return to
their homes, it is anticipated that there will be an increased number of mine
casualties.
According to information from the Head of Science and Technical Research
Department of Georgian Army General Staff, Colonel Tavadze, about 70% of
casualties during the war were landmine
victims.[29]
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) runs orthopedic projects
for the war disabled, many of whom are landmine victims. It has centers in
Tbilisi and Gagra (Abkhazia) where an average of thirty-one patients in Tbilisi
and six patients in Gagra are fitted with prostheses or orthoses per
month.[30] In 1997, the ICRC
manufactured 669 prostheses in the Tbilisi and Gagra workshops, 184 of which
were for mine victims.[31]
Hospitals throughout Georgia, including in Abkhazia, routinely run into
shortages of basic medical supplies. Lack of surgical equipment and the
facilities to store blood prevent adequate care for landmine survivors. No
special rehabilitation assistance is provided to landmine victims in Georgia.
There are medical rehabilitation centers, but expensive surgical and
rehabilitation measures are inaccessible to most people. There are no national
programs to provide psychological counseling for landmine victims. Although a
general law for the “Social Protection of Disabled” exists in
Georgia, necessary legislation for its implementation has not been developed.
The aforementioned law makes no mention of mine victims.
[1] Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia,
“Georgia and Problem of Anti-Personnel Mines,” June
1998. [2] Address of H.E. Tedo
Japaridze, Ambassador of Georgia at the Signing Ceremony of the Mine Ban Treaty,
Ottawa, 3-4 December 1997. [3]
“Georgian Leader Supports Joining Convention on Banning Landmines,”
Kavkasia-Press news agency, Tbilisi, 9 February 1999, reported by BBC Worldwide
Monitoring. [4] Jody Williams, report to
ICBL on visit to Georgia, email dated 22 February
1999. [5] Letter to Georgian Landmine
Campaign from the Public Relations Department, Georgian Ministry of Defense, 14
March 2000. [6] Letter from Georgi
Burduli, First Deputy Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to Landmine
Monitor/Human Rights Watch, 6 July
2000. [7] Landmine Monitor Report 1999,
p.793. [8] Canada’s Department of
Foreign Affairs and International Trade’s Mine Action
Database. [9] United Nations, Country
Report: Georgia, available at:
http://www.un.org/Depts/Landmine/country/georgia.htm. [10]
“Prime-News,” (television), Tbilisi, Georgia, 10 August
1999. [11] “Georgian Deputy Says
Type of Russian Bomb Established,” Moscow RIA News Agency, 11 August
1999. [12] “Sources Say Russian
Air Force to Apologize to Georgia,” Moscow Interfax, 17 August 1999. A
U.S. government official told the ICBL that there was a second incident in which
a Russian helicopter dropped mines inside Georgia. ICBL meeting with U.S.
delegation to CCW Protocol II meeting, Geneva, 13 December
1999. [13] Aleksandr Igorev and Georgiy
Dvali, “Minefields Will Separate Russia from Georgia,” Moscow
Kommersant (daily newspaper), 12 April
2000. [14]
Ibid. [15] United Nations Development
Program, United Nations Needs Assessment Mission to Abkhazia, Georgia (United
Nations, March 1998), available at: http://www.abkhazia.org. Russian soldiers
and peacekeepers based in Georgia have also used mines in the past. See
Landmine Monitor Report 1999, pp.
793-4. [16] Two main Georgian groups
have claimed responsibility for mine attacks, the “White Legion” and
the “Forest Brothers.” See Landmine Monitor Report 1999, p. 838, for
more details on mining and links to government. In April 2000, the Abkhaz
Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that members of the White Legion and Forest
Brothers patrol the Georgian side of the Ingur
River. [17] Vacho Jgrenaya, Sapper
Administration, Georgian Ministry of Defense, “Peaceful Caucasus: Toward
a Future Without Landmines,” Regional Landmine Conference, Tbilisi,
Georgia, 5-7 December 1999. [18] HALO
Trust and Abkhazia Mine Action Center, “Abkhazia Minefield Survey
Report,” March 2000, p. 11. [19]
Letter from Georgi Burduli, First Deputy Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
to Landmine Monitor/Human Rights Watch, 6 July
2000. [20] 1999 Landmine Monitor
interview with M. Rapava, Head of Criminal Police Department of the Ministry of
Internal Affairs of Abkhazia. [21] UN
Security Council Resolution, S/RES/1225, 28 January
1999. [22] United Nations, Country
Report: Georgia, available at: www.un.org/Depts/Landmine/country/georgia.htm.
The UNDP estimates 50,000 mines throughout Abkhazia, which makes the UN estimate
of 150,000 for all of Georgia seem
high. [23] UNDP, Needs Assessment
Mission, March 1998. [24] HALO Trust and
Abkhazia Mine Action Center, “Abkhazia Minefield Survey Report,”
March 2000. [25] U.S. Department of
State, “Fact Sheet: Meeting of the Interagency Working Group on
Demining,” 2 September 1999. The U.S. is considering the
request. [26] Human Rights Watch,
“Clinton’s Landmine Legacy,” July 2000, pp. 27,
34. [27] Ibid., pp. 24, 34. The
exercise will involve a total of sixty deminers from the three
countries. [28] Statement by the Turkish
Delegation to the Ljubljana, Slovenia Regional Conference on Landmines, 21-22
June 2000. Also, in a letter to Georgian Campaign from K. Imnadze, Deputy to
the Secretary of the National Security Council, No. 342, 10 March 2000, he
states representatives of the governments of Georgia and Turkey met in December
1998 to begin these discussions. [29]
Landmine Monitor 1999 interview with Colonel G. Tavadze, head of the Main
Department of the Strategic Planning and Science-Technical
Research. [30] International Committee
of the Red Cross, Update No. 98/01 on ICRC Activities in Georgia, 4 June 1998,
available at: http://www.icrc.org. [31]
International Committee of the Red Cross, Annual Report 1997, Georgia, 1 June
1998.
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