Georgians threaten to frustrate the Olympics
Publication time: 23 May 2008, 17:47
Georgia's Minister for Reintegration of Separatist Territories, Temur Yakobashvili commented on situation with the attacks on Georgian buses on the day of parliamentary election. In his interview to Russian newspaper "Vremya Novostey", he stated that "Russia should leave Abkhazia alone and withdraw its peacekeepers/occupiers".

"Unresolved conflict in the Caucasus threatens to frustrate the Sochi Olympics", Georgia's minister warned.

"This is terrorism", Yakobashvili said when commenting on the bus attack. "An attack on civilians is called terrorism. The objective is to frighten the civilian population, especially to make people not go to Georgian elections. That is, the existing peacekeeping formats cannot ensure the smooth movement of people living in the Gali District.  All these so-called peacekeepers and general security scheme, existing in the region, should be reviewed ".

"Now we can see, for example, the so-called increase of Russian peacekeepers, which are in fact the occupation forces. They do not fit into the peacekeeping operation and cannot ensure safety of the Georgian population in Gali District. There is an urgent need to replace these so-called peacekeepers by another operation. Also at this stage it would be expedient to launch police operations", -- Georgian minister repeated the recent requirement of Georgian Foreign Ministry on the withdrawal of the Russian military contingent.

Earlier Georgia's Foreign Ministry has sent a protest note to the Secretariat of the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States, former Soviet republics) demanding that so-called illegal Russian troops and armaments are withdrawn from the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict zone. The ministry said that according to the UN, an airborne battalion, 50 BMD-2 airborne combat vehicles, two artillery batteries, each with five D-30 howitzers, have been deployed in Abkhazia. The ministry said that this "was out of line with a 1995 resolution of the CIS Presidents' Council".

"I think the improvement in Georgian-Russian relations is inevitable, no matter how much anyone would try to spoil the relations from either side. But the issue is not only in important religious, historical and human relations. There are purely pragmatic things involved. There will be no peace in the Caucasus for as long as Georgia remains dismembered and vulnerable. Especially there will be no peace in the North Caucasus. And holding the 2014 Olympics in Sochi will become problematic as well, since the unresolved conflict would be looming just 30 kilometers away".

Yakobashvili also said that the "frozen" conflict in the Caucasus is not beneficial for Russia first of all.

Moscow's pressure on Sukhumi will not yield any fruit, as Georgian minister is assured.

"Moscow believes that once America ‘takes over' Georgia and Ukraine, there will be a need to snatch Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Crimea". At the same time, Russia will never recognize their independence, he stressed.

In this connection our readers should also be reminded that earlier on Dagestani War Council (Jamaah) under the name of Shariat has made a statement on lack of any security in Sochi.

The statement reads:

"Let the kuffar (infidels) not hope to conduct the Olympics in 2014. We are forewarning those unwise ones who will dare to set foot on the lands of wars with kuffar - Darul Harb (house of war).

"One should not risk the lives of their fellow citizens by believing the Kremlin's bragging and vaunt. The words of the Moscow criminals are worthless, just as an agreement with them is not even worth the paper it's written on.

"We will do anything so that by that time (2014), with the help of Allah, Azan of the Caucasus Mujahideen resounds from the newly-built sports structures in Sochi.

"If, Allah willing, victory will not come to Muslims by that time yet, we will be attacking any of the so-called "participant of the Olympics" who represents the countries fighting against Islam and Muslims. Insha Allah (God Willing), we will find the power and the means to sadden this undertaking that is supposed to show to the entire world that there is no war in the Caucasus.

"Sochi, as any other corner of the Caucasus occupied by Russia, is a war zone. There is no need to be conducting heathen gatherings and games on the Muslim lands."

Kavkaz Center

http://www.kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2008/05/23/9653.shtml