Translated material
Aslan against NATO
Adjara leader suspects conspiracy
Chairman of the Supreme Council of Adjara Aslan Abashidze stated that he is categorically against holding NATO exercises Cooperativ Partner - 2001 planned for June on the territory of the autonomy. According to Abashidze, there are several reasons for this. Among them: the Gonio training ground, where the amphibious landing is to take place, belongs to the 12th Russian base stationed in the autonomy. In addition, Adjara is a resort, and how will vacationers react to the fact that tanks will appear next to the famous beaches of Batumi, Kobuleti and Cape Verde? And in general, given the current attitude of the center towards Adjara and its leader, it will not allow the introduction of any armed units, including NATO ones, into the autonomy.The June multinational exercise is the first in which Georgia is to participate, and for the country it is an event of the utmost political importance. Now the maneuvers will have to be transferred to the waters of Poti, which are less suitable for this. Last year, Aslan Abashidze agreed to withdraw his candidacy for the presidential election and made Eduard Shevardnadze's victory easier, but now he is once again demonstrating his commitment to his own political game. Perhaps he sees himself as Shevardnadze’s successor in 4 years, but he is already setting his accents.
It is well known that in Adjara, unlike the rest of Georgia, the Russian military is treated more than favorably. Popular Georgian politician, leader of the Republican Party David Berdzenishvili, in an interview with the Vremya Novostei newspaper, said that not only Russia, but also the Adjarian authorities are interested in maintaining a military base in Batumi for a long time. “Russia, on the one hand, will defend to the last the possibility of a military presence in the Black Sea, on the other hand, Chairman of the Supreme Council of Adjara Aslan Abashidze sees the Russian military as a guarantee of the stability of its positions,” he said. True, according to him, there is another explanation: Aslan Abashidze’s refusal to accept NATO exercises is also due to the mania of persecution of the head of the autonomy, who “will in no way agree to conduct maneuvers of 4 thousand military personnel not under his personal control.”
Back in 1997, Aslan Abashidze accused young and ambitious politicians of the ruling “Union of Citizens”, led by Parliament Chairman Zurab Zhvania, of preparing a coup in Adjara. As Abashidze has now explained, Georgian special forces, which are supposed to participate in NATO exercises, could provoke a coup in Adjara. At the same time, he did not even rule out the involvement of the NATO contingent participating in the exercises in this provocation.
They may smile in Brussels, but in Tbilisi it’s no laughing matter. Aslan Abashidze claims that the central authorities in 1998 developed a plan for an armed invasion of Adjara in order to overthrow unwanted, pro-Russian or overly independent leaders, and various Georgian security forces allegedly tried 14 times to physically eliminate the leader of Adjara. There have been no comments from Shevardnadze yet.