[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 105 (Thursday, July 30, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9487-S9488]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         THE COUNTRY OF GEORGIA

 Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I would like to say a few words 
about Georgia and the recent events which have taken place in this 
impressive country. Several days ago, Georgia reaffirmed its commitment 
to full participatory democracy when the Minister of State requested 
the resignation of all cabinet ministers, and then resigned himself. 
His resignation was accepted, and President Eduard Shevardnadze has 
vowed to reconstitute a new government by the middle of August. This 
transition, so reminiscent of the ebb and flow of governments in great 
parliamentary democracies, has been accomplished without violence or 
bloodshed, without chaos or confusion, and with the support of the 
Georgian people. Truly Georgia is an inspiration to peoples everywhere 
who long for democracy and who struggle against the freedom-stifling 
legacy of the communist experiment.
  Georgia is impressive in other ways as well. Its economy continues to 
grow in a positive direction, unlike the economies of some of its 
neighbors; Georgia is not perfect, and it is not pristine. But it is 
progressive. With a growth rate of nearly 8 percent in 1997 and 
projected growth of 11-13 percent in 1998, Georgia is on track to a 
significant economic turn-around.
  This turn-around and the prosperity that will inevitably flow from 
it, still involve many hurdles. Georgians have bravely faced these 
challenges, and they face more still. Probably none is so painful as 
the ongoing conflict in Abkhazia, Georgia's most northwestern province 
bordering Russia. This brutal

[[Page S9488]]

brushfire war has now claimed lives unnecessarily on both sides, and it 
must be ended. Mr. President, the CIS peacekeepers are a major part of 
the problem and the reason the war continues.
  As the Times of London noted on July 27th, Georgia accepted the CIS 
peacekeepers only under duress, because the UN blinked. These CIS 
peacekeepers, the Times points out, have not exactly distinguished 
themselves by their impartiality. They are ``entirely drawn from the 
Russian Army, and commanded from Russian, not CIS, headquarters. Of its 
four battalions, one fought the Georgians in the 1992-93 war, while 
another two are recruited from anti-Georgia nationalities.'' It is hard 
to imagine that this formula can create anything but conflict, and 
indeed, there have been constant complaints from Georgia that these so-
called peacekeepers are merely part of a Russian strategy to 
destabilize Georgia, a strategy that includes several assassination 
attempts on President Shevardnadze.
  From the beginning, the Abkhaz conflict has been widely acknowledged 
to be Russia's doing. The separatists who want to break off Abkhazia 
from Georgia are provoked, fueled and encouraged by the Russians. 
Georgia has offered Abkhazia full autonomy, an offer that has been 
answered by Russian guns.
  As early as 1992 Russia provided the Abkhazians with weapons to 
conduct the war, and the Russian government today supports the Abkhaz 
leadership in its unwillingness to bring the conflict to a close 
through negotiation. One member of the Abkhaz leadership wrote in the 
Russian nationalist press in 1992 that ``Abkhazia is Russia.'' Since 
then, Russia has managed to scuttle all budding negotiations, even 
while serving as the putative ``mediator'' at the recent Geneva talks 
between the Georgians and Abkhazians, and it has unfailingly sided with 
the Abkhaz against Georgia at the infrequent bargaining tables and on 
the battlefield.
  Let us be frank: These Russian peacekeepers do not want peace. 
Rather, they seek to extend the hostilities so that Georgia will find 
it difficult to consolidate its hold over this breakaway region. These 
so-called peacekeepers have helped to create thousands of dead on both 
sides; they have created massive flows of Georgian refugees by turning 
a blind eye toward some of the most blatant ethnic cleansing anywhere 
in the world; and they have allowed the devastation of what is arguably 
one of the richest and most beautiful parts of the Georgian state.
  Abkhaz leaders, with Russia's help, have perpetrated one of the 
world's most egregious examples of ethnic cleansing. Tens of thousands 
of Georgians have been forced out of their homes in Abkhazia and turned 
into homeless, hungry refugees. Georgia's many requests in recent years 
to the United Nations to condemn this blatant genocide have fallen on 
deaf ears, and most Georgians now attribute the Abkhazians' continued 
use of ethnic cleansing to UN inaction. Georgia has once again asked 
the UN to intervene in Abkhazia, but its willingness to do so, 
especially with Russia holding a seat on the Security Council, is in 
doubt.
  How is it possible that ethnic cleansing can high behind a 
transparent veil of ``peacekeeping''? Why has the UN shirked its duty 
to protect these vulnerable Georgians, when it seems willing, even 
eager, to condemn genocide elsewhere in the world? Where is the 
indignation and outrage from our statesmen? Where are the legions of 
human rights advocates that usually visit the corridors of our 
departments and ministries?
  The Abkhazians (who constitute less than 20 percent of the population 
of the region they claim as their own) and their Russian supporters, 
should harbor no illusions about the ultimate outcome of this struggle: 
Abkhazia will remain part of Georgia. The Georgian government will 
never acquiesce in territorial claims on its historic territory, and 
the US government will never support such claims. Meanwhile, Abkhazians 
are poised to miss what could be one of the most exciting periods in 
the development of the South Caucasus. The opening of energy pipelines 
from the Caspian will create unprecedented opportunities for growth and 
development, and the forging of the Eurasian Transport Corridor, the 
New Silk Road, which originates in Georgia, foretells a future in which 
all Georgians, including Abkhazians, should prosper.
  Those of my colleagues who have traveled to Georgia know of the 
immense beauty of the country, and the kindness and generosity of its 
people. They know of the Georgians' will in the face of numerous 
obstacles and barriers. And, increasingly, they understand why and 
where Georgia's interests intersect with America's interests.
  Put simply, Georgia is a key strategic ally for America in a region 
in which America has few strategic anchors. America has a strong 
national interest in encouraging a close and multifaceted relationship 
with Georgia. Though small, poor and weak, Georgia has the potential to 
be small, yet rich and strong. It is in our best interest to promote 
this transition with American aid, American power and American 
prayers.

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