So part IV of my “Return to Abkhazia” series finally ran at the Faster Times, and it’s already gotten me thinking about an epilogue. In fact, I kinda like tis style of writing. Maybe I should just ditch this journalism nonsense for the much more stable profession of book-writing …

Russian Coast Guard sailors in Sokhumi practice firing flares in April 2010.

On my second full day in Sokhumi, I wanted to focus less on the political opposition, which dominated my first day in the de facto capital, and more on the increasing Turkish trade and investment in Abkhazia.

So, I wandered down to Sokhumi’s main pier past the crowded tables of old men smoking, drinking Turkish coffee and feverishly playing Backgammon and dominos to the docks. The one fully functional pier in Sokhumi is a microcosm of the city itself. Parts of it have rotted and rusted away, left as is. A few fishermen sat alone drinking beer and casting their lines on the sturdier sections, and some workers were trying to weld together a makeshift set of stairs at one of the loading areas – I guess the previous jury-rigged steps had broken. At the end of the 200 ft pier sat a swanky two-story open air sushi bar and lounge called “Apra.”

In the summer, Apra is definitely the place to be if you don’t mind shelling out executive prices. In the warmer months they open the windows and let the sea breeze blow through the billowy white curtains that envelop the main eating area. What’s more, the sushi is actually the best I’ve ever had in this part of the world. This time, however, sushi and scotch were not in the cards. I had come to write for a couple of Georgian magazines, so I didn’t have the budget to treat myself.

Standing around, I furtively snapped some photos of the ships that had come into harbor – all of them Turkish. In between photos of their crews and masts bearing the Abkhazian and Turkish flags, I took some shots of the sea, of the restaurant, of my shoes – whatever to make myself look less like a spy.

Over the two days I had seen four ships in Sokhumi – three fishing boats and one container ship that had been unloading something all day. This was far more than I had seen in previous visits, and Akhra Smyr, the political analyst I had talked to the night before, said that their presence had boomed since late 2009. That fact was quite interesting, because that meant that this sudden increase followed two key international incidents, which likely encouraged the Georgian Coast Guard to halt the enforcement of their blockade on all trade and economic activity with Abkhazia.

Although the Georgian government has never publicly acknowledged ceasing to enforce the embargo (they specifically refused to comment to me on this issue), every sign pointed to the conclusion that they had. After Georgia seized a tanker ship in August 2009 with 2,800 tons of fuel and 17 Turkish crewmembers, Turkey’s previously neutral official position on the blockade-running activities of its citizens began to harden. When the ship’s captain was sentenced to 24 years in prison for violating the blockade, Ankara sprung into action to defend its own. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu promptly flew to Tbilisi, and five days after the conviction, the captain was released. Simultaneously, Russia declared that its coast guard vessels would be patrolling de facto Abkhaz waters and would fire on any Georgian ship attempting to interfere with Abkhazia’s maritime commerce.

Thus, by late 2009, the blockade had failed on the two most important fronts. First, Georgia had not only failed to convince Turkey to participate in the embargo, but by overreaching in its punishment of the tanker crew it had provoked Turkey to actively push for protecting Turkish ships that chose to take the risks of illicit trade. Secondly, with Russia involved, Georgia simply could not afford to continue chasing trade ships in de facto Abkhazian waters – Georgia’s two largest naval vessels were destroyed in the 2008 war, and thus the Georgian Coast Guard’s remaining patrol boats would be extremely exposed, risking firefights with ships from Russia’s Black Sea fleet. And, in the end, hampering Abkhazia’s economic development was simply not worth the chance of igniting another conflict with Russia. Read the rest of this entry »

Remember that country we created? – First of all, Global Post has been virtually the only news organization that has taken a seriously look at the fact that the United States continues to support the Kosovo government, which, as recent allegations allege, is led by mafiosos who are managing drug, internal organ and sex trafficking on the side. I have made my thoughts on this overlooked scandal quite clear in several posts (click here for Three Kings’ past Kosovo coverage). Global Post has done great work pulling together the facts in a three-part series called “Kosovo’s ‘Mafia.’” Everyone should check it out.

Femen protesters in a demonstration against "all forms of patriarchy."

Flashing for feminism – Elsewhere, my friend, Emily Channell, has a very interesting post at Facile Gestures Blog (which you should all be reading as well) about Femen, a fascinating organization of feminist activists in Ukraine. Rightly or wrongly, Femen is most well known for their topless protests in public places. While focusing on that particular tactic belies some of the overarching points Femen is making, it brings about an interesting discussion. By making their bodies — both the subject of objectification by men and submission by the state — into the vehicle for their protest are they successfully appropriating their sexuality and subverting the perversion of the masculine state? Or, as others argue, are they continuing their subordination and objectification through this method and giving the world “a lasting picture what a Ukrainian girl is: beautiful, slim and ready to undress as soon as a camera is pointed at her”? Give it a read.
When diplomats keep it real – And finally, back to Georgia. Last week offered one of the unfortunately rare examples of foreign diplomats in Georgia taking on the role of public truth-sayers. First, French Ambassador to Georgia — and fabulous saxophone player — Eric Furnier slammed the Georgian government in a public forum for failing grasp and implement the EU’s policy suggestions. The CE News Blog had a rough translation:

“It seems like all the efforts of the European Union have been like pouring water in the sand, that we are making absolutely no progress, and that the European Neighbourhood Policy is maybe empty or not European at all, because, what is left of the European values in what we heard? Almost nothing. Lack of freedom of media, total contempt for labour and trade unions, lack of progress in economy. It’s a disaster.”

“I’m afraid after hearing you, I have the impression of getting a description of a neo-bolshevik state with absolutely no freedom. And when I heard that there is now young people for stealing 8 [Georgia lari’s worth of] goods, throw them into jail, it is absolutely scary. [...]”

“[...] So I think it’s about time we maybe organise more seminars of this kind, but maybe putting on the table concrete steps to change the situation. Because what you have just been telling us is – I’m sorry – very depressing for any European citizen. Thank you”

In the middle he was making reference to the story of a teenager in Gori who was thrown in jail after stealing a box of pens. Apparently he was offered to pay an exorbitant restitution amounting to thousands of lari, instead got locked up for several years.
Following on Furnier’s tirade, Hansjörg Haber, head of the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM) — a notoriously quiet and passive bunch — dished out some tough truth at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s Rose-Roth Seminar in Tbilisi on March 23. He said the peace process with Russia was “not progressing.” He also agreed that Russia had in the past used Abkhazia and South Ossetia to leverage Tbilisi for more influence, and therefore, Moscow lost what cards it had once it recognized them as independent. Now, the Russians “are at a loss how to re-establish their influence over Georgia,” and so far their approach is “not very imaginative.”

But, Georgia’s policy isn’t much better, he said.

“Basically it consists of using international leverage to demonstrate the continued character of the principle of territorial integrity, which of course we all support and therefore additional confirmations of the principle of territorial integrity tend to demonstrate the principle of diminishing returns,” Haber said. [...]

He cited an example of Georgia’s demand in respect of Russia’s WTO bid, wherein Tbilisi in exchange of its consent for Russia’s WTO entry wants to have some sort of control over the trade at the Abkhaz and South Ossetian sections of the Georgian-Russian border.

“Legally this is certainly justified demand,” Haber said, but added that even if this demand would materialize “what is going to change in terms of ultimate Georgian objective of reintegration of Abkhazia and South Ossetia?”

“I do not see any contribution towards this national goal”.

“So there is really question of whether Georgia wants to win diplomatic battles to underscore again the principle of territorial integrity or whether it wants to promote reintegration,” he added.

After his speech, Giorgi Kandelaki, an MP on the foreign relations committee, spoke and defended the push for customs agents as it would add a “political dynamic” to the issue. But that is exactly what many European diplomats have told me is the problem. Rather than moving towards resolution, Tbilisi remains committed to politicizing and polarizing the peace talks with Abkhazia and South Ossetia in pursuit of small, short-sighted victories.

Haber wasn’t finished. He also argued, like me, that the Georgian government needs to engage directly with Sokhumi and Tskhinvali.

In this context he said that the Georgian authorities’ treatment of Sokhumi and Tskhinvali as mere Russian puppets was further pushing the two regions “deeper into Russia” and such approach was not advancing the cause of reintegration.

He also spoke of “notable differences” between Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

“South Ossetian diplomacy,” he said, “is angry; it’s passionate; it’s exaggerating, but they are still closer to Georgia.”

“Abkhazia is different – they are more moderate, but… they are completely cold with respect to Georgia,” Haber said.

He also said that both Abkhazia and South Ossetia “need strong gestures from Georgia to consider alternatives to the present relationship with Russia.”

It’s a shame these sorts of signals are only sent to the Georgian government publicly when they are coming from the mouths of delegates on their way out of the country.

Just for fun – Not to pile on or anything, but in another healthy sign of political competition from Georgia’s rowdy opposition, two major opposition figures got into a brawl in the Munich airport. Like a lot of things in Georgian politics, you just can’t make this stuff up.

Courtesy of wikipedia commons

I’ve been pondering models for peaceful ways forward in normalizing the Russian-Georgian relationship lately and also for the gradual and long-term resolution with Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Most EU people I talk to look at Northern Cyprus as the correct model for engagement and resolution of Georgia’s breakaway territories. While I certainly like what has been done there more than here, it is necessary to point out that the Cyprus situation is in fact, still unresolved after nearly 30 years.

East Timor, or Timor Leste, is another interesting situation. East Timor announced this week that it is interested in increasing its military cooperation with Indonesia, buying patrol boats for $40 million — on loan — and said it hopes to establish military education ties.

Normally, a deal of this size would hardly be noticeable, it’s only interesting because of who is involved. Indonesia brutally occupied East Timor between 1975 and 1999. It is estimated that the occupation cost between 100,000-183,000 Timorese lives — out of a population of less than 700,000. East Timor became officially independent in 2002, and needless to say, there has been no love lost with its former occupier.

Thus, with ties seeming to improve and bilateral cooperation increasing, the two countries represent a good example of how nations with bloody histories can move on peacefully. Frankly, I don’t know enough about Indonesia to compare it to Russia and say definitively whether this example is transferrable at all, but the headline nonetheless left me thinking, “Wouldn’t it be nice if Georgia and Russia could have normal regional collaborative relationships rather than stockpiling weapon systems and warships to fight one another?”

Like East Timor and Indonesia, Georgia, Russia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia have plenty of ugly baggage, but they also have common interests and all would be better off if their respective governments could stop politicizing their situations and get down to real business. I guess this is just my hippy post of the week — you can’t hug with firearms … unless you’re making them together!

My first photo is of some exotic honey my roommate brought back from a peace-building training session in Bakuriani.

I have yet to verify that it is not poison.

The talk of the town this weekend however, was the Moon. Apparently, on the 19th, the Moon was the closest it has been to earth in 20 years. Georgians, naturally, panicked, and I was told by several people that this close proximity would and was causing everything from earthquakes to Alzheimer’s. Earlier in the day, Georgia defeated Russia in rugby 15-9, and thus at least Georgians were ready to die happy.

Shot at an angle for dramatic effect.

Since it was such a momentous and harrowing lunar moment — and because it was really dark out — I had a little fun and drew the letter “N” with the moon.

Not quite dark enough for the full name. Shucks.

And finally, Monday the 21st was the first day of Spring! Apparently, Mother Nature is actually on schedule in Georgia. It has finally warmed up and the sun even appeared for a couple of visits this weekend.

Take a sniff.

I’ll be back with a few more visual aids to my life in a few days probably.

A delegation of Armenian police officers got a stroll around the town of Lawrence in my home state earlier this month to learn about how community initiatives can aid in police strategy and reduce crime.

“In Kansas, we’ve discussed ways in which they are involved in community policing,” Armenian police Col. Karen Mehrabyan said through an interpreter. “And besides being involved in studying community policing, we’ve been involved in studying the entire police system.”

Since March 8, the delegation, which visited the state through the Kansas National Guard’s state partnership program, has met with police departments in Kansas City, Kan., Overland Park, Wichita and Park City and toured the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center in Hutchinson, a unit of KU’s continuing education program.

The news article spends far less talking about the program itself and more time describing the delegates visits to the pride of Lawrence — the University of Kansas’ artificial turf American football stadium.

Kansas Memorial Stadium, the "Colosseum" courtesy of Wikimedia commons

In fact, it opens:

As five Armenian police leaders followed Brad Nachtigal into Memorial Stadium Friday afternoon, they suddenly stopped to examine the artificial FieldTurf surface.

It was not grass, and was unfamiliar territory for the delegation visiting Lawrence.

“This is rubber, rubber pellets,” said Nachtigal, a Kansas University associate athletics director, as the members of the delegation crowded around him.

Col. Mehrabyan, however, suggested that the tour wasn’t totally irrelevant to the work of police.

To Mehrabyan Memorial Stadium was “impressive.” He said Armenia has an interest in building more sports facilities to keep young people engaged in sports activities and off the streets where they can get into trouble.

Part of my homework for the weekend is reading a new briefing report by British think tank Chatham House on the current political, economic and social conditions of Georgia in 2011.

It sounds based on it’s summary points that they are on the right track:

From the Rose Revolution in 2003 to the war with Russia and financial crisis of 2008, Georgia achieved impressive macroeconomic results. Government reforms reduced petty corruption and criminal violence markedly. Rapid progress was made in the delivery of public goods. The investment climate improved.

President Mikheil Saakashvili has weathered the fallout of the war with Russia. Weak opposition and substantial Western aid have enabled the government to stabilize the economy and consolidate its political position.

However, positive headline macroeconomic results may not be sustainable and mask persistent concerns regarding poor performance in combating poverty, unemployment and increasing inequality.

Human rights continue to be a problem. The government cuts corners on democracy and the rule of law. Media freedoms remain constrained. Civil and parliamentary oversight of governmental decisions is limited, and the judicial system is subject to political interference.

The abuse of state power and enduring poverty and inequality risk alienating the population and increasing social tension. There is therefore reason to question the sustainability of Georgia’s economic model and the stability of the post-war political situation.

Ok, so I haven’t gotten out much this week. But, by popular demand I’m putting up some more snapshots of the party last night. I’m no longer putting personal photos up on facebook, but there’s just too much good stuff from Liis’ birthday.

Someone let a cowgirl into the party.

The theme actually was supposed to be either pink, or something beginning in the letter “L.”

This guy started out dressed as Lawrence of Arabia, but by this point he was just a guy with a beer singing and swinging a wrench around.

Guess which one is the birthday girl!

I'll give you a hint -- she's blonde.

I’m just going to go ahead and stop apologizing for not updating this on time. This is Georgia.

Here I document bits of a fun weekend that culminated in continuing festivities for a certain Estonian’s birthday. Terviseks Liis!

I was chilling at home with this plant on Friday while resting up for the festivities to come.

Then Saturday rolled around, which meant chopping, braising and cooking the thousands of little bits of goodness that make up ratatouille a la Nick. Alas, this process was not nearly as photogenic as Pam’s presentation of Liis’ (known in hashdom as Pink Labia) birthday cake.

Not pictured: the rest of the party. This is a family blog after all.

In a late morning stupor I then got a shot of one of the many stray cats that have been wandering around on my roof occasionally now that it is getting warmer.

Bandit!

And as a carry-over from the weekend, below is me trying to work Monday morning after an eventful birthday/hashing weekend.

TGINM - Thank God it's no longer Monday.

I have been following the March 11 day of rage would-be protest in Azerbaijan all day through twitter, and the periodic updates from Radio Free Europe.

Unfortunately, it unfolded nearly exactly as everyone expected.

by Abbas Atilay, courtesy of Radio Free Europe, rferl.org

Even before the March 11 arrived, Azerbaijani authorities arrested a number of youth activists involved in the posting of a facebook group dedicated to organizing the protests and some it simply suspected of future complicity. A public campaign on national television showed psychologists describing facebook users as mentally damaged, influenced by foreign agents, or simply “mostly Armenians.”

On March 7, the Washington-backed National Democratic Institute in Azerbaijan was told it would be closed. NDI primarily promotes strengthening democratic institutions and transparent, competitive political processes.

By the time March 11 finally rolled around the police clearly had a plan. They placed police around Baku State University, blocked down the May 28 metro station, and began arresting other known activists around town — including two who were sitting at a cafe at the time.

As various small protests began, dozens of protestors were arrested, but were later released, probably because the police wanted to maintain the manpower to break up any other protests to come. The only serious violence that occurred seemed to target journalists. Several journalists were arrested and Abbas Atilay (author of the photo above) was beaten by several policemen in the body and face before a police captain broke up the scuffle and apologized. He apparently then cleaned the blood from his face and continued working.

Although my heart goes out 100 percent to the victims of today’s tsunami in Japan, it is an additional tragedy that their disaster will totally block coverage of these important events in Azerbaijan.

Keep tuned in, I plan to continue to update this as the events progress and we move into Musavat’s planned protest tomorrow.

This is view you get if you walk about 30 feet down my alley at night. Looking back towards downtown Tbilisi, and directly into the chic neighborhood of Vake, you would expect to see well-lit buildings in the densely populated area. But, in fact, the only three things that stand out are three of Saakashvili’s brightest vanity projects. This Eiffel-tower-style glittering applied to the TV tower, the new glowing ferris wheel in Mtasminda Park, and one of the huge new “transparent” police stations, which straddles the road between Saburtalo and Vake.

The priorities are pretty clear.