Georgian Parliament Demands Investigation Of Activity Of Chechen Militants In Georgia

Georgian parliament demanded to investigate circumstances under which militants headed by Chechen field commander Ruslan Gelayev arrived in Georgia, their transfer into the Kodori gorge and their activity in Abkhazia. Georgian parliamentary Boris Kakubava proposes to create a special parliamentary commission to do that. While speaking on Monday at a press conference in Tbilisi Kakubava reported the intention to create a movement in the parliament which would force the parliamentary leadership to form a commission to investigate Gelayev's activity in Georgia. In his opinion, the commission must determine the reasons why Chechen militants appeared in the Pankissi gorge, why Georgian state structures helped them and what was the purpose of their transfer to Abkhazia. Boris Kakubava himself considers the transfer of Chechen militants to Abkhazia as a "provocation" which suits only "the interests of Shevardnadze and his clan". According to him, no power structure in Georgia will transport even 5 militants without agreement from the President, not to mention a detachment consisting of 500 people. In the opinion of Kakubava, the parliamentary commission should determine what was the objective of such a provocation, as well as the role of the Georgian President in those events. The deputy spoke against the idea to deploy Turkish peace-making forces in the area of the Abkhaz conflict which was voiced in the course of the last week's official visit to Tbilisi of Ahmed Necdet Sezer, President of Turkey. Kakubava stated that "the bringing of Turkish army into Georgia would mean suppression of national spirit and loss of the country's sovereignty". He also thought that this step would mean an evident confrontation between Georgia and Russia.