VZCZCXRO5043
OO RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHSI #0407/01 0581500
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 271500Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY TBILISI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1085
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TBILISI 000407 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM MOPS RS GG
SUBJECT: GEORGIA: DOZENS BLOCKED FROM HOMES IN OTOBAIA, 
ABKHAZIA 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary and comment.  Although conflicting reports 
make it difficult to establish a precise chain of 
events,dozens of individuals were blocked from their homes in 
Otobaia after a resident of the village was detained and then 
fled from Abkhazia.  The Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
called in ambassadors to protest the incident, lay blame at 
the feet of the Russians, and seek support from the 
international community.  The dispute resolution mechanism 
agreed to in Geneva is not yet operational and therefore 
unavailable to help resolve the situation.  The incident 
serves to underline the importance of the mechanism.  End 
summary and comment. 
 
¶2. (SBU) The EU Monitoring Mission (EUMM), UNOMIG, and 
Georgian government have all attempted to investigate the 
incident, and all have offered different versions of the 
basic facts.  Virtually all of the information available 
outside Abkhazia comes from the reports of locals involved, 
and their accounts vary widely.  The following chronology is 
an attempt to reconcile information from all three sources. 
Abkhaz de facto officials have been quoted in the press as 
denying the entire incident. 
 
INITIAL DETENTION 
 
¶3. (SBU) UNOMIG reported that on February 25, Ika Bigvava, a 
25-year-old resident of Otobaia (a village just inside the 
Abkhaz administrative boundary, north of Ganmukhuri), was 
detained by Abkhaz forces.  Some reports suggested the 
detention was by unidentified masked men.  The ministry of 
foreign affairs said the reason for the detention was that 
Bigvava refused to be conscripted into the Abkhaz militia; 
some press reports blamed it on the fact that Bigvava was 
carrying a Georgian passport.  EUMM reported he was shot in 
the foot while in detention and that Bigvava made public 
allegations of mistreatment at the hands of Abkhaz forces. 
On February 26, UNOMIG reported residents from Otobaia helped 
Bigvava flee from Otobaia across the administrative boundary 
into Zugdidi. 
 
MASS DETENTIONS OR BLOCKING OF ACCESS TO HOMES 
 
¶4. (SBU) On February 26, UNOMIG reported twenty or more 
individuals either returning across the boundary to Otobaia 
or already in Otobaia -- some of whom may have assisted 
Bigvava -- were detained by Abkhaz forces.  EUMM reported 
that some individuals were not detained, but prevented from 
crossing back into Abkhazia; EUMM also reported that some of 
those affected may have been making regular movements across 
the boundary to conduct personal business and were not 
involved in assisting Bigvava.  The Foreign Ministry reported 
Abkhaz forces went door-to-door in Otobaia, looking for 
Bigvava, and detained individuals in the process.  UNOMIG 
reported at least some of the detainees, in particular women 
and children, were released the same evening, but then 
children were again detained on February 27; one detainee was 
allowed medicine for a known medical condition.  EUMM 
reported the blocking of access/detentions were at least 
partially in response to Bigvava's departure, and that Abkhaz 
forces demanded a retraction of Bigvava's accusations of 
mistreatment while in detention before individuals would be 
allowed to return to their homes.  UNOMIG reported Abkhaz 
forces demanded custody of Bigvava or his father before 
individuals would be allowed to return. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The number of people affected by these events has 
been particularly hard to determine with any precision.  The 
ministry of foreign affairs said 50 families were blocked 
Qministry of foreign affairs said 50 families were blocked 
from their homes in Otobaia, but then said at least some had 
been allowed to return to their homes; most press accounts 
cite this figure.  EUMM reported 40 individuals were blocked; 
UNOMIG reported twenty or more. 
 
¶6. (SBU) It also remains unclear how many of those affected 
were actually detained and how many were only prevented from 
crossing back into Abkhazia or accessing their homes.  At the 
Foreign Ministry, when asked where exactly the affected 
individuals were located at present, Deputy Minister 
Alexander Nalbandov could not give a precise answer.  A UNHCR 
representative, however, said the organization had agreed to 
provide shelter and provisions for 60 individuals in Zugdidi. 
 
POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS 
 
¶7. (SBU) Nalbandov laid blame for the incident squarely at 
the feet of the Russians, saying that Abkhaz forces acted 
with Russian permission, and that furthermore the Russian 
Federation, as an occupying power, bears responsibility for 
any actions carried out in Abkhazia.  He noted that, although 
 
TBILISI 00000407  002 OF 002 
 
 
the dispute resolution mechanism agreed to in Geneva would 
have been a useful mechanism to resolve such a situation, the 
Abkhaz de facto authorities today issued a statement saying 
that they would not cooperate with the mechanism until the UN 
changes its mandate and sends an independent mission to 
Abkhazia. 
 
COMMENT 
 
¶8. (SBU) Nalbandov is indeed correct -- this is precisely the 
kind of situation that a dispute resolution mechanism would 
be ideally suited to resolve.  As we feared in Geneva, it has 
proven difficult to implement the mechanism so far, and 
today's comments by Abkhaz de facto authorities suggest they 
have little intention to make a serious effort to do so. 
TEFFT