Georgian Port Again Attacked
No sign of Russian withdrawal from western Georgia.
Georgian Port Again Attacked
No sign of Russian withdrawal from western Georgia.
Black smoke filled the sky above Georgia’s main port of Poti on August 19, as the country still waited anxiously for signs of a Russian withdrawal.
Russian troops again entered the port and blew up two half-sunken coastguard vessels that they had attacked a few days before. They also detained 20 Georgian soldiers who had been entrusted to oversee the arrival of United States’ humanitarian cargoes in the port.
From a distance, IWPR saw the Russians blindfold the Georgian soldiers and load them onto armoured personnel carriers. They were then taken to the nearby town of Senaki – also still held by the Russians – where the local presidential representative Zaza Gorozia tried to negotiate their release.
The two ships finally sank, sending up black clouds of smoke across the whole town.
Port spokesman Gocha Lemonjava said the Russians had also taken several American armoured Hummer vehicles which he said belonged to private individuals.
Local member of parliament Temur Tsurtsumia said that the Russians had taken away a vehicle with American humanitarian aid.
One US ship had unloaded an aid cargo in the port, but there was no one around to handle it.
Poti, like many other Georgian towns, is a dead zone. Silence reigns, the banks are shut. There are almost no children – most evacuated following a Russian bombing raid on August 8.
Virtually the only question on people’s lips is, “When will the Russians go?”
“The whole world is on its feet, a bunch of presidents has arrived and intervened but it means nothing to Russia,” said local resident Lili Pataria. “Now I am sure that Russia organised this specially to occupy us. They planned it long ago.”
“We shouldn’t have given in to their provocations,” said 85-year-old Patiko. “Their leaders are barbarians. They will never leave us in peace.”
The general director of the port corporation, Alan Middleton, expressed his outrage, saying a case was being filed against Russia in the International Court of Justice to protest against the actions of the Russian military in the port.
“This is the third occasion that Russian soldiers have entered the territory of the port,” he said. “It is not a military establishment and the Russians had no right to come here.”
Poti Sea Port Corporation is 51-per-cent owned by the investment authority of Ras Al Khaimah, one of the United Arab Emirates. The Georgian government was planning to expand the port and make it into a free economic zone.
The entire port, including its container section, was bombed by Russian planes on August 8 and sustained damage. The port corporation reported that three of its employees had been killed and three wounded.
Around a dozen Georgian vessels have been sunk by the Russians.
Forty kilometres away from Poti in Senaki the population once more woke to the sound of explosions. “There were three terrible explosions, they say the army base was blown up again,” said local resident Eka Pertia. “I don’t know what can be left of the base, they have been blowing it up without a pause. When will it end? If we don’t die of the bombs then we’ll die of fear for our children’s lives.”
Russian military vehicles are still constantly moving along the main road across western Georgia. “They are constantly coming from Senaki to Zugdidi and back,” said Kakha Kortava who lives in the village of Kheta near Zugdidi. “They don’t communicate with the locals and don’t abuse them. But people are still afraid.
“The boy who lives next door wrote ‘Go away Russian occupiers’ in red paint on his fence. When the women saw it they panicked and began to scrub it off so the Russians didn’t see it. And the boy got punished by his parents.”
Lasha Zarginava and Irakly Lagvilava are IWPR-trained journalists in western Georgia.
Russian troops again entered the port and blew up two half-sunken coastguard vessels that they had attacked a few days before. They also detained 20 Georgian soldiers who had been entrusted to oversee the arrival of United States’ humanitarian cargoes in the port.
From a distance, IWPR saw the Russians blindfold the Georgian soldiers and load them onto armoured personnel carriers. They were then taken to the nearby town of Senaki – also still held by the Russians – where the local presidential representative Zaza Gorozia tried to negotiate their release.
The two ships finally sank, sending up black clouds of smoke across the whole town.
Port spokesman Gocha Lemonjava said the Russians had also taken several American armoured Hummer vehicles which he said belonged to private individuals.
Local member of parliament Temur Tsurtsumia said that the Russians had taken away a vehicle with American humanitarian aid.
One US ship had unloaded an aid cargo in the port, but there was no one around to handle it.
Poti, like many other Georgian towns, is a dead zone. Silence reigns, the banks are shut. There are almost no children – most evacuated following a Russian bombing raid on August 8.
Virtually the only question on people’s lips is, “When will the Russians go?”
“The whole world is on its feet, a bunch of presidents has arrived and intervened but it means nothing to Russia,” said local resident Lili Pataria. “Now I am sure that Russia organised this specially to occupy us. They planned it long ago.”
“We shouldn’t have given in to their provocations,” said 85-year-old Patiko. “Their leaders are barbarians. They will never leave us in peace.”
The general director of the port corporation, Alan Middleton, expressed his outrage, saying a case was being filed against Russia in the International Court of Justice to protest against the actions of the Russian military in the port.
“This is the third occasion that Russian soldiers have entered the territory of the port,” he said. “It is not a military establishment and the Russians had no right to come here.”
Poti Sea Port Corporation is 51-per-cent owned by the investment authority of Ras Al Khaimah, one of the United Arab Emirates. The Georgian government was planning to expand the port and make it into a free economic zone.
The entire port, including its container section, was bombed by Russian planes on August 8 and sustained damage. The port corporation reported that three of its employees had been killed and three wounded.
Around a dozen Georgian vessels have been sunk by the Russians.
Forty kilometres away from Poti in Senaki the population once more woke to the sound of explosions. “There were three terrible explosions, they say the army base was blown up again,” said local resident Eka Pertia. “I don’t know what can be left of the base, they have been blowing it up without a pause. When will it end? If we don’t die of the bombs then we’ll die of fear for our children’s lives.”
Russian military vehicles are still constantly moving along the main road across western Georgia. “They are constantly coming from Senaki to Zugdidi and back,” said Kakha Kortava who lives in the village of Kheta near Zugdidi. “They don’t communicate with the locals and don’t abuse them. But people are still afraid.
“The boy who lives next door wrote ‘Go away Russian occupiers’ in red paint on his fence. When the women saw it they panicked and began to scrub it off so the Russians didn’t see it. And the boy got punished by his parents.”
Lasha Zarginava and Irakly Lagvilava are IWPR-trained journalists in western Georgia.
