Georgian military alerted as regional tensions rise

President Mikhail Saakashvili put Georgia’s military on alert today after the restive Adzharia region barred him from entering, but he pledged his goal was to take control of the region without bloodshed.

Saakashvili and his entourage were heading to Adzharia for campaign appearances ahead of Georgia’s March 28 parliamentary election.

The motorcade was stopped this morning at the Adzharian border and denied entry, said Vano Merabishvili, secretary of Georgia’s Security Council.

Saakashvili and his aides went to the neighbouring Poti region, where security officials were also summoned for immediate talks.

The military was put at the highest level of readiness, and police, prosecutors and the Ministry of State Security were ordered to take all necessary measures to prevent “the disintegration of Georgia”, Saakashvili said, speaking live on Georgian state television.

“Our military forces are prepared for everything, but today we haven’t taken one step toward using them,” he said. “Because this problem must be resolved most peacefully.”

Aslan Abashidze, the leader of Adzharia, is a vehement opponent of Saakashvili and tensions have been high since November, when Saakashvili spearheaded protests that forced the resignation of President Eduard Shevardnadze.

Saakashvili, who was elected in January, has vowed to rein-in the province.

Under Abashidze, Adzharia has run its own affairs, withholding tax payments to the centre and otherwise refusing to cooperate with Tbilisi.

Merabishvili said Saakashvili and his entourage decided to pull back from the Adzharian border “to avoid escalating the situation, to prevent bloodshed”.

But Abashidze, who is currently in Moscow, told journalists that Saakashvili had only come within 19 miles of the Adzharian border, and had not had any contact with border guards.

It was not immediately possible to clear up the contradictory claims.

Rostom Japaridze, head of the lower house of Adzharia’s parliament, called Saakashvili’s attempted visit a bid to stage a “military march on Adzharia.”

That echoed claims by Abashidze that Georgia was preparing to use the military to overthrow him.

He called on Moscow and Washington to intervene to prevent bloodshed, and released an open letter to Saakashvili calling for ”constructive, peaceful dialogue.”

On Sunday, as tensions rose, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko warned, “In the event of a crisis, all responsibility would lie with the Georgian leadership,” the Interfax news agency reported.