Georgia seeks Hague judgment against Russia

GEORGIA:GEORGIA CALLED on the United Nations' highest court yesterday to order a halt to an alleged campaign of ethnic cleansing by Russian forces and separatist militia in the rebel regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Russian troops and armour rolled into the provinces after Georgian soldiers tried to retake control of South Ossetia in a night-time attack on August 7th, in what Moscow called an operation to "enforce peace" in the region and protect its peacekeepers and citizens.

Moscow's military quickly crushed Georgian resistance and secured control of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, after which, Tbilisi alleges, Russian forces, local militia and mercenaries subjected Georgian citizens to a reign of terror, killing, looting and driving them from their homes.

"Georgia is appearing before the principal judicial organisation of the United Nations at a time of great distress in its history, a time when hundreds of thousands of its nationals are persecuted and displaced from their homes only because they are Georgians," Tina Burjaliani, Georgia's first deputy minister of justice, told the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Acting for Georgia, lawyer James Crawford told the chamber, also known as the World Court, that the case was "about the ethnic cleansing of Georgians and other minorities in Georgian territory".

Colleague Payam Akhavan added: "The ethnic Georgian populations are now isolated and the Georgian government has no means of protecting them . . . The ethnic-based boundaries of the separatist republics are being literally burnt on to the map."

Tbilisi wants the court to order Russia to protect Georgian citizens living under Russian control. Its rulings can only be enforced by the UN Security Council, however, where Moscow has a veto.

Russia is challenging the ICJ's jurisdiction to hear the Georgian application and asked for it to be dismissed, saying Tbilisi had failed to prove a case of racial discrimination and had not sought a negotiated solution with Moscow before taking the matter to court.

Roman Kolodkin, acting for Russia, denied that Moscow was an occupying force in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and insisted that " country had no other choice but to become involved" in the conflict.

On the night of August 7th, he said, Georgia launched a "massive armed assault" on South Ossetia, which "immediately resulted in numerous casualties. This attack left no other option but to launch a military response . . . to prevent further deaths".

Georgia claims Russia had long planned an assault on its rebel regions - handing out passports to South Ossetians and Abkhazians, rebuilding infrastructure and holding military manoeuvres nearby - to maintain a foothold in the Caucasus region and undermine Tbilisi's bid to join Nato.

Russia says it had to protect its peacekeepers and citizens from an onslaught that was encouraged by the United States.

If the court decides it has jurisdiction to hear the case, it is still likely to take weeks for even a provisional order or injunction to be issued.