Justyna Mielnikiewicz 12/03/04
A EurasiaNet Photo Essay
The Georgian government finalized a draft budget on December 3 that projects government expenditures to be 2.2 billion lari, or about 1.2 billion US dollars. About 10 percent of that amount will go towards upgrading Georgia’s defense capabilities. The dramatic rise in defense estimates is connected with the uncertainty surrounding Tbilisi’s relations with the renegade regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Since the government’s budget drafting process began, planned defense expenditures for 2005 have nearly doubled, the Civil Georgia web site reported. Preliminary plans called for a 34 percent hike in defense spending next year in comparison with 2004, totaling 119 million lari, or $65 million. As security conditions have deteriorated in both Abkhazia and South Ossetia, however, the government has hiked its estimates. Now, the government projects to spend as much as $110.6 million on defense in 2005. “The president and the cabinet have decided to support the defense sphere, which is considered as the top priority for next year,” Civil Georgia quoted Defense Minister David Baramidze as saying November 29.
The tension that marks Tbilisi’s interactions with Abkhazia and South Ossetia — as well as with Russia, the main backer of the renegade regions — shows no signs of abating in the near future. On December 1, for example, Georgia accused South Ossetian forces of violating a November demilitarization accord by holding military maneuvers. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. South Ossetian leaders insisted that the maneuvers never took place. At the same time, Georgian officials are closely monitoring events in Abkhazia, where rival factions are battling for power. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
In addition, President Mikheil Saakashvili has warned that Russia is likely to try to exert increasing pressure Georgia in the coming months. In a November 30 television interview, Saakashvili said the ongoing political crisis in Ukraine is encouraging Russia to become more aggressive toward Georgia. “The frenzied bacchanalia that exists today [in the Russian media], for example, over Ukraine is mainly targeted at us [Georgia],” Saakashvili said. “They [Russians] drove these people [Ukrainians] mad with their crude attempts to foist a different political will on them. However, even today, [Moscow’s] main target is Georgia.”
The accompanying photos show that Georgia’s efforts to upgrade military preparedness extend to the country’s youth. Last summer, the Georgian military sponsored a summer camp for 30 children between the ages of 12-18 – many of them orphans. Attendees received basic military training and instructions on how to survive in extreme conditions. Instructors at the camp, located a short distance from Tbilisi, were commandos in the Georgian military.
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