By empty (9/12/2002 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Some 5,000 Armenian residents of Georgia's Djavakheti district that borders on Armenia attended a demonstration on 12 September in Akhalkalaki to protest the anticipated closure of the Russian military base located there, which is the region's largest single employer, according to Arminfo, as cited by Groong. The previous day, the Georgian government had approved a three-year program aimed at improving social conditions and infrastructure in Djavakheti and reviving local enterprises that could provide alternative employment. The program includes construction of a highway linking Tbilisi with Tsalka, Ninotsminda, and Akhalkalaki, the repair of the main power line to the region, and the provision of mains gas.

By empty (9/12/2002 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Deputies on 12 September approved unanimously an appeal to the United Nations, the OSCE, the European Union, the Council of Europe, and NATO for protection from anticipated "Russian military aggression." The appeal characterizes Putin's threat of unilateral military intervention as a preliminary to military aggression that would destabilize the entire Caucasus region, and blames Russia for earlier conflicts in Georgia that resulted in hundreds of thousands of people being displaced from their homes. (Caucasus Press).

By empty (9/12/2002 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze chaired a four-hour meeting of the National Security Council on 12 September to discuss how to respond to President Putin's threat of military intervention. Defense Minister Lieutenant General David Tevzadze told parliament after the meeting that specific diplomatic and domestic political measures were agreed on during the session, but did not enumerate them. Also on 12 September, the commander of the Interior Ministry Forces, Major General Giorgi Shervashidze, said that no changes will be made to the ongoing anticrime and antiterrorism operation in the Pankisi Gorge.