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http://www.gazeta.ru July 21, 2002 Georgian elite troops quit in protest at slow army reform More than 100 elite Georgian combat troops have quit the army over military reforms supported by the United States, a senior military official said on Friday. Georgia is trying to modernise a disgruntled, often mutinous military that has been defeated in two separatist wars since independence from Soviet rule. Many officers are known to be unhappy at what they see as the slow pace of change. Washington has thrown men and money behind the project as part of its war on terrorism. Acting chief of Georgia's land forces Nikolai Dzhanzhgava, among those who resigned, said 102 troops and officers had quit. "This is neither a protest nor a revolt. We have left our weapons in the armoury," Dzhanzhgava told Rustavi-2 television. "We are leaving because we cannot perform our duties in such conditions while the so-called construction of a new Georgian army is proceeding." The troops belonged to the army's rapid reaction force and the commando battalion. Both units are part of the U.S.-sponsored programme, but Dzhanzhgava said the men had no objection to Washington's involvement. U.S. army Green Beret instructors arrived in Georgia in May as part of a 21-month modernisation programme that will cost $64 million – four times Georgia's annual defence budget. Washington wants to help eradicate potential threats from Muslim radicals believed to have links with the al Qaeda network and operating in the rugged Pankisi Gorge, which borders the separatist Russian region of Chechnya. Georgian Defence Minister David Tevzadze told reporters he did not have complete information about the incident, but described Dzhanzhgava's actions as "inappropriate". President Eduard Shevardnadze, who launched the reforms, personally negotiated an end to the most spectacular army mutiny in May last year when 400 men walked out of their barracks after being denied pay for 14 months. //Reuters __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Health - Feel better, live better http://health.yahoo.com --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
