| Submit your comments on this article |
| Caucasus |
| Shevardnadze jumps through Pankisi hoop... |
| 2002-09-16 |
| Facing threats of Russian military action, Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze said Monday he had ordered new security sweeps in the lawless Pankisi Gorge and will hand suspected Chechen militants over to Moscow. I just hate speaking Russian, don't you? So many consonants, some of them like "shch"... Shevardnadze said in a weekly radio address he had ordered troops to arrest terrorists and free hostages in and around the gorge. Shevardnadze said the early phase of Georgia's security operation, which began late last month, was complete. He promised to bring order to Pankisi within two to three weeks and warned militants that "resistance is pointless." "Either you will be assimilated or we will..." "The gorge will be forever cleansed of the remnants of illegal armed formations, criminals and drug traffickers," Shevardnadze said. Yup. Any time now... Shevardnadze's comments came after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Sept. 11 that Russia reserves the right to military action if Georgia doesn't rid the gorge of Chechen rebels. Don't that thought curl your classic Caucasian hair? |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |