Weapons into water: OSCE repairs irrigation channel in exchange for handing in of small arms in Georgian conflict zone

TBILISI, 29 July 2002 - Repair works on a 40-kilometre irrigation channel system that runs through Georgian and Ossetian villages in the conflict zone are well underway. The repairs are an unusual form of compensation for co-operation by both sides that has led to lethal arms being handed over for destruction.

The functioning irrigation system will soon be one of the most visible results of a successful OSCE-supported project to collect small arms and light weapons in the area.

Supervised by the OSCE Mission to Georgia and the British Embassy in Tbilisi, the project is a joint effort with the UK Department for International Development, within the framework of the rapid reaction fund aimed at compensating groups of people for handing over the weapons.

"Finally, there is water in the channel and the reservoir it feeds, something which was not the case six months ago", said Ambassador Jean-Michel Lacombe, Head of the OSCE Mission to Georgia. "Both Georgians and Ossetians have achieved this together", he added. The OSCE Mission to Georgia would continue to seek support among international donors for such projects, in order to collectively compensate needs among the population for the arms handed over.

The programme has so far resulted in more than 1,300 units of arms and ammunition and 210 kg of pure explosives being handed over to the Joint Peace Keeping Forces (JPKF) in the former area of conflict. Over half of this materiel has now been destroyed by the peacekeepers.

Wing Commander Andrew Kerr, Defense Attaché with the UK Embassy in Tbilisi, described the project as a resounding success: "Now it is important to deepen a sense of ownership of the project among the Georgian and Ossetian population living in the area of the channel. They have to take up responsibility and jointly maintain it. The reservoir can be used for fish stocking or as a recreation ground", he said on a visit to Tskhinvali on 18 July.

"This project speaks of the effective co-operation between the OSCE and its participating States in this field of common concern", he added. "I hope that we will be able to officially open the channel on 15 August."

Linked to the irrigation channel, are a number of other possible follow-up efforts. These include the rehabilitation of the water reservoir proper, and a hydro-power station with a capacity of up to five megawatts.