Georgia's Pankisi Gorge Struggles With Stigma Of Extremism
The remote Pankisi Gorge in northeastern Georgia, home to a Muslim minority, was once the site of a military crackdown against Chechen fighters. More recently, the region has seen young men leaving to fight in Syria and Iraq. But many residents are trying to shake the association with militancy.
Originally published at -
2019 Georgia - Driving in Pankisi gorge
Georgians attack police with sticks and stones in Pankisi Gorge over hydropower plant construction
Residents in Georgia’s Pankisi Gorge clashed with riot police on Sunday over the construction of the Khadori-3 hydroelectric power plant. The protesters lobbed stones at riot police who, in turn, used rubber bullets and tear gas in an attempt to disperse them.
According to the Georgian police, 15 officers and 12 local residents were injured. Local media reports suggest the number could be higher.
Georgian authorities launched construction work on the plant back in March 2018. Local residents are worried the plant could harm the environment and force them to leave their homes.
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Delegation tours Pankisi Gorge
1. Wide shot of Pankisi Gorge
2. Members of Georgian special forces
3. Georgian special forces' armoured vehicle
4. Members of a NATO Parliamentary Assembly delegation getting off bus
5. Georgian army position
6. Various of soldiers
7. NATO Parliamentary Assembly representatives talking to local residents in the town of Duisi
8. Duisi residents
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Simon Lunn, Secretary General of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly:
We are interested to see the efforts that have been made here by the Georgian authorities to solve this particular local problem. And what we have seen today, we are impressed with the efforts that are being made. We can't say how successful they are because we are obviously here for only one day.
10. Duisi residents
11. Wide shot of Pankisi Gorge
12. Members of Georgian special forces
13. NATO Parliamentary Assembly representatives talking with local residents
14. Soldiers in village of Duisi
15. Close up of an old woman
16. Various of soldiers in village
17. Wide shot of Pankisi Gorge
18. Exterior State Chancellery building in Tbilisi
19. Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze entering hall
20. Cutaway of cameramen
21. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Eduard Shevardnadze, President of Georgia:
Russia has forty times more border guards (than Georgia). Why do they let (fighters) across the border? And how did they get across? I think these questions should be addressed to the Russian side.
22. Cutaway of press
23. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Eduard Shevardnadze, President of Georgia:
If there are airstrikes from the northern side, although I'm sure Putin will not allow this to happen, Georgian aircraft will not be able to save us because of their low numbers.
29. Wide shot of press conference
STORYLINE:
A delegation from the NATO Parliamentary Assembly visited Georgia's Pankisi Gorge on Monday.
The delegation was there to assess the volatile situation in the area following Moscow's threats to pursue Chechen rebel fighters across the Russian-Georgian border.
The town of Duisi and other villages in the heart of the gorge are inhabited by ethnic Chechens, who are Georgian citizens, along with a large number of Chechen refugees who fled fighting in the neighbouring province of Chechnya.
President Vladimir Putin of Russia has accused Tbilisi of harbouring Chechen terrorists, and threatened to spread his military campaign across the border.
However, Georgian authorities have dismissed the accusations and have announced their own anti-criminal operation in the Pankisi Gorge.
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The Pankisi Stigma - documentary film
Locals of Pankisi are sick and tired of asserting they are not terrorists. The dwellers of the small Georgian gorge bordering Russia believe that the stigma dates back to the late XX c., the time of Moscow’s wars in Chechnya, the so-called “boeviks” (militants) and criminals. They also say that it was largely due to Russia’s influence that the place has become a kind of international “brand” for terrorism. In their words, it’s a hindrance to the development of the region since both the businesses and tourists stay away. Against the backdrop of the ISIS activities and certain reported facts, which sometimes raise unanswered questions, the stigma grows stronger. For all the differences about the customs and heated arguments, both fervent supporters of the traditional Islam and Islamic fundamentalists are at one where the security of the gorge is concerned. According to some sources, the Salafite community of the Islamic fundamentalists, often referred to as Vahabites account for 30%-35% of Pankisi’s total Muslim population while others say they make up as much as 75%-80%. Young people form the majority of the Salafites, and it was the radical Salafites who recruited people to fight in Syria a few years ago. The community members claim they feel sidelined by the State. Regardless of their religious beliefs, the Kists (Chechens residing in Georgia) point out at their closer involvement in the public affairs as the pre-requisite of their safety. The population, mostly the Kists of the small Georgian gorge of the Akhmeta municipality Kakheti region, is reportedly as small as 6000-7000.
Georgian Police Clash With Protesters Fighting Power Plant's Construction In Pankisi
Police clashed with local residents who had gathered to protest the construction of a hydropower plant in Georgia's northeastern Pankisi Gorge on April 21. The protesters threw stones at the police, who used tear gas and rubber bullets. Dozens of injuries were reported on both sides.
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Ichkeria-Georgia lezginka chechens in Tbilisi on Art gene festival(from pankisi gorge)
folk group Pankisi
Roddy Scott Education Centre in Pankisi Gorge, Georgia
The Roddy Scott Foundation was set up in the memory of the Yorkshire journalist who was shot in the Chechen conflict in 2002. Before he made this last trip, travelling with Chechen irregular forces, Roddy spent several weeks winning the trust of Chechen refugees in the Pankisi Gorge, a neglected minority in a poor corner of a poor country. This video is about the Roddy Scott Education Centre that has been set up by the Roddy Scott Foundation in the Pankisi Gorge.
Панкисское ушелье. პანკისი. Pankisi gorge.
From The Pankisi Gorge To The Battlefields Of Syria
The Pankisi Gorge in Georgia has long been notorious as a hideout for Chechen rebels, Islamist extremists and smugglers. It’s also become a recruitment zone for Islamic State militants. In April, it was reported that two teenagers from the Muslim Kist community crossed the border into Turkey, before making their way to Syria. But it is believed that greater numbers are making the journey. A council of elders has appealed to the Georgian government to take action. RFE/RL’s Georgian Service visited the Pankisi Gorge to hear what the people living there have to say.
Elections in Pankisi gorge
Pankisi Gorge is located at the very eastern end of the Kakheti region, on the border between Georgia and Russia. It is about 60 kilometers east of the border with Chechnya.
The Valley, with just a few small villages, belongs to the Akhmeta district, where about 8000 Kist people are currently living.
After the military confrontation between Russia and Chechnya in the 1990’s, hundreds of Chechen refugees were resettled in Pankisi Gorge with the Kists.
For several years now peace has reigned in the Gorge. Presidential, Parliamentary and Self-Governing elections are held here regularly and with no violations.
How the Pankisi young people see their role in the development of the Georgian state often reflects their attitudes towards elections.
Protest support govt over Pankisi Gorge stand-off with Georgia
1. Wide shot of demonstration near the Georgian embassy
2. Exterior of Georgian embassy
3. Georgian flag
4. Various of protesters with anti-Georgian posters
7. Close-up of poster reading, No Shelter to Terrorists
8. Mid shot of two demonstrators
9. Close-up of flags
10. SOUNDBITE: (Russian) Nikolai Nikolayev, United Russia Party activist
Russian and Georgian people are brothers. We support our president's statement on fighting international terrorism and we condemn the policies carried out by the Georgian leadership, headed by Eduard Shevardnadze, aimed at providing shelter for terrorists in the Pankisi Gorge.
11. Wide shot of demonstration
12. Demonstrators handing over a petition to embassy officials
13. Wide shot of demonstration
STORYLINE:
About one hundred activists from the pro-government United Russia Party have staged a demonstration near the Georgian embassy in Moscow to protest against what they call the former Soviet republic's policy of harbouring terrorists.
Moscow maintains that hundreds of Chechen rebels have found refuge in Georgia's Pankisi Gorge from where they have been launching raids into Russian territory.
Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze has ordered an anti-criminal operation in the area, but Russia wants to send its own troops there to wipe out suspected bases of Chechen rebels.
United Russia supports Russian President Vladimir Putin's policy of putting pressure on Georgia to agree to a Russian military presence in the Pankisi Gorge.
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Shevardnadze visits tense Pankisi Gorge
1. Pankisi Gorge with a helicopter overflying the area
2. Georgian soldiers next to tanks
3. Close shot, soldiers
4. Helicopter
5. Soldiers
6. Gun holster
7. Special forces soldiers on a truck
8. Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze inspecting troops in Pankisi Gorge
9. Soldiers stand in line
10. SOUNDBITE: (Russian) Eduard Shevardnadze, President of Georgia
It is too early to talk about results. The operation has been started. The troops have undergone good training and have proper skills. The most important thing is that they have established good relations with the local population.
11. Cutaway
12. SOUNDBITE: (Russian) Eduard Shevardnadze, President of Georgia
Everything depends on the Russian side. Everything will depend on how they will protect their border.
13. Midshot of local villagers
14. Shevardnadze with flowers
15. Shevardnadze talking with local people
16. Coffin lid near a small church
17. Midshot of two women
18. Wideshot, local residents gathered
STORYLINE:
Georgia's President Eduard Shevardnadze inspected troops in the troubled Pankisi Gorge on Tuesday, talked with Chechen refugees, and attended a memorial service for a villager killed in a suspected raid by Russian warplanes inside Georgian airspace.
Georgia has declared the start of an anti-criminal operation in the Pankisi Gorge, aimed at driving Chechen rebels out of the country.
Russia maintains that Georgia provides shelter for Chechens fighting against the federal troops across the border and has repeatedly proposed sending its own forces into the area.
Georgia rejects any Russian involvement in what it considers its domestic problem.
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Georgia: Pankisi residents clash with police over hydroelectric power plant
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Residents in Georgia’s Pankisi Gorge clashed with riot police on Sunday over the construction of the Khadori-3 hydroelectric power plant.
The protesters lobbed stones at riot police who, in turn, used rubber bullets and tear gas in an attempt to disperse them.
Several people from both sides were reportedly injured.
According to the media reports, Chief of Georgian Ministry of Interior Affairs Giorgi Gakharia arrived at the scene to negotiate with locals.
Georgian authorities launched construction work on the plant back in March 2018. Local residents are worried the plant could harm the environment and force them to leave their homes.
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KurdglebiPerforming Traditional Georgian Songs in the Pankisi Gorge, Georgia. Part II
Shot in Pankisi, Georgia in 2009 by Andy Welch.
Email me about the film for more information:
andy@slowquest.co.uk
This singing group is composed of French and (one English) singers who lived in Georgia and formed a singing group.
Georgia (2) - Pankisi
July 2017
Musicians Performing in the Pankisi Gorge in The Republic of Georgia
Shot in the Pankisi Valley, Georgia in 2009 by Andy Welch.
Email me about the film for more information:
andy@slowquest.co.uk
I was there because I was participating in a concert performance of French (and one English) singers.
US supplied helicopters operating in Georgia
1. US UH-1H (Huey) helicopter in the air
2. Helicopter landing
3. Pilot getting out of helicopter
4. American technician checks helicopter
5. SOUNDBITE (English) James E. Manley, American pilot:
(Our flight) was just here to the North and East, quite a way away for the Pankisi Gorge and we stayed away from Chechen boarder. Our key is to do training and maintain everything very safely. As you can see the aircraft has no armament or anything on it. So, it is all training.
6. ws US helicopters
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Gela Ezhuashvili, Frist Deputy Defence Minister:
Well, the main reason for developing so called helicopter programme with the US is to increase our operationally capabilities or select units to be able to exercise our legitimate needs, defence needs to protect our boarders and to increase security in our country.
8. Helicopter
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Gela Ezhuashvili, Frist Deputy Defence Minister:
There are no exercises taking place near by the Pankisi Gorge by the Ministry of Defence and our arm forces, not at all. We do not deal directly with the issue of Pankisi being the Ministry of Defence that is why I would not support any implication from the media this morning, concerning this issue.
10. Various of US contractors at Tbilisi airport
11. Wide helicopters on landing pads
STORYLINE:
U.S. military helicopters were Friday training at the Tbilisi airport.
Eight US supplied helicopters were brought over last year from Germany and Turkey to participate in programme aimed at training Georgian military in border patrol and search and rescue operations.
Six of them are intended for flying and four for spare parts. A U.S. service member and six contractors have been there since November to give training in how to operate the aircraft, he said.
James E. Manley, one of the training participants, said that today's training is not connected to the Pankisi Gorge and it is conducted to train Georgian military to increase its capability.
Deputy Defence Minister of Georgia, Gela Ezhuashvili, who was present at the training denied Russian media reports that a joint anti terrorist operation in the Pankisi Gorge allegedly involving American and German military.
The Pankisi Gorge is viewed by Russia as a hideout for Chechen militants; and it has long applied pressure on the Georgian government to allow it to conduct joint operations in the area.
The US believes some of the chechen militants may be affiliated to the al-Qaida network. The area was reconnoitered last year by a US military team and there is speculation that up to 200 American troops could soon be sent to the area, although their role would be likely confined to training and logistical support rather than front line combat. Russia would be likely to feel uneasy about US troops being invited to operate in an area to which it is itself denied access.
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Georgian army prepares for US personnel
1. Georgian Army base gates
2. Georgian coat of arms on the wall
3. Various of Georgian army unit running with their guns
4. Officer talks to soldiers
5. Georgian Army emblem
6. Soldiers listening
7. Various of training exercise in the bushes
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Captain George Bliadze, Unit commander
We are looking for help from NATO countries, from the US. With the help of American soldiers we hope to train our soldiers. About 400 soldiers on this base will go through the programme of training and equipment during three months.
9. Kojori base
10. English classes for soldiers
11. Soldiers yelling Good morning, Sir in English
12. Various of English language classes
13. SOUNDBITE (Georgian) Sergeant Shalva Makharadze, Georgian Army
We will try to show the best we can. We will fulfill every order, as it has to be when the order is given to a soldier.
14. Soldier reading American language course book
STORYLINE:
The United States is planning to train and equip Georgian troops as a new front in the anti-terrorist campaign.
Washington recently said rebels with al-Qaida links are operating from the Pankisi Gorge, which is next to Russia's breakaway Chechnya region.
Tens of thousands of refugees from the Chechnya conflict have flooded into the gorge since 1999 and the impoverished area has been plunged into lawlessness.
The U-S instructors and support personnel will be deployed in the ex-Soviet republic of Georgia and stationed at the Kojori army base.
In a pine forest some 60 kilometres (37 miles) north of the capital Tbilisi, Kojori base is a home to the Georgian special forces brigade - the best fighting unit in an otherwise ill-trained and badly equipped Georgian army .
The U-S instructors are expected to train four Georgian batallions - some 1-thousand-200 men - in the latest anti-insurgency tactics, while the U-S government will help to equip local troops with modern hardware.
The U-S and Georgian governments insist that no U-S servicemen will take part in any military action in the Pankisi Gorge.
The kidnapping of four hermit monks in the Pankisi in October galvanized public anger in Georgia, prompting protests that prompted the government to order a crackdown by federal police in the gorge.
The police operation freed a few hostages but otherwise had little effect.
Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze is now pinning his hopes on U-S aid building his army into an effective force.
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Video of Chechen rebels
AMATEUR VIDEO - QUALITY AS INCOMING
1. Various of rebel group moving through forest
2. Various of rebel group conducting military training in forest (audio of weapons fire)
3. Various of rebel group moving through forest
4. Various of rebel holding Russian-made shoulder-fired Igla missile launcher
5. Shoulder-fired Igla missile launcher on the ground
6. Rebels in forest
7. Close-up military equipment pan rebels in forest
8. Various of rebels sitting by fire
9. Close-up of rebel, believed to be Ruslan Gelayev
10. Various of rebels preparing food
11. Various of rebels resting
12. Rebel standing by a tree
STORYLINE:
As fighting continues between Russian forces and Chechen rebels following the crash of a Russian helicopter on the Chechnya border on Thursday, APTN has obtained amateur footage believed to be of Chechen rebels conducting military exercises.
The video shows a group of thirty well-equipped rebels walking along small forest paths, undergoing weapons practice and resting at a make-shift camp.
The pictures show a man, believed to be Chechen field commander, Ruslan Gelayev, with a group of rebels.
The exact location of this forest is unknown to APTN, and it is believed these pictures were shot in the middle of September.
The footage also shows rebels carrying hand-held weapons, including automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades that are believed to be Russian made.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and other officials have recently threatened to launch military strikes across the Russia-Georgia border to destroy militants they claim are hiding in the Pankisi Gorge.
Since the end of August, Georgian authorities have been conducting operations to root out Chechen militants from the Pankisi Gorge which borders Chechnya.
Tension between Russia and Georgia over the Pankisi Gorge has increased recently, with Moscow claiming Georgian efforts to prevent rebels entering Russia are ineffective.
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