Georgia asks UN court for urgent order to Russia
Tbilisi demands the International Court of Justice order Moscow to halt 'human rights violations on ethnic Georgians' as relief agencies report nearly 100,000 people uprooted in conflict zone. Meanwhile Russia tells Georgia it can 'forget' about regaining separatist provinces
Georgia has asked the UN's highest court to issue an urgent order to Russia to halt what it describes as human rights violations on ethnic Georgians, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said on Thursday.
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On Tuesday Georgia filed a law suit with the Hague-based ICJ or World Court, which investigates conflicts between nations, accusing Russia of ethnic cleansing in the provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.ย
Typically cases before the ICJ take years to settle but if a party requests an "indication of provisional measures", the court's judges can make a swift provisional order.ย
The ICJ said in a statement that Georgia has requested it as "a matter of utmost urgency" to order Russia to comply with the anti-discrimination convention and to immediately halt what Georgia termed "discriminatory violations of the human rights of ethnic Georgians, including attacks against civilians... murder, forced displacement, denial of humanitarian assistance."ย
Russia: Georgia can 'forget' regaining provinces
The foreign minister of Russia said Thursday that Georgia could "forget about" getting back its two breakaway provinces, and the former Soviet republic remained on edge as Russia sent tank columns to search out and destroy Georgian military equipment.
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Uncertainty about Russia's intentions and back-and-forth charges clouded the conflict two days after Russia and Georgia signaled acceptance of a French-brokered cease-fire, and a week after Georgia's crackdown on the two provinces drew a Russian military response.
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Diplomats focused on finalizing a fragile cease-fire between the two nations and clear the way for Russian withdrawal. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was heading Friday for Georgia to press the president to sign the deal.
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Georgian officials accused Russia of sending a column of tanks and other armored vehicles toward Kutaisi, the second-largest city in Georgia, then said the convey stopped about 35 miles out.
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"We have no idea what they're doing there, why the movement, where they're going," Georgian Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze said in a telephone briefing. "One explanation could be they are trying to rattle the civilian population."
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The US said a move toward Kutaisi would be a matter of great concern, but two defense officials told The Associated Press the Pentagon did not detect any major movement by Russia troops or tanks. There was no immediate response from Russia itself.
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"I think the world should think very carefully about what is going on here," Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said. "We need to stop everything that can be stopped now."
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The Russian president met in the Kremlin with the leaders of the provinces, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, a clear sign Moscow could absorb the regions even though the territory is internationally recognized as being within Georgia's borders. And Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov issued a blunt message to Georgia and the world that appeared to challenge President Bush's demand a day earlier that Russia must respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia.
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"One can forget about any talk about Georgia's territorial integrity because, I believe, it is impossible to persuade South Ossetia and Abkhazia to agree with the logic that they can be forced back into the Georgian state."
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Nearly 100,000 new refugees
The White House said Thursday that the US position was unchanged and dismissed Lavrov's remark as bluster. Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned Russia was in danger of hurting relations with the US "for years to come" but said he did not see "any prospect" for the use of American military force in Georgia.
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As the military and diplomatic battles played out, relief planes swooped into Tbilisi with tons of supplies for the estimated 100,000 people uprooted by the fighting.
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US officials said their two planes carried cots, blankets, medicine and surgical supplies - but the Russians insinuated that the United States, a Georgia ally, might have sent in military aid as well. US officials rejected the claim.
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Even as the relief rolled in, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned the fighting and lawlessness was keeping it from reaching large parts of Georgia. In some places, relief officials were overwhelmed by the
sheer numbers of refugees.
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The Georgian ambassador to the United States, H.E. Vasil Sikharulidze, said Russia was employing "scorched-earth" tactics - destroying Georgian commercial and military infrastructure and burning down religious sites beyond the conflict area of South Ossetia.
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"What defenses does Georgia have? Because of the cease-fire agreement, which Russia has not honored, Georgian troops are being moved to organize a defensive line 10 kilometers (six miles) away from Tbilisi," he said.
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Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report
