9th-12th-Lancers - Year 2001 - Page 0051
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| Regiment | 9th/12th Lancers |
|---|---|
| Year | 2001 |
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REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE 9TH/12TH ROYAL LANCERS (PRINCE OF WALES’S) 51 UNOMIG - All quiet on the Eastern Front? fter two years as Adjutant Oxford University OTC, I felt I needed a rest! Unfortunately, Postings Branch did not see my point of view and suggested an S03 appointment! I was reliably informed that the phrases "rest” and "S03” did not sit at all easily with one another, but as "luck” would have it, I was not selected for my chosen S03 job and somehow found myself volunteering as a United Nations Military Observer (UNMO) for a six-month tour to Georgia. I knew next to nothing about this part of the world and decided to do some research. The relevant shelves of reputable book- shops were also surprisingly bare, but I did discover that the region seems to be repeatedly described as a "no-go zone” and that both Stalin, and his KGB sidekick Beria, were Georgians. With fine breeding like this, things were looking promising! With a two week UNMO course at Chilwell as preparation, (during which a UN helicopter on patrol in Georgia was shot down with the loss of all nine UN members) I flew out at the end of October 2001, now expecting that my flak jacket and helmet were going to be more useful than I had originally presumed! Georgia is located at the Eastern end ofthe Black Sea. It is a rel- atively small country, about the size of Ireland, with a popula- tion of some 5 million. The Caucasus mountains provide an impressive natural border with Russia to the North; Azerbaijan is to the East and Armenia and Turkey to the South. The area has been inhabited since before 100,000 BC, and it would be easy to assume that they have been fighting each other ever since! Although perhaps distant and obscure to us in Northern Europe, the region has always been an important crossroads for cultures, religions, and trade. Georgia has come under the ancient Greek, Roman, Persian, Byzantine and then Arab empires before the Turks arrived in the llth century. The Mongols arrived in the 13th and the Ottomans in the 15th. In the 18th century the Russians fought their way in and have been in and out fairly frequently since! In a fine example of its troubled past, and in what must surelybe a World record, the capital, Tbilisi, has had the dubious distinction of being sacked 30 times since 500 AD! As you may gather, this is a land steeped in history, long memories and divided loyalties. After the break up of the Soviet Union, Georgia was in semi- turmoil for some years with inter-ethnic clashes in various parts of the country. The most serious of these occurred in the semi-autonomous state of Abkhazia culminating in outright war in 1992-93. Georgia's initial success in pushing back the Abkhaz, almost to the Russian border, was reversed (mainly due to unofficial Russian military assistance!) and the Georgians promptly found themselves back on their Line Of Departure! A ceasefire line was set up and a peace agreement signed in Moscow. A Russian peacekeeping force deployed either side of the line and the UN mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) was set up in 1994. There have been occasional clashes since, but the mission has been largely successful in its limited mandate to keep the two sides from fighting. My role as an UNMO is to patrol with one of five teams to make sure everyone is keeping to the mandate. I am current- ly operating on the Abkhazian side of the line. The job is rel- atively easy and enjoyable, involving liaison with the Russian peacekeepers, the local ragtag military and the civilian popu- lation. Other than the local drinking customs, the main threats to one’s health are mines and partisans who frequent- ly cross from the Georgian side into Abkhazia and cause trou- ble. We are unarmed, but patrol in excellent mine and bul- letproof vehicles. Life has always been cheap in this part of the world and still is. Murders and killings are an almost daily occurrence and there is absolutely no rule of law. Corruption and bribery are blatant and regarded, as they always have been here, as entirely nor- mal. Trust is not a local trait and the locals must come in a close second to the Afghans in the treachery top ten! The political will to come to a settlement seems to have evap- orated some time ago and the current situation is at an impasse. The UN, however well meaning, has an out of date mandate, is little respected and has no "muscle” to rely on. The Russian peacekeepers, having had over 100 men killed since 1994, are not terribly proactive and many still harbour a Soviet type mistrust towards the ‘West’. Additionally, the strategic importance of the area to Russia means that one never quite knows what is going on behind the scenes on the political front! Add all this to the normal UN inefficiency and near total civil- ian control of the mission and you could argue that UNOMIG is just prolonging the problem; certainly many locals wonder what on earth we are achieving! My answer is that the UN can, at least, give their problem a global airing in New York. I have so far failed to impress many with this statement! Working with UNMOs from 22 other nations is also interesting; usually fun but often maddening! It is now quite clear to me why Britain had such a massive empire! Whatever the problems, it is an interesting, often entertaining and very well paid job! The country is beautiful (sadly the local women less so!), the mountains impressive and the heli- skiing cheap! If you have six months to fill and the Balkans (for a fifth tour!) is unappealing then try here. I can pretty well guarantee that nothing is going to change for some time! jEjF |
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