Georgia leader takes control of rebel region

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili took charge of the Adzhara region yesterday and secured its valuable port just hours after forcing its breakaway leader to flee into exile with a Russian mediator.

Mr Saakashvili flew into the regional capital of Batumi the morning after opposition rallies and weeks of increasing pressure drove off veteran Adzharan leader Aslan Abashidze.

He spent his day touring districts of the Black Sea region by car and helicopter. A spokesman said the president intended to stay in the region for another four days.

Mr Abashidze's departure in the dead of night ended a standoff that has been heating up since March when Mr Saakashvili was stopped from entering Mr Adzhara.

"The main thing now is to maintain calm. We have to start running the region effectively after 12 years of total mismanagement," Mr Saakashvili said as he emerged from his hotel.

The 37-year-old US-trained lawyer elected by a landslide after ousting veteran leader Eduard Shevardnadze last year, strode down palm-lined streets to a chorus of greetings.

"Misha, we love you! Victory, we have won!" shouted supporters who crowded around him. Cars packed with chanting young people circled the streets throughout the day.

The ouster of Mr Abashidze, who had ruled the region as a fiefdom for 14 years, was a first step by Mr Saakashvili towards fulfilling a pledge to restore central rule over the whole of this fractious former Soviet republic of 5.5 million.

In Tbilisi, Mr Saakashvili said restoring control over Adzhara was the start of reunifying Georgia, showing new resolve to win back its other breakaway territories Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

But Georgia's acting foreign minister injected a note of caution and suggested it would be tougher to bring back into the fold the other regions - which have long declared independence.

"You cannot draw a parallel between the problems of Adzhara and Abkhazia," Salome Zurabishvili told reporters in Moscow.

"In Adzhara there was no conflict with separatists. This was a conflict between democracy and, if you can call it that, non-democracy. But it shows the Georgian government can resolve such a conflict with democratic and peaceful methods."

Mr Saakashvili announced he would introduce presidential rule in Adzhara, which has a long tradition of autonomy. A temporary council would take charge pending elections.

Moving to protect assets, special forces in battle fatigues and black headbands were posted inside the vital oil port of Batumi. A port source said it was working smoothly.

Mr Saakashvili now faces the burden of running the province, whose 200,000-barrel-per-day oil port and customs point on the Turkish border could now contribute to a lean national budget.

Winning back Abkhazia and South Ossetia poses tougher challenges. Mr Abashidze sought only autonomy of action. Abkhazia and South Ossetia fought separatist wars with authorities.

Mr Abashidze may have assumed, wrongly, that ties with Moscow business elites would save him. But Russian President Vladimir Putin clearly put a greater price on good relations with Mr Saakashvili.

He sent former foreign minister - now secretary of Russia's Security Council - Igor Ivanov to cajole Mr Abashidze into accepting safety guarantees from Mr Saakashvili and stepping down without fuss, much like Mr Shevardnadze did six months ago.

Mr Saakashvili promised not to pursue Mr Abashidze or seek his extradition if he left quietly. Mr Abashidze gave in and flew off with Ivanov to Moscow in the early hours.