Kobakhidze slams ex-PM, opposition leader Gakharia for Chorchana checkpoint near occupation line, citing ‘secrecy’, ‘echoes of 2008 war’

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has accused former Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition For Georgia party, Giorgi Gakharia, of making an “unsanctioned” and potentially damaging decision in 2019 by “unilaterally establishing” a police checkpoint near the village of Chorchana, close to the occupation line with the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region (South Ossetia). 

Kobakhidze on Wednesday suggested the move had “echoed the miscalculations that led to the 2008 war [with Russia]” and claimed it had resulted in the loss of Georgian-controlled territory.

Kobakhidze told reporters that Gakharia, then Minister of Internal Affairs, had “failed” to inform key national authorities or the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) before launching the operation. “Not the Prime Minister, not the heads of law enforcement, not the State Security Service - no one was informed,” said Kobakhidze. “Even Mamuka Bakhtadze [then Prime Minister] was left in the dark. This kind of secrecy naturally raises suspicions.”

Describing the Chorchana incident as a "mini-model" of the events of 2008, Kobakhidze argued that Gakharia’s decision “ultimately contributed” to the occupation of nearly one million square meters of Georgian territory. “It was a reckless move,” he said. “And if it wasn’t problematic, why was it done behind closed doors?”

Gakharia, who recently gave testimony to a parliamentary investigative commission probing alleged crimes under the United National Movement government and beyond, defended his actions by emphasizing the urgency of the situation in August 2019. He said the establishment of the checkpoint was a direct response to creeping occupation and provocations by Russian-backed forces.

“We were running out of time. Presence in that area was crucial,” Gakharia said. According to him, the area - approximately 1,800 hectares of forest - was under de facto control of the occupation regime, with locals being regularly detained and warned not to enter. “We couldn’t patrol that forest. They [the occupation forces] could,” he said, adding that the decision to send in police units was made to protect patrol officers and assert state authority.

Gakharia also referenced “clear signs of premeditated encroachment,” including tree markings and stencils left by Russian-backed forces based on a disputed Soviet-era map from 1922. He stressed that his decision came in the context of the earlier August 2019 “borderization” in the village of Gugutiantkari in Gori municipality, central Georgia, which saw Russian forces extend barbed wire deeper into Georgian-controlled territory.

The checkpoint in Chorchana was constructed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Special Tasks Department, which is tasked with operations along the occupation line. The effort reportedly required building a 7-kilometre road through dense and difficult forest terrain - an operation that took nearly a week and involved heavy equipment.

According to Kakhaber Kemoklidze, a close ally of Gakharia and former head of the MIA’s analytical department, the decision was a reaction to alarming Russian activity. “They had already pushed the barbed wire in Gugutiantkari, and based on the 1922 map, planned to seize 27 more territorial units along the line,” he said.

The European Union Monitoring Mission did not oppose the move. In its statement on 16 September 2019, the mission acknowledged the post was constructed “in the vicinity of the village of Tsnelisi,” located “approximately 240 meters” from the administrative boundary and “in territory administered by Tbilisi.” The EUMM made no claim that the post violated constitutional norms or escalated the situation.

In his comments, Kobakhidze further alleged that Gakharia’s subsequent promotion to Prime Minister was orchestrated by what he called the “deep state,” claiming that compromises were made at the time but are no longer being tolerated under the current administration.

“I’ve said it before - his appointment followed a call from the deep state. But now, we are not making such compromises,” he said.

When asked about his previous comment referring to Gakharia as someone to whom “everyone lies,” Kobakhidze claimed that the remark was made during the COVID-19 pandemic and was related to Gakharia’s management of the crisis.