GEORGIAN NAVY CHIEF DISMISSED.

Rear Adm. Aleksandr Javakhishvili, the commander of the fledgling Georgian Navy, was fired on December 8, ending more than a month’s confusion over his status. On November 6 Georgian sources reported that he had submitted his resignation, something official sources later denied. The 64-year-old admiral had been the only chief of independent Georgia’s navy. Previously he had served in the Soviet Pacific Fleet as a submariner, rising to the rank of rear admiral. A Georgian Defense Ministry press statement said that his dismissal had been prompted by a letter of resignation and "the unhealthy situation" in the Poti naval brigade. (Interfax, December 9)

Javakhishvili was known to have been unhappy serving under Defense Minister Vardiko Nadibaidze. He had even suggested that his small force be transferred to the Border Troops rather than remain as part of the military. Georgia’s naval vessels recently replaced ships of the Russian Border Troops that were patrolling Georgian territorial waters.

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