TBILISI. July 22 (Interfax-AVN) - Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze has described the simultaneous resignation of 102 officers, including commander of the Land Forces Lieutenant Colonel Nikolai Dzhandzhgava, as unjustified.
Although only positive references can be given to Dzhandzhgava, such impulsiveness cannot be justified, Shevardnadze said at a press conference on Monday.
At its next session, the National Security Council will give an appropriate assessment of this incident, he said.
On July 19, 102 officers of the Commando battalion and the Kodzhori rapid reaction center tendered their resignations. Both units are supposed to take part in the U.S. program of training and equipment Georgian anti-terrorist forces for which the Pentagon has allocated USD64m.
"This form of protest is not aimed against national interests in any way. It is not a riot, as all weapons are in arsenals," Dzhandzhgava stressed. Moreover, the officers and sergeant majors who have filed resignations are not opposed to the U.S. military program, they are only unwilling to participate in it, he said.