Georgia mutiny troops return to base

TBILISI, Georgia -- Troops who took over Georgia's Interior Ministry base in a protest at conditions -- including claims of 14 months unpaid wages -- have returned to barracks, say officials.

"This morning, the national guard battalion with its military equipment completed its relocation and returned to its base in Noria," Georgian Defence Ministry spokesman Dmitry Lezhava said.

President Eduard Shevardnadze, who met with leaders of the protest, said that the armed forces needed more support and pledged to address their complaints. None of those who took part in the action will be prosecuted.

Those involved in the protest insist it was motivated by economics, not politics, after early accusations of high treason. Demands included 14 months of back wages, new uniforms and better pay.

AUDIO CNN's Matthew Chance: Troops guaranteed not to be charged with mutiny 542 Kb/50 secs. AIFF or WAV sound

"Our army is in a terrible situation. If the country doesn't need the army, it should be dissolved," Col. Georgy Krialashvili, the commander of the mutinous Georgian National Guard battalion told reporters.

"I feel ashamed and I can't look into the eyes of my soldiers and officers. The soldiers serve practically barefoot, the service conditions are very poor. Officers haven't received their salaries for more than a year."

With Georgia celebrating its 10th year of independence from the Soviet Union on Saturday, Shevardnadze sounded a conciliatory note.

"The state is no less guilty than they are in what has happened -- in normal conditions this would not have happened," Reuters quoted him as saying after the talks.

The protest began on Friday morning with a 400-strong National Guard battalion, armed with three tanks, two armoured personnel carriers and submachine guns, appropriating the base in Mukhrovani, about 25 kilometres (15 miles) east of Tbilisi.

Their numbers swelled to about 1,000 when they were joined by Interior Ministry troops, said Maj. Gen. Dzhemal Chumburidze, of the National Guard.

After Friday night's talks, the troops returned to their barracks at Noria, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) east of the capital.

The mutiny was a reminder of the political turmoil of the early 1990s, when ethnic Ossetians and Abkhaz fought for independence, and President Zviad Gamsakhurdia, toppled in a violent coup, made a failed armed bid to reclaim power.

Shevardnadze, a former Soviet foreign minister, has himself survived two attempted assassinations.

On Independence Day, Shevardnadze visited a hilltop monument to Georgian writers to unveil a sculpture in honour of a philosopher. A military parade was cancelled, apparently due to lack of funds.