Translated material
Association for Sukhumi
Abkhazia wants to become the Marshall Islands
Yesterday, the People's Assembly (Parliament) of Abkhazia appealed to the President of Russia and Russian deputies to recognize the independence of the self-proclaimed republic and establish associated relations with it. This decision will become an additional irritant for the Georgian authorities. Tbilisi is confident that Moscow is behind the separatist aspirations in Sukhumi and Tskhinvali.“We understand well that the path to recognition of independence is extremely difficult. But we will pass it, because we have no other possibilities for self-preservation,” said Abkhaz President Sergei Bagapsh at a parliamentary session, commenting on the appeal to Russia. The surroundings were solemn and festive. Not only the head of Abkhazia, but also ministers, representatives of public organizations, and religious denominations were invited to the parliament. Delegates from national communities also demonstrated unanimity.
“The centuries-old experience of the nation testifies to one thing - the Abkhaz state cannot coexist with Georgia in a common legal field. The Abkhaz ethnic group cannot be guaranteed against attacks on its development, on its inalienable rights, on its sovereignty,” said Mr. Bagapsh. “Even the most democratic forms of government in Georgia do not guarantee the security of the very existence of the Abkhaz people. Proof of this is the entire modern history of Georgian-Abkhaz state-legal relations: persecution of the people, destruction of the intelligentsia, culture, history, toponymy, permanent military aggression,” the Abkhaz leader believes. He emphasized that Georgia, “with the support of some states,” is actively arming itself, “acquiring modern military equipment and intensively preparing the army and civilian population for a new war with Abkhazia, for new victims.”
“I think there is no point in officially reacting to such statements,” former Georgian State Minister for Conflict Resolution Georgiy Khaindrava told Vremya Novostey. “By the way, Sergei Bagapsh has long and successfully coexisted in a single field with his Georgian wife.” “We, despite any suspicions, will solve the problems of Abkhazia and South Ossetia peacefully,” Shota Malashkhia, chairman of the Georgian parliamentary commission on restoring territorial integrity, told VN. “If Russia recognizes Abkhazia, then this will be a problem for Russia itself, which will not only violate international law, but will itself collapse from similar declarations of sovereignty on its own territory.” Our interlocutor recalled that the Constitutional Court of Russia declared back in 2005 that there could be no annexation of Abkhazia or South Ossetia to Russia.
Foreign Minister of Abkhazia Sergei Shamba told VN that relations between Moscow and Sukhumi could become an analogue of relations between the United States and the Marshall Islands. “We hope that Russia will not ignore our appeal,” the minister said. “The Constitutional Court of Russia made an unauthorized decision last year and did not take into account many factors.” According to him, there are no contradictions between the Abkhaz thirst for independence and associated relations with Russia. “Independence does not preclude the conclusion of international treaties,” explained Mr. Shamba. In his opinion, “the time has come for Russia not to wait for world powers to create precedents, but to create them itself.” The minister recalled Vladimir Putin's statement that the Kosovo precedent should be universal. “Coming from the mouth of the head of a great power, this sounds significant,” noted the head of Abkhaz diplomacy.
Based on the appeal of the Parliament of Abkhazia, a history textbook can be written. The deputies recalled that “the statehood of Abkhazia dates back more than 1,200 years,” and for two centuries there have been interstate relations between Russia and Abkhazia. The Abkhazian principality in 1810 independently became part of the Russian Empire, while “the Russian emperor recognized the statehood of Abkhazia and extended the protectorate of Russia to it.” The deputies noted that Abkhazia sovereignly participated in the creation of the USSR in December 1922, and in 1931, Abkhazia from the “treaty SSR” was transformed into an autonomous republic and introduced into the Georgian SSR, after which the policy of forced Georgianization allegedly began.
Georgian historians have a completely different view of the past. In addition, Tbilisi draws attention to the fact that the independence referendum held by the Abkhazians in 1999 took place under the conditions of the expulsion of almost 300 thousand Georgians from the autonomy. But in Sukhumi they claim that Abkhazia “has all the necessary signs and attributes of a sovereign state.” “The thirteen-year post-war period has confirmed the viability of the de facto independent Abkhaz state, and all that is required is to legitimize its sovereignty in accordance with the UN Charter,” the appeal says.