ABKHAZIA YIELDS THE FRUITS OF ‘INDEPENDENCE’
By Messenger Staff

Messenger.ge
Thursday, August 13, 2009

Some time ago Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II expressed
his regret that the Abkhaz and Ossetian ethnic groups are in danger
of disappearing. At first glance this statement looks paradoxical, as
Russia invaded Georgia to ‘rescue’ and ‘protect’ those ethnic groups,
but in reality Russia merely used these two groups to give it a reason
to attack Georgia. These two peoples have fulfilled their mission and
now Russia does not care for them. So they ‘yield the fruits of their
sovereignty.’ Recently inter-ethnic problems and the oppression of the
Abkhaz population by Russian occupiers have become rather vivid and
there are voices among the Abkhaz regretting that such developments
have occurred. Russians do whatever they want in the so-called
‘sovereign state of Abkhazia’. Puppet President Sergey Baghapsh is
trying to decrease Russian pressure on the Abkhaz by saying that Russia
has helped Abkhazia so they have to respect Russia in return. But what
respect are the Abkhaz being shown? To take one example, the so-called
‘strategic agreement’ between Russia and Abkhazia is humiliating to
the Abkhaz. It says that the Georgian-Abkhaz administrative border
should be protected only by Russian border forces. Abkhaz border
forces and customs bodies have been removed and Russians deployed
in their place. This has caused indignation among Abkhaz customs and
‘border’ personnel and the ordinary Abkhaz population considers this
a violation of its rights. Even worse, according to the same agreement
the Abkhaz Government is obliged to provide Russian border staff with
houses and land when they retire.

Some Abkhaz border guards and customs employees are determined not to
give up and are ready to take up arms against such developments. Since
the beginning of the 90s, when with Russian assistance the Abkhaz
kicked the Georgian population out of Abkhazia (more than 300,000
Georgians and others were displaced), Russia has been slowly annexing
this region by demographic means. At the time of the 2003 census
44% of the people living in Abkhazia were Abkhaz, 21% Georgian, 21%
Armenian and 10% Russian. Now this situation is changing rapidly. The
Governor of Krasnodar (a Russian district bordering Abkhazia to the
north) plans to resettle Cossacks in the Ochamchire region of Abkhazia
and Adigheians (North Caucasus people) in the Gulripshi region. The
Armenian population in Abkhazia is also increasing rapidly as more
and more of them settle there.

Abkhaz are already expressing their dissatisfaction with this
demographical manipulation and the business and political interests
moving into Abkhazia. Russian business is buying up a large quantity
of land and property in Abkhazia as these are rather cheap commodities
there now. Georgian analysts think it inevitable that anti-Russian
sentiments will take root in Abkhazia, if they have not done so
already. From confidential sources we receive information that
in private Abkhaz often say that it was not so bad co-existing
with Georgians and they regret their aggressive attitude towards
Georgians. This is hardly surprising. With all these manipulations
going on, it is no exaggeration to say that a discrete genocide of
the Abkhaz people is being perpetrated on Abkhaz territory.

Analyst Mamuka Areshidze says that Abkhaz understand that they
have put themselves in a grave position. "Last year’s Russian
aggression resulted in Abkhazia declaring independence and this being
recognised by Russia, but it can hardly be said that the Abkhaz have
been victorious. It is already being recognised that this sort of
‘independence’ is not a victory at all. I think future developments
will aggravate the situation in the breakaway region even more,"
Areshidze says.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress