A crowd of opponents of the Government of Abkhazia, a separatist region of Georgia controlled by Russia, took over the main government buildings of this territory this Friday. The opposition is protesting against an unpopular agreement with Moscow that allows Russian companies to invest in this territory bathed by the Black Sea. Protesters are also demanding the resignation of President Aslan Bzhania, who took office in 2020.
Opponents have taken control of the entire administrative complex of Sukhumi, the Abkhazian capital, made up of the Parliament buildings, the Presidential Administration and the Government Headquarters, whose security forces have been forced to abandon, reports the Russian Tass agency. . Dozens of people have used a truck to break down the metal gates that surrounded Parliament. In videos of the event, protesters can be seen climbing through the windows after removing the metal bars. “The people control the building of the Presidential Administration, Parliament and also state television,” Adgur Ardzinba, an opposition leader, told the Interfax agency.
President Bzhania, who had called the protesters to order in recent days, was not in his office this Friday and his whereabouts are unknown, but he maintains contact “with different forces in the Republic in order to stabilize the situation.” according to the presidency of this territory that Georgia considers occupied by Moscow.
However, the group of opposition negotiators, which includes several deputies, have presented Bzhania with an ultimatum to leave office. “The demand for resignation will be presented to the current president. Early presidential elections must be held in the Republic,” declared Ardzinba.
Temur Gulia, opposition leader, explained to Reuters that his initial demand was to reject the agreement, but now the protesters want further. “The people demand the resignation of Aslan Bzhania and intend to achieve it categorically,” said Gulia.
Russian money
The incidents, which left at least eight injured, according to emergency services, occurred after the legislature canceled this Friday’s session, in which the ratification of the agreement with Russia, signed on October 30, was scheduled. and refused, as the opposition demanded, to remove the bill from the agenda.
In September it emerged that Russia had suspended its huge subsidies to Abkhazia because this region had breached its agreements with the Kremlin, which is why opponents in this region denounced that the new investment agreement with Moscow had been the product of pressure from the Kremlin.
Last week, Abkhazian opposition leaders created a committee against the ratification of this agreement with Moscow, which would allow investment projects by Russian companies. Critics argue that the rule will exclude local citizens from the real estate market by allowing much more Russian money to flow. Russia is Abkhazia’s main trading partner.
Russia recognized Abkhazia and another breakaway region, South Ossetia, as independent states in 2008, after Russian troops repelled an attempt by Georgia to retake South Ossetia in a five-day war, in front of most of the world. which complies with international law by considering it part of Georgia. Russian money has flooded into the lush subtropical territory where Soviet-era seaside resorts cling to the Black Sea coast.
