From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng  (Original Message)    Sent: 6/9/2005 12:16 PM
AN ABKHAZIA PHOTOGRAPH
No war;
No peace;
But extreme tension.

(ABKHAZIA REPORT OF THE CAUCASUS FOUNDATION. OCTOBER 2001)

by Fehim Tastekin

Although Abkhazia was the only one to declare its independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union and had unilaterally put on its agenda a federation agreement with Georgia, it unexpectedly found itself under attack by the Georgian army. In this respect, the date of Georgian incursion, August 14, 1992, not only brought great social and economic upheaval, but it also exhausted all possibilities of coming together again with Georgia.

Possessing a federal structure in the Soviet Union together with the autonomous republics of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Adjaria, Georgia chose a unitary state structure when it became independent. In doing this it showed no regard for an autonomous republic structure like Abkhazia`s. Opposing this, the Abkhazia Parliament declared Abkhazia`s sovereignty, and while it was preparing for discussions on the federation alternative, the Abkhaz people were at least not as far from such an alternative as they are today.

In fact, on the Abkhazia side a rough draft of a federation agreement had been prepared that is almost equivalent to the idea of "Abkhazia being given broad authority within Georgia," which is frequently brought up by Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze. After the movement begun in 1992 and 1993 to fully annex Abkhazia to Georgia soil had cost thousands of lives, the Abkhaz side abandoned its pre-war position and chose as its indisputable goal the "fully independent
state" alternative.

TO AVOID ANOTHER ABKHAZIA GEORGIA WAR

An armed terrorist group of 500 men were stationed in Georgia for the last 3-4 months and started aggression against Abkhazia since 2 October 2001. Georgia have denied the presence of this armed group but the responsibility of controlling this group is still with Georgia. The Abkhazian side believes that the said group is supported by the Georgian intelligence.

This armed group have stepped into the Kodor region of Abkhazia and have attacked to some villages and have downed a helicopter of United Nations Observers on 09 October 2001. The next provocation have been the bombardment of Kodor region by SU-25 aircraft. Georgia claimed them as Russian aircraft. Tiflis and Sohum took war positions and Russia fortified its borders.

Abkhazia is now surrounded by Georgian and Russian armies. Common sense is expected from Georgia. Any Georgian adventure will provoke all of the North Caucasu. Abkhazians have not forgotton the Georgian invasion in 1992 when everything seemed peaceful and there were plenty of federation talk.Abkhazian Parliament were reviewing the proposals of federal structures with Tiflis.There the unexpected Georgian invasion came.

There is confidence crisis between the sides. International community must take necessary steps to prevent the start of a new conflict.

HISTORY OF EXILE

The Abkhazia Kingdom, which expanded by including Western Georgia in the 10th and 11th centuries, was founded in the year 730. Later facing Arab, Persian and Byzantine incursions, Abkhazia along with other Northern Caucasian regions became a stage for seizure by the giants as an area where the Ottomans and Russia wanted to make their influence felt. Passing to the control of the Ottomans in 1555 and the Russians in 1810, Abkhazia succeeded in continuing its political existence in spite of everything.

Passing under Russian protection in 1810 under its own desire, Abkhazia entered a new period in 1864 when the autonomous administration system was eliminated, and in the 1870`s it experienced an ethnic disaster. When the wars in Caucasia ended to the disadvantage of the Caucasian people, Russia`s influence in the area increased. Close to 300,000 people, equivalent to more than half of the Abkhaz population, left their country and settled in Ottoman lands. With the abandonment of Abkhazia by its native people, groups such as Russian, Armenian, Greek, Bulgarian, German, Estonian and especially Georgians and Megrels were settled there.
According to a census in 1886, the percentage of Abkhaz people was 85.7 and the Georgians comprised 6%. In the 1897 census the Abkhaz population was seen to be 55.3% and the Georgians rose to 24.4%. The population balance continued to change in the following years to the disadvantage of the Abkhaz people.

Due to opportunity presented by the political vacuum and chaos of the first years following the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution in Russia and with the collapse of the Northern Caucasia Republic in which Abkhazia was included, it became a part of the USSR and in 1921 Abkhazia became the Abkhazia Soviet Socialist Republic.

The essential blow to Abkhazia was made by Stalin who was a Georgian. In 1931 Abkhazia was reduced from the status of a "republic" in the USSR to an "autonomous republic" tied to Georgia. Abkhazia was not only bound to Georgia, but by means of migration policies Abkhaz people were reduced to a minority position in their own country. Sending a large part of its population to the diaspora after the 1864 exile, Abkhazia was not able to prevent its population percentage falling from 55% in the 1900's to 18% in the 1970's. In the 1937-1953 period, tens of thousands of Georgians were settled in Abkhazia from Georgia's internal regions. Georgia's population rose from 30% in 1939 to 39.1% in 1959. Without giving up anything from their steady migration policy, the Georgians' presence in Abkhazia rose to 41% in 1970, 43% in 1979 and 49% in 1989.

THE TIFLIS TRAP

While after Stalin's death in 1953 there was a sign of new hope for returning to their homelands on the part of Chechens, the Ingush and Karachais who had been exiled to Central Asia and Siberia, the Abkhaz regained some of the freedoms they had lost. However, this did not occur suddenly, but rather as the end of a process. Georgia's efforts to squeeze Abkhazia in a constitutional trap boomeranged and a new legal order was necessitated by events that had occurred. Of course, the Abkhaz, who had entered a tough war with the Russians in the 19th century, again leaned towards Moscow as a result of Georgia's oppressive policies. With the support of many Abkhaz intellectuals, meetings were held in 1957, 1964, 1967 and 1978 to remove Abkhazia from Georgia.
Abkhazian and Georgian constitutions were reshaped on the model of the new USSR constitution that was produced after events in 1978. The new constitution went one step further than the old one regarding political rights.

INDEPENDENCE, BUT HOW?

While relations between Abkhazia and Georgia were extremely tense under the Soviet umbrella, they became explosive after 1990. After Zviad Gamsahurdiya, nationalist wing leader, came to power in October, 1990, events in Georgia fanned polarization. On March 18, 1989, at the end of a meeting attended by Abkhazia, the USSR was asked to give back the status of republic to Abkhazia, which it had lost at one time. In July, 1989, a Georgia-Abkhazia conflict resulted in 19 deaths. While these conflicts made Tiflis-Sohum relations tenser, they inflamed nationalistic behavior in Georgia.

On August 25, 1990, a declaration of sovereignty was made that determined Abkhazia's destiny. The declaration accepted by the Abkhazia High Soviet proclaimed Abkhazia to be "a sovereign, socialist state fully sovereign over its own soil except for legal areas turned over to the USSR or the Georgia Soviet Socialist Republic."

Just as the glasnost process beginning during the Gorbachov period raised Abkhazia's desire for independence, the inevitable period of separation from the Soviets began in Georgia. In the Glasnost process Georgia began canceling all legal texts written since 1921.
Invalidating the 1978 constitution in February, 1992, Georgia decided to return to the 1921 constitution before the Soviets. Abolishing the 1978 constitution and returning to the one of 1921, Georgia made the last document dealing with relations with Abkhazia invalid.
The constitutional articles that tied Abkhazia to Georgia during the time of the USSR were considered to be invalid by Tiflis, but, with a contradictory attitude, she showed that she favored Abkhazia land to be a part of Georgia. In response, the Abkhazia side called Tiflis to determine the basis upon which Georgian-Abkhazian relations were to continue, but when there was no answer, Abkhazia abolished the 1978 constitution on July 23, 1992.

UNEXPECTED WAR

In Russia, the election of Eduard Shevardnadze's government was perceived as a new hope and beginning. In March 1992, the optimism faded as Shevardnadze's attitude that "the Abkhazian conflict would be solved in Tiblisi" became clear in Tiblisi. The Georgian leader would not admit the fact that an Abkhazian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic existed. The appeals for dialogue were left unanswered during this period as well.

Abkhazia decided to form a work group in order to prepare a draft for a pact as well as to follow its 1925 Constitution until a new one could be prepared. A proposed pact between The Abkhazian Republic and The Georgian Republic, prepared by Taras Shamba was also published in three newspapers to open the proposal to the public opinion. According to this pact the republics would form "federative relations" as a "unified state." The third and the most remarkable section of the pact read, "The Abkhazian Republic voluntarily joins with The Georgian Republic, and keeps its rights to legislation, government and judgment in its borders other than those relinquished by the Georgian and The Abkhazian constitutions."

The proposal was in the Abkhazian High Soviet's agenda. Even the Abkhazian Parliament had scheduled to discuss it on 14th of August 1992 but the same day, an unexpected event turned everything upside-down: The Georgian Army crossed the Abkhazian border.
Abkhazia considered the actions between 1992 and 1993 as war between the two states Georgia and Abkhazia.

It was predicted that Abkhazia would join Georgia very soon. Nobody could foresee the North Caucasian volunteer army that would join the war. The Georgian invasion happened very fast and by the end of the first day, the government buildings, broadcast centers and the most important roads were occupied but the Abkhazian side regained its power with Adighe, Abkhazian, Chechen, Armenian and even Russian voluntary forces starting from the first day of the invasion.