RFE/RL: Abkhaz Opposition Accuses President Of Flouting Constitution
posted by circassiankama on August, 2009 as Abkhazia
July 24, 2009
Abkhaz Opposition Accuses President Of Flouting Constitution
Five Abkhaz opposition parties or public organizations have issued a second statement criticizing President Sergei Bagapsh, this time for comments he made during a July 15 interview with the Russian radio station Ekho Moskvy. It was the third such public criticism of Bagapsh in just over two months.
The
five organizations in question are the Forum of Public Unity; the
Economic Development Party of Abkhazia; the People's Party; the war
veterans' association Aruaa; and the public organization Akhyatsa.
Their leaders, together with the chairman of the Social-Democratic Party of Abkhazia, signed an appeal in late May
to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev denouncing Bagapsh's approach to
structuring relations with Moscow as likely to provoke an anti-Russian
backlash.
In its statement, the opposition expressed outrage at
Bagapsh's claim to Ekho Moskvy that "if we had wanted, I could have had
between 10-15 countries" formally recognize Abkhazia by now as an
independent state.
He added that he does not want Abkhazia to be recognized by "such exotic countries" as Zimbabwe and Papua-New Guinea.
Three
months earlier, Bagapsh had said the Abkhaz leadership will not seek to
force other countries to extend formal recognition of Abkhazia as an
independent state. He said negotiations with unspecified countries are
continuing to that end, and predicted that "they will recognize us sooner or later."
The
opposition then took issue with Bagapsh's purely hypothetical statement
that if at some future point discussion arose of Abkhazia becoming an
associate member of the Russian Federation, the issue should be put to
a referendum.
Bagapsh stressed at the same time that neither
Russia nor Abkhazia has raised that possibility, but the opposition
accused him not only of "adopting a superficial attitude to the issue
of Abkhazia's independence, for which thousands of patriots have died,"
but also of ignoring the Law on Referendums. Article 4 of that law
stipulates that Abkhazia's independence and proposed changes to its
borders may not be put to a referendum.
In his interview,
Bagapsh also said that the presidential election this fall (in which he
intends to seek a second term) will be held on December 12. The
opposition castigated him for that too, pointing out that setting the
date of elections is the prerogative of the parliament, not of the
president.
They further took issue with his statement that
Georgians who have returned to Abkhazia but have not yet acquired
Abkhaz passports will be entitled to vote in the election on production
of a residence permit. The opposition parties objected that concession
opens the door to multiple voting.
Bagapsh responded to some of those accusations in an interview with Abkhazia's official Apsny Press news agency on July 23.
He
claimed his remark about Zimbabwe was deliberately quoted out of
context, and he dismissed as "risible" the opposition argument that his
comment on holding a referendum was a tacit expression of readiness to
compromise on the issue of independent statehood.
Regarding the
use of residence permits in the upcoming presidential ballot, Bagapsh
said he understands the reluctance of some Georgians to acquire Abkhaz
passports. He went on to point out that Georgian residents of
Abkhazia's southernmost Gal(i) Raion were entitled to vote in previous
elections using residence permits, and there is no reason to deprive
them of that right.
In addition, Bagapsh responded indirectly to
the opposition's earlier criticism of his imputed unwarranted
concessions to Russia. He said that some 40 further inter-governmental
or inter-agency agreements with the Russian Federation are currently
being drafted, including a full-fledged treaty on military cooperation.
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