Friday, October 16, 2009
Abkhazia will succeed
President Sergei Bagapsh
My country is recognized by Russia, Nicaragua and Venezuela. A
long-awaited European Union report recently concluded that any
government recognizing us would be violating the law.
You might wonder then why I am so optimistic, indeed certain,
that the independence of Abkhazia not only is assured, but that we will
thrive politically and economically. Furthermore, I believe it is only
a matter of time before we are recognized by most countries of the
world.
Let me explain why I am so confident of our future.
c Most important, I am confident because our independence is
rooted in a desire for justice, freedom and democracy for the Abkhazian
people. I believe what the Martin Luther King said, in a statement
heard around the world, "The arc of history is long, but it bends
toward justice."
Against our genuine aspirations for freedom, Georgia's leaders
offer a legalistic challenge - the reclaiming of their "territorial
integrity," a claim based primarily on extreme nationalism and a
shotgun marriage forced upon Abkhazians by Josef Stalin in 1931.
c Second, despite war and blockade, we already have survived as
an independent state for 16 years, an accomplishment conveniently
disregarded by Georgia's Western friends.
c Third, we have ample potential as a nation, with a strong
ethnic identity and formidable economic potential. Abkhazia's mild
climate and location on the Black Sea makes us an attractive tourism
destination and a crossroads for trade between Europe and Asia. We look
forward to receiving thousands of visitors during the Winter Olympics
in Sochi, only 20 miles north of us.
c Fourth, our people are smiling again. They no longer wear
military uniforms or clean their rifles regularly. They no longer dress
for mourning. They believe in a future for themselves and for their
families.
c Finally, we are confident because we are no longer desperate.
We can wait as long it takes for the world to come to its senses.
History tells us that no struggles for independence are
regarded as legal by those who oppose them. That was true of the
American War for Independence, and it's true of Abkhazia today. While
we go about building our democracy and our economy, the United States
and Europe continue to base their policies toward us on a false
foundation.
The recent EU report concluded that Georgia started the war
last year by indiscriminately killing civilians in South Ossetia, a
brutal surprise attack that violated international law. Yet so many
Westerners appear more concerned about the legality of our independence
than Georgia's vile and unnecessary attack on civilians.
Perhaps such views are not surprising. The Cold War
intellectuals who dominate thinking in Washington and Brussels don't
care about Abkhazia or Abkhazians. Frankly, they don't care about
Georgians either. They care only whether something is good or bad for
Russia, which they hate.
Ironically, it is these intellectuals, journalists and the
leaders they influence who so hotly criticize us for being reliant on
Russian aid and support.
A friend of mine told me about a line from a famous old
American movie called "The Big Sleep," in which Humphrey Bogart says,
"You know what he'll do when he comes back? Beat my teeth out, then
kick me in the stomach for mumbling." By supporting Georgia's policy of
diplomatic and economic isolation of Abkhazia, the United States and
Europe are, figuratively, doing that to us. They give us no
alternative, then criticize us for doing what we must to survive.
When the international community denies us banking codes,
Russia offers a solution. When we cannot get international railroad
codes, Russia agrees to manage our railroads. When we cannot send our
sickest citizens to European hospitals, we send them to Moscow. When
Georgia blockades us from getting goods by sea, we get them by road and
rail from Russia.
If Europe and the United States based their policies on the
reality of what is happening now in our region, not on a fantasy that
the Georgians will someday restore their "territorial integrity," they
would recognize there is a diplomatic path of compromise and humane
action that would benefit all citizens of the Caucasus, regardless of
their ethnicity.
Though I first ran for office four years ago against the
pro-Russia candidate, I'm more grateful than I can say for Russian
support at this critical time in our history. But like other
Abkhazians, I would leap at the chance to build our economy with
support from others. We are an independent country, and we will not
accept a future as a ward of any other nation.
I encourage the United States and Europe to join us in seeking
a peaceful path forward. Nothing can make us return to rule by Georgian
nationalists and despots.
We are convinced that justice eventually will arc in our
direction. But it can, and would, arc much sooner with wise
international leadership.
Sergei Bagapsh is president of the Republic of Abkhazia.
Mr. Bagapsh is a former energy executive who was first elected
president in 2005. He is running for re-election.
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