Three months after his defeat in the December 10 presidential election,
former Abkhaz Vice President Raul Khajimba convened a press conference
in Sukhumi on February 23 at which he
called on the opposition to begin new consultations with the aim of closing ranks and coordinating its activities.
He
called among other things for the creation of a coalition government;
for parity representation for the opposition on the Central Election
Commission; and for the passage by parliament of a law on opposition
parties.
The opposition Party of Economic Development of
Abkhazia, whose leader Beslan Butba also ran unsuccessfully in the
December election, has likewise called for the passage of such a law,
that should create a formal mechanism for allocating government funding
to opposition parties.
Khajimba told the press conference that as result of the
lack of dialogue
between the leadership and the opposition, the state and the people are
living "in completely separate dimensions." He said the opposition
should formulate short-term steps and a long-term strategy to exert
"tough and objective" pressure on the authorities. The creation of a
"strong and united" opposition, Khajimba continued, would "enable us to
transform the attitude of the authorities and society towards the
opposition."
Khajimba played a leading role last summer in coordinating a series of protest statements by
opposition parties alarmed that President Sergei Bagapsh was making too many unwarranted economic concessions to Russia.
On
February 23, Khajimba lambasted the recent announcement that the Abkhaz
government plans to amend the law on property to remove the current
restrictions on foreign citizens acquiring real estate in Abkhazia. The
opposition fears that doing so will enable wealthy Russians to buy up
homes on the Black Sea coast en masse. Within hours, Bagapsh responded
that no final decision has yet been made on amending the law, and that
consultations will be held with the Security Council, the government,
and the opposition before any such amendments are sent to parliament to
be voted on.
Khajimba further urged the opposition to clarify
and coordinate its position with regard to future talks with Georgia.
At the same time, he stressed that Georgia should abjure the use of
force, recognize Abkhaz independence, and sign a peace agreement with
Abkhazia.
Khajimba, who placed second to Bagapsh in the
December election with 15.4 percent of the vote, stressed that he has
no plans to return to the government. He said the Forum of National
Unity of which he is a member plans to convene a congress no later than
March, and is already looking ahead to the parliamentary elections due
one year from now.
http://www.rferl.org/content/Defeated_Abkhaz_Presidential_Candidate_Calls_On_Opposition_To_Close_Ranks/1967057.html
