Abkhazia
MP opens fire in Abkhazian Parliament, killing fellow MP
The shooting roiled an already tense political environment in Abkhazia.
Abkhazia’s parliament has ratified a deal transferring the Pitsunda (Bichvinta) dacha to Russia’s Federal Protective Service (FSO) for 49 years.
On Wednesday, at 05:30, members of the parliament gathered for an extraordinary session to vote on the agreement.
Parliament included a number of articles in the agreement requested by Abkhazian opposition activists, that would guarantee the termination of the deal if the FSO ‘donates, sells, or transfers the state dacha’ to a third party.
In addition, the FSO cannot construct new buildings or facilities on the leased territory without Abkhazia’s prior approval.
Parliament was expected to convene to ratify the deal at 11:00 on Wednesday, with protesters gathering around government buildings and the parliament on Tuesday to prevent police from cordoning off the parliament and barring protesters from attending the session.
However, 28 MPs arrived at parliament after midnight, with the vote taking place behind closed doors in the early hours of Wednesday. Critics of the controversial transfer have said that parliament chose to ratify the agreement in the early morning to avoid protests outside parliament.
Only three MPs voted against the transfer of the dacha.
The Pitsunda dacha deal dates back to 1995, when Abkhazia’s first president, Vladislav Ardzinba, agreed to rent the dacha in Pitsunda (Bichvinta) to the Russian Federal Protective Service for 49 years. It came with an adjoining 186 hectares of land on the Black Sea coast.
This agreement was extended in January 2022, in the face of criticism from legal experts and activists who organised campaigns against the transfer of the dacha.
[Read more: Abkhazia’s youth protest the Pitsunda dacha deal]
Opposition activists have announced that a protest will take place outside Abkhazia’s parliament from 11:00.
For ease of reading, we choose not to use qualifiers such as ‘de facto’, ‘unrecognised’, or ‘partially recognised’ when discussing institutions or political positions within Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and South Ossetia. This does not imply a position on their status.
Read in Armenian on CivilNet.
Related Articles
Abkhazia
Economic crisis looms in Abkhazia amid electricity shortages, ban of mandarins
The fallout from Abkhazia’s political crisis, which led to the downfall of President Aslan Bzhaniya in late November, has since evolved into one that impacts the economy. Over the last week, Abkhazia was hit with twin economic setbacks stemming from Russia, its primary financial benefactor. On 6 December, Russia banned the import of mandarins from Abkhazia, one of its top exports. Following this, electricity shortages, exacerbated by the prevalence of illegal crypto mining and the loss
Abkhazia
Wounded Russian soldiers based in Abkhazia claim they were forcibly sent to Ukraine
According to a video message shared on Telegram on Wednesday, soldiers from the 7th Russian Military Base in Abkhazia are being sent to the frontlines of Ukraine instead of receiving treatment at a military medical commission. The soldiers, who belong to military unit 09332, allege they were transferred to the Afipsky district of Krasnodar Krai where they believed they were to attend a medical commission. ‘They are taken to Luhansk, ostensibly to the rear area, but actually to the dugout
Abkhazia
Abkhazian Parliament rejects Russian investment agreement
The Abkhazian Parliament has voted against the ratification of the agreement on Russian investment in Abkhazia. Twenty-three MPs attended the extraordinary session of parliament on Tuesday, of which 19 voted against the agreement, while three abstained. The session was held after a letter with 19 signatures was sent to the Speaker of Parliament, Lasha Ashuba. According to regulations, an extraordinary parliamentary session must be held if a third of the MPs — or 12 MPs — request such a s
Most Popular
Subscribe to our newsletter
