Russian Duma MP Sergey Gavrilov addressing the Georgian parliament. (1TV)
The appearance of a Russian Duma MP in the Georgian Parliamentary chair seat has triggered protests across Georgia as politicians from both opposition and ruling parties condemned the action. Sergey Gavrilov, who was escorted out of parliament, warned that ‘negotiations on humanitarian-economic issues between the two countries may fail’ due to the incident. [Read more…]
(OC Media)
Armenia has abstained from voting on a UN resolution calling for the return of IDPs to Abkhazia and South Ossetia for the first time since 2008, when the resolution was first introduced. Armenia had previously always voted against the resolution in the annual votes at the UN General Assembly. [Read more…]
Teimuraz Khizhba, one of the opposition leaders, announcing the agreement with the president. (Apsny Today)
Abkhazian President Raul Khadzhimba has urged parliament to approve a constitutional amendment that would allow this year’s presidential election to be postponed, a key demand of opposition protesters. [Read more…]
Aslan Bzhaniya (/Abkhazium Portal)
A coalition of opposition forces in Abkhazia has announced that their presidential candidate, Aslan Bzhaniya, still intends to contest the election despite claims he may have been poisoned.
A screenshot of a video released by the interior ministry.
Police in Georgia have arrested a 37-year-old Ukrainian woman on suspicion of child trafficking after police discovered that four of her ‘10 children’ were born in the same year. [Read more…]
(Illustration: Dato Parulava/OC Media)
The Kodori Valley, populated mainly by Svans, was the only corner of Abkhazia under Georgian Government control before the August 2008 War. According to the Tbilisi-based Government of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia, around 2,860 people lived in the valley before the war, all of whom fled their homes. Only 55 families have returned; Raisa Khachvani, 62, is still waiting to do so. [Read more…]
(1TV)
Over 200 families of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Abkhazia and South Ossetia have occupied the flats of a private construction company in Tbilisi, refusing to move until the government provides them with housing. A number of neighbours protested against the IDPs, claiming they felt unsafe. [Read more…]
Lika Managadze (Mari Nikuradze/OC Media)
On 16 March, the bodies of 12 people who died during the 1992–1993 conflict in Abkhazia were returned to their families. Lika Managadze, whose father Akaki was among the dead, reflects on her memories of her father and how the war shaped the course of her life. [Read more…]
(RFE/RL)
A Georgian citizen has died in detention in Abkhazia’s eastern Gali District after being arrested for ‘illegally crossing the border’. According to Abkhazian officials, 29-year-old Irakli Kvaratskhelia hanged himself at a Russian border service unit where he was taken to file documents. [Read more…]
Abkhazian residence permit and passport (abkhazinform.com)
As the issuance of new passports continues in Abkhazia, many non–ethnic Abkhaz — ethnic Armenians, Russians, Georgians, and others — fear the reason behind the new regulations is to deprive them of citizenship.
