OC Media

OC Media

Georgia’s education initiative for Abkhazia leaves Gali students out in the cold

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Russian-language textbooks used by Gali pupils issued in Moscow (Nino Gogua /OC Media)

With their new peace ini­tia­tive, ‘A Step to a Better Future’, Georgia’s gov­ern­ment hopes to tempt students from Abkhazia and South Ossetia to enrol in Georgian uni­ver­si­ties by letting them sit entrance exams in their ‘native language’. But for Abkhazia’s ethnic Georgians in Gali, banned from studying in Georgian there and whose Abkhaz language skills are far from native, the ini­tia­tive does little to help.

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Georgian Public Defender: ‘Human rights deteriorating in Gali’

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Khurcha-Nabakevi Crossing Point before its Closure, 2015 (Special Report of Public Defender)

The human rights of com­mu­ni­ties in Abkhazia’s Gali District have been gradually dete­ri­o­rat­ing, according to a report by the Georgian Public Defender. The report focused on the effects of closures of border crossings. [Read more…]

Georgians in Gali — foreigners in their own land

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A police station in Gali where identity documents are issued with a long queue outside (Nino Gogua/ OC Media)

A string of changes in how identity documents are issued has left residents of Abkhazia’s Gali District feeling frus­trat­ed and powerless. OC Media spoke to a number of locals, who com­plained that wide­spread cor­rup­tion and dis­crim­i­na­tion makes them feel unwelcome in their homeland.

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Abkhazia to grant citizenship to ethnic Georgians who ‘return to historical ethnicity’

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Excerpt from the book Abkhaz anthro­ponymy by Shalva Inal-Ipa, 2002, about Murzakan surnames

Author­i­ties in Abkhazia will grant cit­i­zen­ship to ethnic Georgians willing to ‘change their ethnic identity back’ from Georgian to Abkhaz, the head of Gali (Gal) District admin­is­tra­tion has said. Appli­cants should address the Abkhazian president with such a request, he continued, according to Tbilisi-based Civil.ge, who broke the story on 31 July.

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Abkhazia releases border guard accused of killing Georgian man

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Funeral of Giga Otkho­zo­ria in Zugdidi (Ipress.ge)

Abkhazia has dropped criminal pro­ceed­ings against Abkhazian border guard Rashid Kandzhi-Ogly, who was accused of killing a Georgian man at a check­point between Abkhazia and Tbilisi-con­trolled territory, the Georgian State Security Service reported on 31 May. [Read more…]

Abkhazia votes in parliamentary elections

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Election at sixth district in Sukhumi (Apsny­press)

According to pre­lim­i­nary results, 12 MPs were elected in the first round of par­lia­men­tary elections on 12 March in the de facto Republic of Abkhazia, with turnout of 56%. The remaining 22 MPs will be elected during the second round, the date of which will be announced in two weeks. [Read more…]

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