The de facto parliament of Georgia’s occupied region of Abkhazia on December 27 voted to transfer ownership of the Bichvinta country resort to Russia, a decision supported by 25 out of the 28 deputies. Despite protests from various groups, including activists, civil society, and opposition forces, the parliament passed the decision during the night. Local critics argue that the move “ignores the constitution of the Republic of Abkhazia,” while the Georgia side states it is an illegal alienation of Georgian property and marks the beginning of the annexation of Georgia. The de facto government claims that only the buildings will be transferred with a 49-year lease, but the draft agreement suggests the transfer of 186 hectares of land and 115 hectares of sea space to Russia. The decision has sparked public outrage, with protesters gathering at the parliament building demanding an annulment.
Despite prolonged protests from Abkhaz activists, civil society and opposition forces, the de facto parliament of Abkhazia met on December 27, during the night, and at 6 o’clock in the morning made a decision to transfer the Bichvinta resort to the Russian Federation.
The decision was supported by 25 of the 28 [total 35] deputies present.
The Abkhazian community and activists who opposed the decision gathered at the de facto parliament building on Tuesday to hold a protest rally, and, in updates posted on social media, said they would not leave until the “shameful” decision was annulled.
The de facto government claims that only the buildings of the resort will be transferred to the ownership of the Russian Federation, with a 49-year lease, not the land on which the buildings stand. Yet, according to the draft agreement, 186 hectares of land and 115 hectares of sea space are to be transferred. Because part of Abkhazian society, among them the oppositional and even less politicized, was against said agreement, it took more than a year for the Abkhaz parliament to ratify the law on consent to transfer the Bichvinta territory to Russia.
The Bichvinta complex in the Gagra district of Abkhazia was built in the late 1950s at the request of then-Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. Also known as Pitsunda, the town was originally founded by Greek colonists in the 5th century BC, and became an important political and religious center in the Middle Ages. Since Soviet times, it has been one of the Abkhazia region’s main coastal resorts.
Russia has been pushing Abkhazia for ownership for a number of years, and the separatist parliament’s finally doing so is the illegal alienation of Georgian property, indeed, it is being assessed by Georgian politicians and experts as the beginning of the annexation of Georgia.
Nikoloz Samkharadze, the Georgian Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee Chair on Wednesday strongly condemned the illegal transfer of Bichvinta to Russia.
“The Abkhaz de-facto parliament ratified late at night the transfer of territory of Bichvinta to Russia. We strongly condemn this illegal act and declare all […] actions carried out during occupation null and void,” Samkharadze said in a social media message.
The Georgian official emphasized the act would be “remedied once Georgia restores its jurisdiction over Abkhazia”.
The chairman of Georgia’s European Democrats party, Paata Davitaia, said that “at dawn, the so-called separatist parliament, violating the regulations of parliament, fearing the people, used Bolshevik methods” to ratify the agreement on the transfer of Bichvinta country house to the Russian Federation. He noted the agreement was signed with a reservation- if this property falls into the hands of a third party, the agreement will be canceled.
“I call on the Government of Georgia to start an investigation on this matter. To inform our partners that the President of Russia, who is wanted by the prosecutor’s office in The Hague, is appropriating Georgian property.
“This is the beginning of the annexation of Georgia. The Russian Federation has already ‘legally’ begun to reshape the territories occupied by it,” Davitaia stated.
“Ratification of the agreement on the transfer of Bichvinta summer house to the Russian Federation by the Abkhazian de-facto parliament represents yet another unlawful step and continuation of the illegal occupation of Georgia’s inseparable regions that grossly violates the principles of international law,” the Georgian Foreign Ministry wrote on Wednesday.
“We urge the international community to adequately react to yet another illegal step of the Russian Federation against Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Ministry calls on the Russian Federation to respect Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and fulfill its internationally-taken commitments, including the EU-mediated August 12, 2008 ceasefire agreement,” reads the ministry’s statement.
The United States was among the first international partner on Wednesday to condemn Abkhazia’s decision.
“We condemn the illegitimate attempts to transfer land in the occupied Georgian territory of Abkhazia to Russia” a State Department spokesperson told Turan.az’s Washington correspondent.
“Russia’s ongoing occupation of 20 percent of Georgia’s territory undermines Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The United States continues to call on Russia to uphold its obligations and commitments in the 2008 ceasefire agreement and UN Charter,” a State Department spokesperson told the same news outlet.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili also strongly condemned the land grab by Russia, and also called on the international community for “a strong and urgent reaction.”
By Team GT
