ABKHAZIA IS ABKHAZIA

by Stanislav Lakoba 

Minister of Security in Abkhazia, former speaker of Abkhazian Parliament

A Report At A London Conference On North Caucasus and Abkhazia 23th April, 1993

Central Asian Survey, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 97–105, 1995

I had a different beginning for my report, but here in London I was reminded of an Abkhazian saying: «A raven saw a man with a gun and thought ‘If he is wise, he won’t shoot at me, and if he is a fool, he will miss me’.»

We are fully aware that we are hostages in a cruel political game, and the current re-division of the world is slicing our very flesh. We are simple victims of the policy of ‘Divide and Rule’, of ‘stick and, sometimes, carrot’.  

«What is the situation of Abkhazia today? What is your status? Have you defined it?»  - these are the questions constantly put to us by shrewd politicians. The only precise answer we can give is that we are in a state of war that has quite simply been forced upon us.  

Abkhazia today resembles the surrealistic paintings of Dali: pictures of a  100 year-old husband and wife being shot at point-blank range, of Georgian SU-25 fighters  of  Russian make dropping cluster-bombs on a funeral procession in Kutol, of a brother being killed while following his brother’s coffin so that two coffins have to be interred while fighter-planes are still overhead, of helicopters firing at the beaches in Sukhum on a summer’s day, of tanks destroying villages, of soldiers killing little girls, burning families, slaying the wounded and cutting prisoners of war to pieces...  

When people today describe the status of Abkhazia, they use such phrases as: ‘between heaven and earth’, ‘between East and West’, ‘between the hammer and the anvil’, ‘between...’ - this borderline-situation correctly describes our position.  

We are lost somewhere between life and death - to be or not to be, because defeat in this war is tantamount to the annihilation of a whole nation. We have proved to be a very ‘inconvenient’ people, but despite our small numbers it is not so easy to do away with us right away. Perhaps this too is our fault!  

Georgian and some Russian politicians do not try to conceal their annoyance at ‘unruly’  Abkhazians,  who as far back as in the 19th century were officially declared ‘a guilty nation’ for their repeated uprisings in defence of their freedom and honour. Today we are impeding friendly relations between Georgia and Russia,  for,  let  us  say, ‘sticking  in  the  throat’.  In  other  words,  we  are  guilty because we are still existing. Our mountains and rivers, lakes and sea, forests and springs were divided long ago. However, we stubbornly repeat: «We are Abkhazians.» 

Is  it  really  true  that  being  part  of  the  world-community  we  Abkhazians, numbering about 100,000 in Abkhazia itself, are doing harm to this community. Is it  possible that if mankind, having already lost in the 19th century our brothers the Ubykhs, is now to lose us Abkhazians at the close of the 20th century, it will become somehow richer in the 3rd millennium A.D.?!  

The fact is that people are being exterminated and the world is keeping silent... Well, almost - for such news-agencies as Reuters, AP, the BBC, whenever they refer to us, our standard epithets are ‘separatists’ and ‘rebels’... How is it that we are separatists when we are actually not separating from anybody or attacking anybody? Are there any resolutions of the Abkhazian Parliament adopted before August 14 1992 (or  even  several  months  afterwards)  which  have  declared secession from Georgia? There is not one! In fact, it was the Abkhazian side that  suggested  building  our  relations  with  Georgia  on  an  agreed,  federative basis. Therefore, it was the Abkhazian side which came out with proposals that would  preserve  the  unity  of  Georgia.  The  response  was  the  despatch  to Abkhazia of tanks, fighter-bombers and guardsmen armed to the teeth...  

We are being forced into a separatist-position by the actual separatists reigning in  Tbilisi  who  are  busy  destroying  their  own country. They have cast their country, the unity of which was supported by the bayonets of the Stalinist Soviet Empire, back to the feudal division of the Middle Ages. The so-called separatists from Adjaria, Mingrelia, Kakhetia  (not to mention Abkhazia and Ossetia) are taking up an all-round defensive position against the central power in Tbilisi. The question  is: «Why are there so many  ‘separatists’  in  Georgia?»  Russia appealed  to  her  former  autonomies  to  conclude  a  federative  treaty.  Russia raised the status of autonomies and many regions, including those in the North Caucasus, to the level of republics. No obstacles were put in the way of the elections  of presidents in these republics or of the adoption of their national flags and other state-symbols.  

In our case  the  situation  was  quite  the  reverse.  We  were  putting  forward proposals, trying to build bridges, but we were rejected and told: «Who are you? You should not even have autonomy, being so few!» This was and remains the only argument against us. So, we ‘separatists’, having been driven into a corner, have started to resist simply in order to survive, to save our women, children and old people. Try driving even a little creature into a corner - will that too be a separatist? We have a proverb: «He who fell from the tree was bitten by a snake».  

In his speeches on Georgian radio on 7-8 December 1992 the leader of Georgia openly called for the possible annihilation of the Abkhazians. He said: «The fate of Georgia, her way to freedom and independence, is being decided in Abkhazia today.  That  is  why  I  have  called  on  every  citizen  of  Georgia  to  make  his contribution to this fight for freedom and independence. I repeat - I have taken this decision against my will and my own beliefs. I know this is not right, but there is no other way.» Then he said: «This war should not be a long one. The world believes us, and we should not let it down. We are for peace, and we must end this war as soon as possible. By the  3rd millennium Georgia will be the happiest country in the world.» Freedom and independence for their own people and dictatorship and open chauvinism towards other peoples - this is the double standard that underlies the Georgian policy in Abkhazia.  

It is not by chance that in 1989 after the Abkhaz-Georgian conflict Academician Sakharov in one of his last articles called Georgia a ‘mini-empire’ (Ogonёk 1989, 31).  Later, describing the relationship between Abkhazia and Georgia, he wrote: «I tend to justify the Abkhazian position. I think we should regard with special attention the problems of small peoples: freedom and rights of big nations should not be exercised at the expense of small ones» (Znamja, 1991, No.10, p.69).  

The question of territorial  integrity  that  has  been  so  often  raised  lately  is actually associated not with Georgia proper but with the former minor Soviet Empire, i.e. with the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, into which on February 19, 1931,  the  former Soviet  Socialist  Republic  of  Abkhazia (1921-1931)  was included as an autonomy under Stalin’s dictat. As for the so-called Abkhazian ‘separatists’,  they  respect  the  territorial  integrity  of  Georgia  in  her  original ethnic borders, while the territory from the river Ingur upto the river Psou is considered to belong to the Republic of Abkhazia after the break-up of the USSR and the liquidation fo the Georgian SSR.  

The violation of the sovereign rights of Abkhazia was painful for the ethnic identity, of which Abkhazians are very conscious. the reduction of the status of Abkhazia to that of an autonomous republic within Georgia (the Abkhazian ASSR) caused within a week a national meeting of Abkhazians that lasted for many days (18- 26 February 1931).  The  meeting  expressed  its  distrust  of  the government. That was the first mass-protest of the Abkhazian people in defence of their statehood and their rights during Soviet rule. Abkhazians seem to be the only  people  who in the worst times of  totalitarianism  repeatedly  came  out against  the  policy  of  Stalin-Beria  and  their  successors.  Mass-protests  and demonstrations took place in 1957, 1967, 1978, 1989.

In the  20th century the leading circles in Georgia made several attempts to annex Abkhazia. First,  in  June 1918-March  1921, when the Georgian troops invaded Abkhazia and occupied part of its territory. This is one of the darkest periods  in  Abkhaz-Georgian  relations  within  the  living  memory  of  many Abkhazians. The imperial nature of the Georgian Democratic Republic of that period was noted by Bechhofer. In his book In Denikin’s Russia, which was published  in  Britain  in 1920,  he  writes: «I  shall  always  recall  the  free  and independent  social-democratic  state  of  Georgia  as  a  classic  example  of  an imperialistic  small  nation  as  regards  the  annexation  of  territories  beyond  its borders and the bureaucratic tyranny inside the country. Its chauvinism exceeds all  limits.» The second attempt to annex Abkhazia was made in February 1931 and  it  was  actually  implemented  after  Nestor  Lakoba,  Prime  Minister  of Abkhazia, had died -- he was poisoned by Beria in Tbilisi in December 1936. This policy continued from 1937 to 1953 (the year of Stalin’s death).  

The war unleashed on 14 August 1992 is the 3rd attempt to annex Abkhazia. On the very first day of aggression the Georgian military said to the Abkhazians whom they arrested: «This is the end of Abkhazia. All the remaining Abkhazians will do what the Georgians tell them.» This was documented by the Abkhazian Public Prosecutor’s office on 24 February 1993. Shevardnadze is accomplishing what Zhordania, Stalin and Beria began...  

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  current  Georgian  leadership  itself  did everything to tear Abkhazia away. Backed by the Russian armed forces, they organised a coup in Tbilisi. In February  1992  the Military Council of Georgia abrogated the Constitution of the Georgian SSR of  1978  and re-instated the Constitution of February 21, 1921, in which Abkhazia is not specifed as a subject of  state-legal  relations.  Considering  that  the  Constitution  of  the  Abkhazian Autonomous Republic of 1978 was adopted in conformity with the Constitution of the  Georgian  SSR of 1978,  and  the  Constitution  of  the  USSR  of 1977,  the abrogation of the latter deprived the Constitution of the Abkhazian ASSR of its legal  basis.  To  overcome  the  legal  vacuum  in  relations  between  the  two republics,  on  July 23, 1992, the Supreme Soviet of Abkhazia resolved to re-instate the Constitution of Abkhazia of 1925. Abkhazia at that time was united with Georgia by a ‘special Union treaty’. 

For years Georgia and Abkhazia had fixed territories and borders  - for  300 years  the  river  Ingur  divided  Abkhazia  and  Georgia.  When  speaking  of  the borders of Georgia or of any other republic of the former USSR it is not correct to regard the admission of these republics to the UN as an argument in favour of the international-legal  recognition of their territories  and  borders,  because by the time of the break-up of the USSR the territories and borders of national-state  entities  were  of  an  administrative  internal  political  nature ,  NOT international borders. They were established by the imperialist communist regime and merely divided administrative regions of the former USSR NOT sovereign republics.  The  very  fact  of  Georgia\s  admission  to  the  UN  deserves  special attention.  This  international  organisation  was  joined  by a state  in  which the leaders  had  come  to  power as  a  result  of  a  military  coup.  The  conclusion suggests itself that it is Shevardnadze NOT Georgia who has been admitted to the UN!  

The recognition of the borders of the former union-republics is done with no regard for international law or for the rights and interests of the peoples living in these territories  who are denied any chance to express their free will, and even against their wishes through violence. Moreover, by the time the former USSR republics were admitted to the UN many had adopted Declarations on state-sovereignty. Their admission to the UN was carried out in violation of the Declaration on national and state-sovereignty of many peoples, the Abkhazians among them, whose statehood lasted for 12 centuries.  

Regrettably,  we have to say that the UN and certain circles in the West are actually  attempting  to  preserve  the  Stalinist  pattern  of  dividing  peoples  into ranks. Otherwise, it is difficult to understand why the former union-republics are recognised while the autonomous ones are not. Is this not a clear manifestation of double standards?  

However that may be, blood is being shed in the former USSR. For 8 months already  the  Georgian  troops  that  invaded  the  territory  of  the  Republic  of Abkhazia as a result of the ‘Dagomys Deal’ between the leaders of Russia and Georgia have been using against the civilian population bombers, tanks, artillery, Grad  and  Hurricane  launchers,  cluster -bombs  banned  by  international conventions but handed over to the Tbilisi leadership by the Command of the Transcaucasian Military District with the consent of Moscow.  

The people of Abkhazia are being subjected to physical genocide: on Georgian occupied territories ethnic cleansing is taking place. The aim is to georgianise Abkhazia and make it part of a Georgian unitary, mono-ethnic state. In the territories  captured by the Georgian troops the Abkhazian, Armenian, Russian, and  Greek  population  is  being  systematically  persecuted,  ousted  or  killed. Hundreds of them are being subjected  to  torture  or  humiliation.  Since  the beginning of the war about  1,000  people from the Abkhazian side have been killed (i.e.  every  hundredth person),  and more than  3,000  have been wounded; almost half of the population of the republic have become refugees. The eastern part of Abkhazia, the blockaded town of Tqvarchal and the whole Ochamchiran region are in an extemely difficult situation  today.  Seven Abkhazian villages (Kəndəgh, Tamsh, Adzjəbzha, Merkula, Mokva, Beslakhuba, Kutol) have been burned  down.  The  villagers  are  cut  off  from  the  outside-world  and  are experiencing shortages of food. However, they are desperately resisting the far greater numbers of the enemy-forces. Today you will not find Abkhazians in Ochamchira; they have been either expelled or killed. The Tbilisi authorities did their utmost to transform the political conflict into an ethno-political one. Having sent in their troops, they gradually got the local Georgians  (so-called, for they are  largely  Mingrelians)  involved  in  this  war.  One  cannot  help  recalling  the statement made by the Georgian general Qarqarashvili,  whom Shevardnadze called  ‘a true knight’. He said that he was ready to sacrifice  100,000  Georgians in order to annihilate the 97,000 Abkhazian population (women, children and old people, of course, included).  

The purposeful destruction of the historical and cultural centres and monuments of the Abkhazian people resulted in the burning down of the Archives, Institutes, Libraries and Theatres. The Museum and Art Gallery have been plundered. The University and Institutions carrying Abkhazian names were put in the hands of looters.  Invaluable manuscripts, historic documentation, folklore and linguistic records perished in the flames. Every possible thing is being done to deprive the Abkhazian  people  of  their  history.  Meanwhile,  the  Georgian  mass-media succeeded  in  circulating  in  the  West  the  myth  of  an  Abkhazian  Islamic fundamentalism that allegedly  threatens  the  world!  Anyone  who studies the Caucasus knows very well that the Abkhazians are tolerant towards all religions. They officially adopted Christianity in the VIth century - it had been spreading along the Black Sea coast even earlier. As for Islam, it started to penetrate into this region only in the XVI-XVIIth centuries; however it was not widely adopted. In the XIXth century there were several wooden mosques in Abkhazia. Today there are NONE. At the same time there are mosques in Moscow, St. Petersburg and in the centre of Tbilisi. Some Georgians seem to have forgotten that Georgia has been connected with the islamic world and culture since the VIIIth century: from the VIIIth to the XIth century an Arab Emir of the Tbilisi Emirate ruled in Georgia’s capital, and the Georgian king, David the Builder, had inscriptions on coins in Arabic. They also seem to have failed to notice the fact that Georgian muslims outnumber the entire Abkhazian population!  

When the plans for a Blitz-krieg were frustrated and the Georgian leadership failed  to  suppress  Abkhazia,  Shevardnadze started to send out appeals to the UN, CSCE and other international organisations complaining about Abkhazians (i.e.  about those who were the subject of aggression)! As it appeared, we had no right  even to defend ourselves. Some journalists and analysts called it ‘sheer madness’, cynically labelling our resistance as self-genocide. Thus, in a recent interview  for  Nezavisimaja  Gazeta ,  where  the  Georgian  lobby  is  strongly represented,  Deputy  of  the  Georgian  Parliament,  Ada  Marshania,  said: «Of course, it  was a crime to bring in the troops to Abkhazia under this or that  pretext. On the other hand, it was sheer madness to counter the attack. In any  case, the Georgian side should have shown more generosity and circumspection and thought over every step.» She added: «I believe the State Council did not know what it was doing and did not think about all the consequences. The majority of the members of the State Council were not informed about the real situation.  There  was  a  double  game  here.  It  was  a  criminal  mistake  and  a political one» (Nez. Gaz., 1993, 10 April).   

The Parliament of Abkhazia and Chairman of the Supreme Soviet, V. Ardzinba, sent 12 appeals to the UN hoping that they would be heard. As it appeared, our appeals for help further aggravated our extremely difficult situation.  Several missions of the UN and CSCE that visited Abkhazia at the invitation of Tbilisi took a pro-Georgian position, giving priority to the principle of the so-called territorial integrity of the former Georgian SSR over that  of human rights and the right of people to self-determination.  

As is well known, Georgia insisted on the problems of Georgia and Abkhazia being discussed in the Security Council. Ardzinba sent an open letter to the Secretary General of the UN, in which he expressed his readiness to present the Abkhazian point of view at a Security Council meeting. According to Article 32 of Chapter Five of the UN Charter, a representative of the Republic of Abkhazia has the right to take part in such discussions. To our regret, this constructive proposal on the part of the Abkhazians remains unanswered to the present day.  

We are conscious of the fact that the war with Georgia, which has a population that exceeds the number of Abkhazians 40-fold, is disastrous for us. But we have simply no choice. A possible way out of the situation is the withdrawal of all Georgian troops from Abkhazia, and only after that the introduction of peacekeeping forces. There will be no winners in this war. Sartre once said: «When you learn about the details of a victory, it is  sometimes difficult to tell  the difference between the victory and the defeat!.» At this point it is possible to consider several ways to achieve a peaceful to this military conflict: 

1. If  before  the  armed aggression of Georgia against Abkhazia on  14  August 1992  the Abkhazian people and the Parliament of Abkhazia expressed their desire to have federative relations with Georgia, and this desire was voiced in the draft-treaty published on the initiative of the Abkhazian side before the war, then  today,  after  the  atrocities  and  the  bloodshed,  we  can  only  talk  about confederative  ties  with  Georgia  at  best.  There  are,  however,  very  few supporters of this idea on either side.  

2. Very popular among the multi-ethnic inhabitants of our Republic and among many deputies is the idea of Abkhazia as a neutral state, a kind of ‘Caucasian Switzerland’. We are a country situated at the juncture of East and West with a good communication-system: sea-ports, railway-lines,  airports,  and  highways (including those via the mountains to the North Caucasus).  

Abkhazia can also become a gateway to the Middle East. Such a state would be in the interests of Russia, the West and Turkey. As long ago as  1919  the English  Military  Command  and  General  Denikin  demanded  the  immediate declaration  of  Abkhazia  as  a  neutral  state  and  the  withdrawal  of  Georgian troops beyond the river Ingur.  

3. Abkhazia  sees  her  future  in  such  a  community  as  the  Caucasian Confederation, the predecessor of which is the Confederation of the Peoples of the Caucasus, an influential and authoritative organisation that was established in August 1989 in Sukhum. It unites today 16 ethnic groups living in the area from the Caspian to the Black Sea.  

Not long ago on  5  April  1993  the participants of the advisory conference in Pitsunda signed a document under the title: «Agreement on concluding a treaty on friendship and coo peration between the Confederation of the Peoples of the Caucasus and the Cossacks of the South of Russia». This document provides for ‘the creation of guarantees of collective security in case there is danger of the use of force against the CPC and the Cossacks’. On 1 May 1993 a Congress of Peoples of the South of Russia, North Caucasus and Abkhazia is to ratify the above-agreement.  

The people of Abkhazia will  never  forget  the  first  days  of  the  war  when Abkhazia was completely isolated from the outside-world and only volunteers from the Confederation came through the mountains to help us. Thanks to them, we could stand up to the enemy in this unequal war. Today the situation in Abkhazia is  different.  It  was  only  after  the  whole  North  Caucasus  rose  in support of Abkhazia that Russia changed her attitude towards Abkhazians. At the beginning of the war Shevardnadze doubted that the Confederation would assist us. He called the Confederation ‘a paper-tiger’ and was proved wrong.  

Musa Shanibov, President of the Confederation, in his speech on  14  February 1993 said: «The peoples of the Caucasus and other small peoples of the former Soviet  Union  see  their  own  destiny  in  the  fate  of  Abkhazia.  The  fight  of Caucasian peoples for the freedom of Abkhazia is actually the struggle for their own freedom. That is why the best representatives of the Caucasus are in Abkhazia today.» 

For  many centuries  Abkhazia  had  formed  a  single  whole  with  the  North Caucasian world in linguistic, ethnic, cultural, political and economic respects. This to a great extent concerns the ties between Abkhazians and the peoples who are closely related to them, the Adyghes, Kabardians, Cherkess, Ubykhs and Abazinians. Abkhazian people also have long traditional ties with the south of Russia, specifically  the  Cossacks who, with their original culture are close both to Russia and to the Caucasus. In 1917 Abkhazia was a full member of ‘The Union of Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus’ and of ‘The South East Union of Cossacks, Mountain Peoples and the Free Peoples of the Steppes’.  

At that time the striving of the Abkhazians for self-determination was realised in their  joining  the  Mountain  Republic,  which  was  declared  on 11  May 1918. Alongside  Abkhazia,  Daghestan,  Chechnia,  Kabardia,  Adygheia,  Ossetia  and other regions became member-states of the Republic. Lord Curzon showed great interest at that time towards the Mountain Republic. In half a month the Peoples of  the  Caucasus  will  be  celebrating  the 75th  anniversary  of  the  Mountain Republic as an important event in our history and political life.

It is quite obvious today that it was the Mountain Republic of 1918-1919 that served as basis of the modern Confederation of the Peoples of the Caucasus. The prestige and influence of the latter is increasing every day.  

Meanwhile, the war in Abkhazia becomes more violent. The Georgian soldiers are killing civilians. Russia at the same time is negotiating an agreement with Georgia. Under various pretexts, including incidents when Russian military bases in  Georgia  come  under  armed  attacks,  weapons,  ammunition  and  military equipment are still being handed over to Georgia. The question of the RussianGeorgian border is also being considered.  

Thus, in February 1993, Shevardnadze publicly stated that one of the aims for concluding a treaty with Russia was to have from her as many armaments as possible.  And  Kitovani,  Minister  of  Defence,  complained: «We are ready to become an outpost for Russia in the Caucasus.» To become one, Georgia has to be a strong state. At the same time Russia did not transfer even the  10% of military  technology due to us. The North Caucasus, people of South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Mingrelia and the so far peaceful Adjaria feel concerned about such action and statements.  

In violation of the Resolutions of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation of 25 September and 25 December 1992 the military equipment is regularly being handed over to Georgia. At the end of March Major-General Boris Dyakov, assistant-commander  of  the  Transcaucasian  Military  Forces,  gave  out  the information that «one division has gone over to the Georgian armed forces and by the end of the year  34  military camps are supposed to be given to the Georgian side» (Nez. Gaz., 1993, 25 March).  

The impression that Georgia wants to withdraw the Russian troops from its territory seems to be incorrect. On the contrary, the leading circles of Georgia are afraid  of losing  their  support.  As  Shevardnadze stated at the end of last year,  the  Georgian  borders  would  be unprotected  if  the  Russian  troops  left Georgia. This was confirmed by Deputy Ada Marshania, who pointed out that the Russian troops should be withdrawn from Abkhazia, but not from the rest of Georgia, that actually has no army of her own to protect her borders.  

The question of withdrawing the Russian troops from Abkhazia was raised in the talks in Sochi. We can only guess what was being said behind closed doors! The Abkhazian representative was not admitted, even as an observer. This is another attempt to decide our future behind our backs.  

At the present time Georgia is the main destabilising  factor  for  the  political situation in the North Caucasus and southern Russia. That is why some of the statements  of  the  analytical  review  of 22nd  January 1993 made by the president‘s  information-service ,  seem  strange .  It  says: «To  hold  power Shevardnadze  needs  more  serious  support  on  the  part  of  Russia.  Not  only economic and spiritual ties connect Russia and Georgia. Geopolitical and military realities push them towards each other.» 

It is obvious that certain circles in Russia would not like to realise that de facto Georgia has already disintegrated. And the longer Moscow is going to cling to Tbilisi the more rapidly will it be losing its position in the North Caucasus.  

As for our own position, we could note the following - today some people say that  Abkhazia  is  Russia,  others  that  it  is  Georgia,  while  the  fact  is  that Abkhazia is Abkhazia.  And  at  the  end  of  the A 20th century we want to preserve our own identity, our own face for the simple reason that it is ours, even if somebody else may not find it appealing. 

 

 

The Georgian-Abkhazian Conflict: In Search of Ways out
By Viacheslav A. Chirikba, Leiden University, Netherlands

The Georgian - Abkhaz Conflict: Past, Present, Future
JRL Research & Analytical Supplement, Issue No: 24, May 2004