Political crisis continues in separatist Abkhazia
In Abkhazia, the opposition, having failed to achieve the resignation of the de-facto Minister of Internal Affairs, is now demanding the president resign. On November 4, two protests — one anti-government and the other pro-government – were staged simultaneously in Sukhumi.
Up to a thousand oppositionists gathered for their rally on Teatralnaya Square. Approximately the same number of supporters of incumbent unrecognised President Aslan Bzhania assembled a hundred meters away, closer to the presidential administration and encircled by police.
At the opposition rally, protesters demanded the resignation of the de-facto Minister of Internal Affairs. They sent their representatives to the meeting with president Bzhania with a resolution, however, the meeting did not result in any concrete steps.
The demonstrators then adjusted their demands. They are now calling for de-facto President Aslan Bzhania's resignation, claiming that he has failed to perform his obligations as head of state.
De-facto President Bzhania had reinstated Minister of Internal Affairs Dmitry Dbar to his position two days prior, after he had been permanently removed from his job following an incident on the Sukhumi embankment on September 30.
The triumph in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict in the early 1990s was commemorated on September 30. Special forces severely assaulted MP Garry Kokaya and many of his fellow villagers, all veterans of the Georgian-Abkhaz war, for shooting a pistol into the air in celebration.