Opposition Alleges Bagapsh is Violating Coalition Agreement with Khajimba
A group of opposition parties organized under the “Forum of National Unity” slammed Abkhaz President Sergey Bagapsh, alleging that the de facto republic’s new President is violating the coalition agreement forged with Vice President Raul Khajimba.
The statement, distributed by the Abkhaz news agency Apsnypress, notes that according to the agreement, Vice-President Khajimba has to submit candidates for the position of Ministers of Defense, Security, Internal and Foreign Affairs, as well as the heads of the customs and border guard departments by February 26. The statement follows up on widespread speculation that President Bagapsh has turned down several candidates submitted by Khajimba.
The authors of the address, which include leaders from the political movement of former president Vladislav Ardzinba, “Aidgilara,” as well as field offices of the Russian political parties Rodina and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR of Vladimir Zhirinovsky), reminded Bagapsh that the agreement between him and Khajimba was “reached through personal participation of representatives of the Russian authorities and received high praise from [Russian] President Vladimir Putin.” The address also warns of a “crisis and rift in society.”
The Russian authorities have been accused of “bullying” popularly elected Sergey Bagapsh into signing a power-sharing agreement with their favorite Raul Khajimba, who was backed by Russia, on December 6, 2004, after Russian authorities closed down the Abkhaz border, essentially threatening the livelihoods of the residents of Abkhazia.
