Abkhaz Official Comments on Gali, IDPs
Georgians living in the Gali district of Abkhazia will face no problems, even if they refuse to accept Abkhaz passports, Foreign Minister of breakaway Abkhazia Sergey Shamba said in an interview with Russian news agency Regnum on January 10.
?They will simply be deprived the right to vote if they refuse to take Abkhaz passports, as it is necessary to present ID during voting; in our case this [ID] is our internal passport,? Shamba said.
He also said that the situation has ?improved a lot? after Georgian guerrilla groups were disbanded there.
?But in recent months an escalation of tensions has been observed in Gali and we think that this is related to the Georgian side?s demand to internationalize the peacekeeping forces in the conflict zone and to deploy UN civil police [in the Gali district],? Shamba said.
He also commented on the possible return of Georgian internally displaced persons back to Abkhazia and said that that the Abkhaz side is very cautious in this regard.
?For Georgia this is not only a humanitarian issue, this problem has a political aspect for Tbilisi. The same is for us because it is clear that demographic changes will trigger political changes as well,? he said.
?In the current situation, return of refugees in other parts of Abkhazia [apart from the Gali district] will trigger a renewal of violence, ethnic conflicts and, consequently, to a Georgian-Abkhaz war,? Shamba added.
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)
