Georgia: Update to GGA29220.E of 24 April 1998 on the treatment of Abkhazians and available state protection (April-October 2002)

Current information on the treatment of Abkhazians outside Abkhazia but living in Georgia is scarce among the sources consulted. This Response provides information additional to that found in the U.S. Department of State's Country Reports for 1998 to 2001.

In early 2000, Khatuna Murghulia, editor-in-chief of the Public Interest Protection League in Zugdidi, Georgia, wrote about the disparities of the distribution of humanitarian aid among displaced Abkhazians in Georgia, reporting that from 1992 to 1999, the majority of aid was focussed on Zugdidi, which borders Abkhazia and which had the highest density of displaced Abkhazians numbering approximately 120,000, in addition to its own population of 135,000 (Central Asia Caucasus Analyst 2 Feb. 2000). However, Murghulia reported that the displaced Abkhazians in Samegrelo, West Georgia, received a "remarkably low percentage" of assistance allocated for all of Georgia (ibid.). According to Murghulia, only in 1999 did several international organizations begin implementing assistance programs that affected the whole of the Samegrelo region (ibid.). Murghulia stated that displaced Abkhazians in rural areas were more independent, were involved in agriculture and could feed themselves, and coped better psychologically than those displaced Abkhazians living in humanitarian relief camps (ibid.).

Additional information on the situation and treatment of Abkhazians in Georgia living outside Abkhazia, as well as information on state protection available to Abkhazians in Georgia, could not be found among the sources consulted.

Without a Georgian political decision on the status of Abkhazia, Abkhazians residing there have no passports; although Georgia has offered them Georgian passports, the "secessionist government of Abkhazia declined the offer (IHFHR 2002, sec. Abkhazia). The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHFHR) reported that Russia continued to grant citizenship to Abkhazians living in Abkhazia, despite Georgia's protests (ibid.).

Abkhazians in Abkhazia had until 30 June 2002 to apply for and automatically receive Russian citizenship before the coming into effect on 1 July 2002 of the new Russian citizenship law (IWPR 27 June 2002; RFE/RL 13 June 2002). This process was reportedly carried out at a record pace (ibid.; IWPR 27 June 2002; Moskovskiye Novosti 9-15 July 2002), and by 25 June 2002, an estimated 150,000 Abkhazians had reportedly acquired Russian citizenship that month alone, in addition to the 50,000-70,000 who already had acquired Russian citizenship (ibid.; IWPR 27 June 2002). In the following weeks, Georgian President Eduard Shevnardnadze and his Foreign Ministry condemned this action by Russia, stating that Abkhazians were Georgian citizens, that Georgia does not permit dual nationality, that Abkhazians with Russian citizenship may face difficulties once the Abkhaz conflict was settled, and that the issuance of Russian passports to its citizens went against international norms (RFE/RL 13 June 2002; Central Asia Caucasus Analyst 19 June 2002a; Interfax 19 June 2002; IWPR 27 June 2002; Interfax 12 July 2002). As a result, Tbilisi's "already shaky relations" with Russia worsened (IWPR 27 June 2002; RFE/RL 13 June 2002).

Reasons cited for acquiring Russian citizenship included higher Russian pensions and foreign travel (IWPR 27 June 2002). The Moskovskiye Novosti newspaper recognized these two newly-won advantages for Abkhazians as being self-evident (9-15 July 2002). Abkhazian officials reportedly also felt that the acquisition of Russian citizenship was a step toward the international recognition of Abkhazia (ibid.).

However, a 19 August 2002 Interfax article reported that Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister Valery Loschinin had

denied reports that Russia grants citizenship and issues passports to all Abkhazian applicants without exception. "Not a single Russian passport has been issued to an Abkhazian, and none of the Abkhazians has been granted Russian citizenship."

Corroboration of this quotation could not be found among the sources consulted.

In a 10 June 2002 press conference in Sukhum, Abkhaz Prime Minister Anri Djergenia stated that Abkhazia would be replacing the old Soviet passports with new Russian ones but clarified that this would not compromise Abkhazia's status as an autonomous sovereign state (Central Asia Caucasus Analyst 19 June 2002a) as Abkhazia would recognize dual citizenship (ibid.; RFE/RL 13 June 2002).

Sources consulted did not provide information on the treatment by Georgian officials or citizens of Abkhazians holding Russian citizenship.

On 10 October 2002, the Georgian parliament unanimously approved a proposed constitutional amendment to designate the "breakaway unrecognized" Republic of Abkhazia as an autonomous republic within Georgia (RFE/RL 11 Oct. 2002). The following day, Abkhaz President Anri Djergenia was reported by Caucasus Press to have stated that the Georgian vote to grant Abkhazia the status of an autonomous republic within Georgia "is of no significance for us" as Abkhazia's status as an "independent sovereign state is enshrined in its constitution" (ibid. 15 Oct. 2002).

Georgia and Abkhazia remain formally at war (RFE/RL 4 May 2001; ibid. 13 June 2002). Georgian-Abkhazian peace talks remain stalled, despite UN mediation attempts (ibid. 4 May 2001; ibid. 16 May 2002; ibid. 20 Sept. 2002). On 2 April 2002, Georgia agreed to withdraw its 350 troops from the Kodori Gorge by 10 April 2002 (Central Asia Caucasus Analyst 10 Apr. 2002). Abkhazia agreed to withdraw its troops and military equipment from Tkvarcheli Raion, and it was agreed by both parties that the UN and CIS peacekeeping forces would resume their patrols in the Gorge (ibid.). Both Georgia and Abkhazia maintain the necessity of keeping Russian peacekeepers in the disputed region (Central Asia Caucasus Analyst 19 June 2002b; ibid. 28 Aug. 2002). In August 2002, clashes occurred between Georgian and Abkhazian/Russian fighters in the Kodori Gorge, the only Georgian enclave in Abkhazia (UNAG 14 Aug. 2002). In early September 2002, Georgian militants took hostage two Abkhazians from a village in Abkhazia and held them for ransom (ITAR-TASS 5 Sept. 2002). Abkhazia's law enforcement agencies became involved in the recovery operation (ibid.). Recently, Abkhazia accused Georgia of deploying soldiers (Interfax 21 Sept. 2002) and military equipment into the Kodori Gorge (RFE/RL 17 Oct. 2002), although a recent UN patrol of the Gorge failed to find this alleged military build-up by Georgia (ibid. 18 Oct. 2002). As of mid-September 2002, Georgian and Abkhazian fighters remained in Abkhazia's Kodori Gorge (Interfax 21 Sept. 2002).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Central Asia Caucasus Analyst. 28 August 2002. News Bites. "Abkhazia Opposes Withdrawal of Russian Peacekeepers." [Accessed 31 Oct. 2002]

______. 19 June 2002a. News Bites. "Georgian President Objects to Russian Citizenship Law." [Accessed 31 Oct. 2002]

_____. 19 June 2002b. News Bites. "Georgian President Argues Against Peacekeepers' Withdrawal from Abkhazia." [Accessed 31 Oct. 2002]

_____. 10 April 2002. News Bites. "Agreement Signed on Withdrawal of Georgian Troops From Kodori." [Accessed 31 Oct. 2002]

_____. 2 February 2000. Field Reports. Khatuna Murghulia. "Georgia's Displaced Abkhazians: The Impact of Humanitarian Aid." [Accessed 31 Oct. 2002]

Interfax [Moscow, in English]. 21 September 2002. "Georgia: Abkhazians Say Patience Not Unlimited on Kodori Gorge Dispute." (FBIS-SOV-2002-0921 21 Sept. 2002/WNC)

_____. 19 August 2002. "Interfax Diplomatic Panorama for 19 Aug 02: Moscow Doubts Appropriateness of New Treaty With Georgia." (FBIS-SOV-2002-0820 19 Aug. 2002/WNC)

_____. 12 July 2002. "Georgia Says Russian Citizenship for Abkhazians Goes Against International Norms." (FBIS-SOV-2002-0712 12 July 2002/WNC)

_____. 19 June 2002. "George [sic] Protests Adoption of Russian Citizenship by Abkhazians." (FBIS-SOV-2002-0619 19 June 2002/WNC)

International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHFHR). 2002. Annual Report 2002. [Accessed 31 Oct. 2002]

Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR). 27 June 2002. "Georgia: Abkhaz Rush for Russian Passports." [Accessed 31 Oct. 2002]

ITAR-TASS [Moscow, in English]. 5 September 2002. "Two Abkhazian Civilians Taken Hostage by Georgian Militants." (FBIS-SOV-2002-0905 5 Sept. 2002/WNC)

Moscovskiye Novosti [Moscow, in Russian. Internet version]. 9-15 July 2002. "Implementation of Plan to Give Russian Citizenship to Abkhazians Examined." (FBIS-SOV-2002-0712 9 July 2002/WNC)

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). 18 October 2002. Newsline. "UN Patrol Fails to Confirm Georgian Weapons Deployment in Kodori." [Accessed 31 Oct. 2002]

_____. 17 October 2002. Newsline. "Abkhazia Accuses Georgia of Deploying Weaponry in Kodori Gorge." [Accessed 31 Oct. 2002]

_____. 15 October 2002. Newsline. "Abkhaz Officials Shrug Off Georgian Vote on Autonomy." [Accessed 31 Oct. 2002]

_____. 11 October 2002. Newsline. "Georgian Parliament Votes to Designate Abkhazia an Autonomous Republic." [Accessed 31 Oct. 2002]

_____. 20 September 2002. Features. Robert McMahon. "UN: New Envoy For Georgia Seeks to Revive Stalled Abkhaz Talks." [Accessed 31 Oct. 2002]

_____. 13 June 2002. Features. Jean-Christophe Peuch. "Georgia/Russia: Naturalization Issue Further Strains Relations." [Accessed 31 Oct. 2002]

_____. 16 May 2002. Features. Jeffrey Donovan. "U.S./Russia: Problems in Georgia Loom Large Over Bush-Putin Summit." [Accessed 31 Oct. 2002]

_____. 4 May 2001. Features. Jean-Christophe Peuch. "Georgia: Little Hope Seen For Abkhaz Peace Process." [Accessed 31 Oct. 2002]

United Nations Association of Georgia (UNAG). 14 August 2002. "Georgia: Abkhaz Side Refuses to Pull Out From Kodori: Tbilisi Fears to Lose the Only Georgian Enclave in Breakaway Province." [Accessed 31 Oct. 2002]

Additional Sources Consulted

Amnesty International. Annual Reports. 1999-2002.

Central Asia Caucasus Analyst [Washington, DC]. Fortnightly. 27 March 2002-present.

_____. Field Reports. Fortnightly. 27 March 2002-present.

_____. News Bites. Fortnightly. 27 March 2002-present.

Electronic databases: IRB, WNC.

Internet sites, including:

British Helsinki Human Rights Group

Caucasus Foundation

Center for Defense Information

Central Asia Caucasus Analyst

Conflict Studies Research Centre

Crisisweb (The International Crisis Group)

Eurasia Insight

European Country of Origin Information Network (ECOI)

International Society for Human Rights

Legislationonline.org

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)

UNHCR

United Kingdom. Immigration and Nationality Directorate.

Website of the Legitimate Government of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia

Search engines, including:

Google

Yahoo!