The Gumista bridge at the entrance to Sokhumi, which connects Western Abkhazia with Sokhumi, has been blocked by supporters of the Abkhazian “opposition.” In addition, the Kodori bridge, which connects Sokhumi with the eastern regions, is temporarily unblocked.
A wave of protests in Abkhazia was sparked after the arrest of several oppositionists.
Oppositionists Omar Smyr, Garry Kokaia, Almaskhan Ardzinba, Ramaz Jopua, and Aslan Gvaramia, who returned from a “public meeting” in Gudauta, were arrested and transferred to the de facto State Security Service.
On November 12, late at night, opposition supporters blocked the bridges of Gumista and Kodori. The de facto government says that blocking central highways is a criminal offense and the culprits will be punished.
The de facto president, Aslan Bzhania, held an extraordinary session of the “Security Council” in connection with the created situation, where the leaders of the “Security Forces” “talked about the measures taken to prevent illegal actions.
Before that, it had been announced that the Abkhazian opposition would hold a rally on November 15, the day when the region’s parliament is expected to discuss the ratification of the investment agreement between Russia and Abkhazia.
The governments of Russia and the de facto republic of Abkhazia have signed an agreement that allows Russian companies to carry out investment projects in Abkhazia with benefits that local companies are deprived of. The leaders of Abkhazian public and political organizations are opposed to this agreement. The document was signed by the de facto Vice Prime Minister, the Minister of Economy of the De Facto Republic of Abkhazia, Kristina Ozgan, and the Minister of Economic Development of Russia, Maxim Reshetnikov.
“The agreement will attract additional Russian investments into the republic’s economy and thus contribute to the development of agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, sanatorium treatment and recreation. The document is also important because its action is aimed at the development of supporting infrastructure – gas supply, water supply, heat supply, transport, social and digital infrastructure,” said Reshetnikov.
Speaking about the document, Abkhazia’s de facto vice-prime minister and minister of economy, Kristina Ozgan, said that investments play a crucial role in the process of stabilizing the de facto economic situation in Abkhazia.
“Recently, high investment activity has been observed in the republic. During 4 years, the volume of fixed capital investments increased by more than 2.5 times and exceeded 11 billion rubles. The positive dynamics is confirmed by the increase in the average monthly salary, the increase in the GDP and the doubling of the budget’s own revenues. It is important that we manage to demonstrate a qualitatively new approach – we reduce the level of state investments and increase the level of private investments. These are qualitative changes, which will be facilitated by an intergovernmental agreement, since we are talking about very large investments. Such investment projects will fundamentally change the general picture of employment in the republic”, she claimed.
The procedure for the entry into force of the mentioned document envisages “mandatory ratification in the People’s Assembly – the Parliament of the De facto Republic of Abkhazia”.
Header image: Gumista bridge, Abkhazia/Netgazeti
