Thursday, August 11, 2011

This afternoon, I walked around central Sukhum listening to the English Beat on my iphone.  Although I am sure  I was the only American in the capital listening to Ranking Roger and Dave Wakeling singing "Stand Down Margret", that one American still outnumbered the Russian soldiers seen in the capital of supposedly "occupied" Abkhazia.  That got me to thinking about the things that are not seen or do not happen in the Republic of Abkhazia.  I have never been told not to photograph something.  I have never been told who to talk to or who to meet.  In fact, I have been encouraged to talk to whomever I want, including journalists.  It has been made clear to me that I can travel to any area in Abkhazia that I wish.  I take these things for granted.  But I realized with the prevailing media narrative in the West about Abkhazia, many people probably are laboring under false assumptions about Abkhazia.

I spent part of an afternoon this week at Amra Cafe.  Amra sits on a dock built over the Black Sea.  It has a spectacular view of the sea, the city and the mountains and a rustic charm.  It was so pleasant to be there, the only fault I can find was with my internet connection.  While I was trying to get connected, I met Albert and Viktor, shown in the above photo.  They were very friendly, even more when I told them I was from the U.S. Viktor is a polyglot who speaks not only Russian and Armenian, but also French, Italian and some English.  We talked about Abkhazia history for some time.  Also, we spoke about the recent death of President Bagapsh and the upcoming election.  The Abkhaz are engaged with current events, but calm.  Of course, this is nothing new. The election will be the 5th Presidential election in Abkhazia's short history.  Since Abkhazia became independent from Georgia, there has never been a violent or revolutionary transfer of power.  Abkhazia is building a civil and democratic society.

Senate Resolution on South Ossetia and Abkhazia

The U.S. Senate unanimously approved a resolution calling Abkhazia and South Ossetia "regions of Georgia occupied by Russia."  This is false.  I live in Abkhazia part-time and the Russian Army does not occupy it.  There were U.N. mandated Russian peacekeepers in Abkhazia after the war of 1992-93.  Only after Georgia attacked South Ossetia in 2008 and made its aggressive military attentions clear did Russia build a base in Abkhazia.  But the base is for defensive purposes only and serves to protect Abkhazia from Georgian aggession. That this has been successful is evidenced by the huge increase in tourism that Abkhazia experienced in 2009. In the last 5 years in Abkhazia, I have seen Russian troops less than 5 times.  And the government of Abkhazia clearly makes its own decisions.   I know this because I have been working them to break investors and investment to the country.  Later this month, there will be an election to replace President Bagapsh, who died May 26.  It will be free and fair as all the elections have been in Abkhazia.

The resolution also calls for "peaceful resolution of the conflicts".   This statement appears very hypocritical. There is no conflict at the present time.  The only source of conflict in the post-Soviet environment has been the Republic of Georiga, which has repeatedly threatened and attacked both nations without provocation, most famously in 2008.  That attack would likely not have been possible without American aid, which allowed the Republic of Georgia to increase its military spending at the fastest rate in the world in 2007-08.  

Russia is said to occupy Abkhazia, but this is false.  I live in Abkhazia for part of each month and the Russian Army does not occupy it.  There were U.N. mandated Russian peacekeepers in Abkhazia after the war of 1992-93.  Only after Georgia attacked South Ossetia in 2008 and made its aggressive military attentions clear did Russia build a base in Abkhazia.  But the base is for defensive purposes only and serves to protect Abkhazia from Georgian aggession.  That this has been successful is evidenced by the huge increase in tourism that Abkhazia experienced in 2009.  In the last 5 years in Abkhazia, I have seen Russian troops less than 5 times. And the government of Abkhazia clearly makes its own decisions.   

Does the U.S. Army occupy South Korea?  Most people would say no.  But if Russia is "occupying" Abkhazia, then the U.S must be regarded as an occupational power, too.  The truth is that Russia serves an important function of guaranteeing the peace.  A responsible person should ask the question: What would happen if Russia left and Georgia was rearmed by the American government, as some Senators propose?  

The U.S. Senate found time, despite the debt limit crisis, to pass this resolution.  It should be noted that not one of the Senators has ever been to Abkhazia and, as the only American businessman who spends significant time in Abkhazia, I was not called to testify on the issue.

New York Times Coverage of Abkhazia Election

Yesterday in the New York Times, Ellen Barry wrote of the Presidential election held on Saturday in Abkhazia. Ms. Barry quoted analyst Nikolai Zlobin on the election and the situation in Abkhazia.  Mr. Zlobin makes the following point:  They know that the only thing they have is land.  It is not a big piece of land, but eventually it will be fantastically expensive."

Mr. Zlobin is spot on.  Abkhazia offers tremendous potential as a tourist destination.  It is probably the most desirable location on the Black Sea.

In general, Ms. Barry wrote a good article.  There is one point of substance that I would disagree on.  President Bagapsh is quoted as saying "We have chosen our path, whether the United States and the European Union like it or not.  Abkhazia will never again be part of Georgia."  Ms. Barry interprets that to mean that western recognition is not important to Abkhazia.  I have to disagree on this.  It is clear from my visits and discussions in Abkhazia that western recognition is very important to Abkhazia.  Because Abkhazia is not widely recognized there are no working ATM machines, it is impossible to view a film and there are no international flights at the moment.  Every citizen is very aware of this.  Also, Abkhazia's leadership knows that with recognition will come money for redevelopment of infrastructure, investment in tourist facilities and increased tourism.  My interpretation is that Mr. Bagapsh is simply stating that Abkhazia is free and independent of Georgia, regardless to the current mood in the west.

The article can be found at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/14/world/europe/14abkhazia.html?_r=1