On Friday, protesters stormed the parliament of the Russia-backed government in Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia, demanding the resignation of pro-Kremlin leader President Aslan Bujania.
Trucks broke down the metal gates surrounding the government building in the capital, Sukhumi, and footage of the riot showed demonstrators climbing over windows and shouting in the halls, according to information sent to Fox News Digital by East 2. The situation is reflected. Western press.
Russian authorities said they were monitoring a “critical situation” and urged citizens to avoid traveling to the region, Reuters reported on Friday.
Protests erupt in Abkhazia as parliament is stormed over Russian real estate deal, raising concerns about Moscow's control, November 15, 2024 (Photo provided by Tozai News)
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Moscow has a vested interest in the region with its huge economic support since it first recognized the Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions as independent from Georgia after its 2008 invasion.
According to reports on Friday, protesters initially called on Budhania to scrap an investment agreement that would pave the way for wealthy Russians to buy up real estate in the area at prices that easily outpace local residents. Critics say he was trying to make demands.
This pool photo shared by Russian state news agency Sputnik shows Aslan Bujania, the leader of Georgia's breakaway region Abkhazia, arriving at a welcoming ceremony led by the Russian president ahead of a military parade commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Soviet victory. It's in the picture. Moscow, Nazi Germany during World War II, June 24, 2020. (Photo by Alexi Nikolsky/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
However, Timur Guria, one of the opposition leaders, said the protests had turned into a general demand for Bujania to step down from the presidential position, which he has held since 2020, Reuters reported.
He is not believed to have been in the Capitol building at the time of the ambush.
The presidential administration reportedly said in a statement that authorities were preparing to withdraw the investment agreement, but another opposition leader, Eshus Kakaria, said the protesters would remain silent until Bujania resigned. He insisted on not leaving.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum held in Vladivostok, Russia, on September 5, 2024. (Kiril Kazachikov/Roscongress Foundation, via Reuters)
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If Bujania resigns, he will become Abkhazia's third leader since 2008.
“Abkhazians do not want to return to Georgia,” East to West News' Will Stewart explained to Fox News Digital. “After all, they fought a bloody war against this, or their fathers fought.
“But they also don't want their culture and unique way of life to be bought up by ultra-rich Russians. And this is the risk now,” he added.
Mr Stewart said Western sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine war are likely leading wealthy Russians to turn to Abkhazia's beaches as a new holiday destination, but this has been met with opposition from local residents. explained that it was happening.
Reports in late August 2008 suggested that separatist supporters in the region supported recognition by Moscow, but attitudes toward the Kremlin have changed since the invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago. It remains unclear whether this was the case.
Most countries around the world do not recognize the breakaway region as an independent region from Georgia, and the Russian government's decision to do so under former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has led to widespread opposition from other countries. sparked protests. Then-President George W. Bush, He called the move “irresponsible.”
Protests erupt in Abkhazia as parliament is stormed over Russian real estate deal, raising concerns about Moscow's control, November 15, 2024 (Photo provided by Tozai News)
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Similarly, then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it was “unacceptable”, claiming it violated the UN's “principle of territorial integrity and the understanding of the fundamental international rights of states”.
The move, which came just weeks after Russia's invasion of Georgia, largely signaled a fundamental change in the post-Cold War era of cooperation between the West and Russia.
However, despite strong condemnation from Western leaders in 2008, the West's completely silent response to violations of Georgia's territorial integrity essentially once again paved the way for Russia's unrestrained invasion of Ukraine.
