DECREE
ISSUED BY THE SUPREME COUNCIL OF THE ABKHAZ ASSR
on Legal
Guarantees of Protection of the Statehood of Abkhazia
Having heard and discussed the report of the
Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR Comr. V. Kobakhia “on Legal
Guarantees of Protection of the Statehood of Abkhazia” the Supreme Council of the
Abkhaz ASSR notes:
In 1989-1990 the Supreme Council of the Georgian
SSR three times (November 1989, March and June 1990) adopted the decision on
restoration of the state independence of
In that way the supreme legislative power of
Postponement of the date of election from March to
October of 1990 and amendments to the electoral procedures of the deputies of
the Georgian SSR bear the guaranties to reach this goal - reinstatement of the
statehood existed in
The Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR considers
that the restoration of the state independence, existed before February of
1921, is an undeniable right of the Georgian people, i.e. practical secession
from the
The Supreme Council strongly opposes such
resolution of Abkhazia’s destiny due to the following reasons.
Abkhazia was incorporated under the protectorate
of the Russian Empire in 1810 as an entity independent from kingdoms and
principalities of Western and
After the Russian revolution of 1917 and from the
start of disintegration of the Russian Empire, Abkhazia entered the South-West
Union of the
In February of 1918 Georgia and Abkhazia concluded
the agreement that recognized Abkhazia as “unified and indivisible State from
the river Inguri to the river Mzimta”.
At that time the issues regarding independence of Abkhazia and the
autochthonous of the Abkhaz people on its territory was an evident fact for
After establishment of the Democratic republic of
Georgia in May 1918 Georgia resorted forcible measures in order to include
Abkhazia within Georgia but having met the firm resistance from the Abkhaz
side, the representatives of the Georgian Government declared that the
“independent existence was an organic right of the Abkhaz people”.
In 1918-1921 Abkhazia had been fully occupied by
the troops of the Georgian Democratic Republic and only in February of 1921,
after collapse of the Georgian Democratic Republic Abkhazia reinstated its
independence.
On
Nevertheless, in December 1921, under the pressure
of Stalin it was united with
Pursuant to the federal character of the Treaty,
in December 1922 the plenipotentiary representative of the Abkhaz SSR in the
composition of the delegation of the Trans-Caucasus SFSR (Soviet Federative
Socialist Republic-edit) Akirtava N.N. put his signature under the Treaty on
establishment of the
In 1931, when Stalin’s administrative-command
system was gaining a power, the political status of Abkhazia was degraded to an
In the thirties the serious repressive measures
were taken in order to dissolve the Abkhaz nation into Georgian. To fulfill this goal they: closed Abkhaz
schools and made the Abkhaz children go to Georgian schools; introduced
Georgian as an office language; replaced Abkhaz toponymy with Georgian ones;
resorted massive settlement of Georgians in Abkhazia constructing for them the
special compounds; ousted Abkhazs from the State, party and administrative
agencies and replaced them with Georgians; put Georgian ethnicity in the
privileged position while discriminating the Abkhazs; oppressed original
culture of Abkhaz people; forged the history of Abkhazia and Abkhaz people,
which was announced as a Georgian tribe (race).
Stalin’s death, and
especially the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the
Though many artificially created factors still
remained in force threatening the distinctive existence of the Abkhaz
ethnicity, it was impossible to conduct open policy of the Abkhaz people’s
cultural genocide that had been condemned by the special decision of the
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the USSR. And then the practice went “on the sly”.
Perestroika that started in 1985 brought a new
wave of the barefaced chauvinism against the Abkhazs yet it was aimed at the
development of democracy and establishment of the rule of law. Certain forces of Georgia try to use the
slogan - “The strong Center and Strong Republics” for the legalization of their
aim to secede from the USSR ignoring the interests of the Abkhaz and Ossetian
people, those who have their national autonomy, as well as Armenians,
Azerbaijanis, Russians, Greeks and others - residing in the republic.
The issue was carried to the point that Abkhaz
people had no right to the self-determination.
It’s evident that Georgian compact settlements
appeared in Abkhazia after the Caucasus War had ended. In the second half of XIX century Abkhazs
were forcibly deported to
Against a background of situation mentioned above,
The Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR decrees:
1. To recognize that Democratic Republic of
Georgia, breaching the Treaty of 11 June 918 and the Agreement concluded
between the Abkhaz People’s Council and National Council of Georgia of 9
February 1918 carried out military intervention in the late June of 1918 aimed
at forcible inclusion of the territory of Abkhazia into Georgia and abolishing
the independence of the Abkhaz people.
This action that contravenes the International Law shall be considered
as unlawful.
2. To declare null and void the part of the
Agreement concluded between Georgia and RSFSR on May 1920, which is related to
the territory of independent Abkhazia, then occupied by Georgian military
forces.
3. The Decrees of the Supreme Council of Georgia
issued on 18 November 1989, 9 March and 20 June of 1990, which declare null and
void all political and legal institutions introduced after February 1921, lead
the logical conclusion that all treaty-relations between Georgia and Abkhazia
are also unlawful and Abkhazia’s inclusion into the Georgian SSR has no legal
base any longer. Consequently the legal form of Abkhazia’s state sovereignty is
the Soviet Socialist Republic of Abkhazia that was proclaimed on
4. To raise
the issue before the Supreme Council of the
Before the resolution of this issue by the Supreme
Council of the
5. Abkhazia is ready to start the negotiations
with
6. During the formalization of the new Union
Treaty that is actually renewal of the 1922 International Agreement, Abkhazia,
as one of the founder-Republics of the
7. This Decree shall be submitted to the Supreme
Council of the RSFSR to be considered simultaneously with the Decree of the
Supreme council of the Georgian SSR of
Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Council
of the Abkhaz ASSR V. Kobakhia
Secretary of the Presidium of the Supreme Council
of the
(Newspaper “Sovetskaia Abkhazia”, # 164, 28 August,
1990)