GEORGIA: Separatist Abkhazia displays its military might on its first national day

Record ID: 449802

  • Title: GEORGIA: Separatist Abkhazia displays its military might on its first national day
  • Date: 1st October 2008
  • Summary: MEN DRIVING ATOP TANK SALUTING THREE HELICOPTERS FLYING
  • Embargoed: 16th October 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Georgia
  • Country: Georgia
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVACQMU3MA9CJFG6OUKBJOX4GYYH
  • Story Text: Separatist Abkhazia marks its first national day since procaliming independence from Georgia with military parade, proclaims Russian President Dmitry Medvedev a hero.
    Georgia's breakaway Abkhazia celebrated its first national day since Moscow recognised it as an independent state on Tuesday (September 30).
    Russian and Abkhaz flags fluttered over the capital Sukhumi to mark the 15th anniversary of the Black Sea region's victory over Georgian forces in a separatist war.
    Abkhaz military forces paraded through Sukhumi's central square in front of crowds waving Abkhaz flags.
    On the podium watching the parade were Abkhaz self-styled President Sergei Bagapsh and Igor Smirnov, leader of breakaway Transdnestria.
    Senior Russian figures were absent, despite the fact that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has been declared a national hero.
    The most well-known Russian politician present, Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, sat alongside Bagapsh on Monday (September 29) evening, and gained a series of standing ovations from the crowd as he criticised U.S. President George W. Bush for supporting Georgia.
    Tanks, armoured personnel careers, multiple-launch rocket firing systems and military helicopters took part in the parade.
    Abkhazians had rushed to smarten up Sukhumi for the occasion. Pavements had been repaired and roads resurfaced.
    To date, only Nicaragua has followed Russia's lead in recognising Abkhazia and South Ossetia, with even close Moscow allies Belarus and Venezuela failing to do so.
    Georgia's pro-Western leadership accuses Russia of effectively annexing Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Tbilisi says Abkhazia's split from Georgia is illegimate because hundreds of thousands of ethnic Georgians forced to flee the region in the war have never been consulted.
    Russia has pledged to pull its troops out of undisputed Georgian territory by October 15, but says it intends to base 7,600 soldiers in Abkhazia and South Ossetia permanently.
    Its military trucks, with their tell-tale black number plates, are a constant presence on the roads of Abkhazia and they dominate the south-eastern Gali region.
    Many countries, led by the United States, have criticised Russia for its recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, but Moscow says it was compelled to act to stave off Georgian aggression.
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