Sokhumi Temporarily Closes Crossing Point Citing Unrests

The “security service” of occupied Abkhazia announced on June 27 that the Enguri crossing point of the boundary line will be temporarily closed, citing recent protest rallies in the “bordering district” of Zugdidi, which “are provocative” in nature and affect “Abkhaz statehood”.

Commenting on the matter, Georgia’s Reconciliation Minister Ketevan Tsikhelashvili noted that the government is communicating through all “formal or informal channels” to ensure that local residents’ interests – many of whom live and work on two sides of the boundary line – are not infringed upon.

“The key priority for me is to care for the interests of those people who will suffer most from this illegal restriction. Therefore, we are intensively working with all relevant structures to lift restrictions in the shortest possible time,” Tsikhelashvili said, adding that “political assessments” will be made later.

Several days before closing the Enguri crossing point, Abkhaz leader Raul Khajimba held a Security Council session concerning the ongoing Tbilisi protests.  Khajimba complained about the Georgian government and opposition using the term “occupied territories” in respect of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia and advised Tbilisi to solve “their internal political issues without involvement of our independent states.”

Unrests in Tbilisi started on June 20 after Russian MP from the Communist Party Sergei Gavrilov, who is also the President of the General Assembly of Inter-parliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO), addressed the delegates in Russian from the Georgian Parliament Speaker’s seat. Citizens hit the streets protesting Gavrilov’s appearance on the grounds that he represents the occupying power. The rallies are also being held in other cities of Georgia, including Zugdidi.

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