Citizenship of the So-Called Independent Abkhazia, or a Path to Nowhere

The decision to write this article was prompted by an incident when, on one of the forums, I asked an Abkhazian peer of my age: "On what grounds can I not be a citizen of the so-called independent Abkhazia?" He replied that "Georgian fascists do not have the right to be citizens of Abkhazia." Following this, I took an interest in the citizenship of the so-called independent Abkhazia, as well as their constitution, and I think what you will read below will be quite interesting (in the remainder of the text, the phrase "so-called" will not be mentioned to avoid cluttering the article, but it is, of course, implied);

The Constitution of Abkhazia was adopted on November 26, 1994, at the 12th session of the Supreme Council, and approved by a nationwide referendum on October 3, 1999. The preamble of the Constitution speaks of peace and relations with other peoples, while the very first article states that Abkhazia and Apsny are synonymous terms for the Republic of Abkhazia. The Republic of Abkhazia consists of 6 districts and 7 cities. But the most interesting part begins with Article 6 of this Constitution, which states that the Russian language, along with the Abkhazian language, is recognized as the state language (it is rather interesting to have an independent state that uses its neighbor's language as a state language, while referring to itself as an independent subject in its constitution);

The State of Abkhazia (Article 6) recognizes the right of all ethnic groups to freely use their native language (an interesting comment on this was made by one of the forum members, who pointed out that Georgians and Megrelians naturally have the right to speak their native language; when I asked on what basis he concluded that these two terms do not mean the same thing, I received no answer). Also, under Article 10 of the same Constitution, Sukhumi, or Akua (Akua), was declared the capital. Following these articles, the text turns to fundamental human rights and freedoms (approximately 35 articles). The Constitution touches upon the issue of Abkhazian citizenship only three times: first, it states that the state cannot deprive a citizen of Abkhazia of their citizenship; second, granting citizenship is among the powers of the president; and third, it mentions the legislative provision for granting citizenship.

The Abkhazian Constitution does not elaborate further on the process of acquiring citizenship. This issue is additionally regulated by the Law "On Citizenship of the Republic of Abkhazia." The first thing that catches the eye is that this law recognizes and encourages the right of the diaspora living abroad to acquire citizenship (here they already refer to themselves as Abaza);

The first and most striking aspect encountered later in this law is that it basically does not refer to any dates prior to 1999; meaning, the situation that existed before 1999 is completely ignored. The most interesting part begins with paragraph "a" of Article 5, which states (to tell the truth, I absolutely did not expect such a definition to exist and be used by a legislator): "persons of Abkhaz nationality (Abaza)," regardless of their place of residence, are considered citizens of Abkhazia. Furthermore, there is an exception (i.e., they are not considered citizens): persons who try and/or have tried to change the status of Abkhazia through unconstitutional methods. This directly means: first, it is completely unknown what this term means and how a person of Abkhaz nationality is to be proven; and second, this provision is directly aimed at that part of the population which participated in open hostilities—that is, those who defended the territorial integrity of Georgia in the Russian-Georgian-Abkhazian war;

The second most interesting aspect is paragraph "b" of the same Article 5, according to which citizens of Abkhazia are considered to be those persons who, prior to October 12, 1999 (before the adoption of the Act of State Independence), resided on the territory of Abkhazia for at least 5 years and do not hold the citizenship of a foreign state, except for the Russian Federation (what kind of independent country is it that permits dual citizenship exclusively with Russia?). In addition, there is an exception (i.e., they are not considered citizens): persons who try and/or have tried to change the status of Abkhazia through unconstitutional methods;

Moreover, a citizen of Abkhazia can only hold Russian citizenship; meaning, a citizen of Abkhazia, apart from obtaining Russian citizenship, has no possibility of acquiring the citizenship of another country. There are several additional levers specified in the law, for example: the authorities will not even consider the applications (let alone grant citizenship) of persons who try and/or have tried to change the status of Abkhazia through unconstitutional methods;

Now let us return to the main issue: the law mentions almost nothing about persons who, like myself, were born in 1988 and are considered internally displaced persons. The date of October 12, 1999, is specified deliberately so that I do not have (whether I want it or not is a separate issue) the legislative means to apply for Abkhazian citizenship. By virtue of the law, based on the restrictions it imposes itself, persons who lived on the territory of Abkhazia were denied any means not only to return to their homes but ever to be considered citizens of Abkhazia (for the record, in some official documents, the events of 1992-1993 are referred to as the "Patriotic War");

The most important point even in this simple issue is that while the Abkhazian constitution guarantees fundamental human rights and freedoms (including the right to a place of residence, etc.) and acknowledges the UN Declaration of Human Rights, by the force of law it openly and completely disregards the situation that existed prior to 1994. Furthermore, it is significant that the concept of a "person of Abkhaz nationality" is recognized even at the legislative level;

The purpose of this article is not to urge anyone to obtain the so-called Abkhazian citizenship. The purpose of the article is simply to explain that even if someone might consider Abkhazia a state governed by the rule of law, disappointment awaits them; because regarding those persons (approximately up to 300,000) who were ethnically Georgian, there is not even the slightest reference to them on a legislative level. It is as if, in legal reality, they never existed at all;