Remember Everything, or Why Aslan Bzhania Needs "Enemies of the People", by Izida Chania

The crisis of legitimacy in governance has prompted our country's leaders to continuously search for scapegoats. The phase of blaming predecessors has used up all its utility, giving way to a new strategy – crafting the image of an internal enemy.

In the Abkhazian political landscape, this resembles the principle of bad dancers: the authorities, having promised their voters democratic rights, freedoms, systemic reforms, and adherence to the rule of law during elections, have instead embarked on a quest to find new culprits for their own failures. They have targeted anyone daring to highlight deviations from the declared state-building principles, their anti-popular nature, the artificially induced crisis in the economy and energy sector, rampant legal disorder, and the failure of incumbent President Bzhania to fulfil his election promises.

All dissenters are now branded as enemies – including the opposition, war veterans, national liberation movement participants, non-profits, public organisations, the media, independent economists, scientists, and businessmen. They are accused of plotting a coup, harbouring anti-Russian sentiments, and colluding with the West. This tactic conveniently diverts public attention from global challenges and the day-to-day issues that accompany a power crisis. Aiding our "dancers" are distractions like the pandemic, global affairs, the war in Ukraine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the East-West global confrontation, all unrelated to the presidential candidate’s pledges.

Aslan Bzhania is the only leader in modern Abkhaz history to have conceived the idea of fabricating an internal enemy.

Notably, Aslan Bzhania is the only leader in modern Abkhaz history to have conceived the idea of fabricating an internal enemy. His predecessors never dared to persecute individuals not implicated in any crimes under national law, nor citizens who actively supported his electoral campaign and believed in his promises. Furthermore, it remains a mystery how these groups obstruct President Aslan Bzhania from fulfilling his campaign commitments. A closer examination reveals that candidate Aslan Bzhania and President Aslan Bzhania are entirely different personas, leading to a legitimacy crisis.

Candidate Bzhania advocated for the rule of law, whereas President Bzhania contravenes the nation's Constitution and endorses laws that undermine the people, clashing with the declared democratic principles of an independent state’s development.

Candidate Bzhania spoke of balancing and maintaining the independence of government branches. President Bzhania, however, has annihilated the principle of separation of powers, dominating both legislative and judicial authorities. He has become so overzealous that he now openly, not just covertly, instructs the parliament on the decisions to be made and their timelines. This overreach extends beyond mere legal infractions to a disregard for basic decorum.

Presidential candidate Bzhania championed the equality of all citizens before the law. In contrast, President Bzhania seems oblivious to the law enforcement's failure to investigate corruption, embezzlement in construction, and repair works, as well as their disregard for audit results showing misuse of budget funds. Moreover, he appears to endorse officials, advisors, and assistants involved in corruption, rewarding and promoting them despite their offences. The misdeeds of the president's relatives and friends are conveniently overlooked by law enforcement. "The major issue surpassing the Ministry of Internal Affairs is the public violation of the law by public figures without any accountability. This erodes and demoralises any department's personnel," candidate Bzhania had stated.

Candidate Bzhania's promises of openness and transparency, meant to accompany legality, objectivity, and fairness, have faded under President Bzhania.

The list of grievances under President Bzhania's rule includes the torture of citizens during detentions, violations of defense rights, rampant law enforcement abuses, unjustified use of weapons by officers, deaths caused by their actions, and unwarranted dismissals. This is just a glimpse of how President Bzhania and his administration enforce the rule of law and equality before it.

Candidate Bzhania's promises of openness and transparency, meant to accompany legality, objectivity, and fairness, have faded under President Bzhania. State information channels have pivoted to propaganda. Access to public information on websites and social media channels of ministries, departments, and local administrations is now restricted. Selective posting of decrees and orders on the president's website is common, and even the Ministry of Finance has barred public access to budget execution reports. Vital statistics have been removed from the national statistics website, and government officials blatantly ignore media queries. Abkhazian media receive selective invitations to official press events, and Parliament flouts the law regarding live broadcasts of its sessions. State media is censored and aligned with autocratic directives. Laws regarding media freedom and public information access are ignored, and the law on civil servants' income and expense declarations has been rendered meaningless. Such is the "transparency" under President Bzhania.

Candidate Bzhania proposed changing the electoral system from a majoritarian to a mixed model. However, President Bzhania ignored the opposition's call for mixed parliamentary elections, opting for the majoritarian system, which enabled him to create a parliament entirely under his control, facilitating the passage of laws serving his and his sponsors' interests.

Bzhania, as a presidential candidate, believed in the necessity of a law on organised crime and claimed to have assembled a group of deputies to address it. As president, he abandoned this project and the team he had formed, shifting to different interests. For three years, the president has submitted only agreements and projects to the parliament that do not align with Abkhazia's interests and inflict economic and reputational harm.

Understanding the need for prudent budget management in a country not flush with wealth, candidate Bzhania advocated reducing the number of officials and eliminating redundant government structures. President Bzhania, on the other hand, increased the number of ministries and departments, with official numbers swelling by over 30%. The costs of maintaining the government now exceed the nation's income.

Promised reforms in education, healthcare, organised crime, currency control, and the law enforcement system were never realised; salaries and pensions remain stagnant; roads are unrepaired. 

Candidate Bzhania's promise to redistribute powers between the executive and legislative branches was forgotten by President Bzhania, who disbanded the reform commission and submitted amendments to the Constitutional Court to strengthen executive power, over which he presides.

Bzhania, as a candidate, pledged to voluntarily step down if he failed to reduce traffic accidents in Abkhazia. President Bzhania, however, has disregarded this promise as traffic accident statistics continue to worsen tragically.

Candidate Bzhania condemned the import VAT law as fundamentally flawed, vowing to repeal it due to its corruption-inducing and price-inflating effects. "This law is wrong entirely, not just partially, because it fosters corruption and price hikes, increasing social stratification and poverty, reducing jobs, and hitting small businesses hard. Educated people should understand this, and we will insist on completely abolishing the import VAT," he stated. President Bzhania has since forgotten these commitments, and VAT has become a major budgetary element, exacerbating poverty and legitimising corruption.

The list of unfulfilled promises by Bzhania-as-candidate, ignored by Bzhania-as-president, is lengthy. Promised reforms in education, healthcare, organised crime, currency control, and the law enforcement system were never realised; salaries and pensions remain stagnant; roads are unrepaired. In essence, Aslan Bzhania has failed to honour a single promise made to his voters. Now, to feign legitimacy, he needs an enemy image. Hence, President Bzhania has personally declared the fight against dissenters as the state's primary objective and taken the lead. Riding this wave, he aims to stay in power until the next presidential elections. The bad "dancer" has just over a year left.

This article was published by Ekho Kavkaza and is translated from Russian.