Day: January 27, 2024
CIA staff at JDFPG #PineGap satellite intelligence base in Central Australia are likely to be part of a new #CIA Taskforce assembled to monitor & locate senior Hamas leadership.
👉 CIA staff work in Pine Gap’s ‘geopit’ to assemble geolocation intelligence
👉👉 Intelligence… pic.twitter.com/9KHhlvrVlE
— Peter Cronau (@PeterCronau) January 27, 2024
President of Abkhazia Aslan Bzhania intends to submit an enhanced version of the draft law on foreign agents to the parliament. As per reports from opposition Telegram channels, the designation of a foreign agent will extend beyond legal entities to include individuals.
As reported by the D News Abkhazia channel, President Aslan Bzhania has directed the Ministry of Justice to incorporate the necessary amendment into the draft law and to present a revised version of the document to the Presidential Administration by next week.
- Abkhazian government accuses local NGOs of subversive activities supporting Georgia
- USAID activities have been prohibited in Abkhazia
Since the tenure of former president Raul Khajimba, Moscow has been pressing Abkhazia to emulate Russia by implementing a law on foreign agents. However, unlike South Ossetia, where such a law was promptly adopted, Abkhazian authorities were not eager to align with the Kremlin, given the idea’s unpopularity in Abkhazian society.
Nevertheless, the inclusion of a provision for the adoption of the law on foreign agents by the Abkhazian parliament was part of the joint Russian-Abkhazian plan for the harmonization of legislation. The bill was supposed to be considered as early as last year, in 2023.
Opinion of Inal Khashig, editor of the newspaper Chegemskaya Pravda:
“If previously, it was only Moscow advocating for the law on foreign agents, it now appears that the Abkhazian authorities themselves have embraced this idea. Otherwise, the inclusion of individuals in this context would not have occurred.
The upcoming presidential elections in Abkhazia are a year away. Aslan Bzhania is not popular in society, and it seems he has chosen to secure re-election for another five years by portraying his opponents as anti-Russian elements.”
However, there are no political forces in Abkhazia that are disloyal to the Kremlin. To make this strategy effective, the president requires a law on foreign agents. On one hand, Moscow will be appeased, but on the other hand, President Bzhania will have the means to attach an unfavorable label to any of his opponents.
This is why he is pushing for the draft law on foreign agents to be strengthened, encompassing individuals. This expansion aims to allow the law to be applied not only against non-governmental organizations and the media but also against any inconvenient individual.
In essence, Aslan Bzhania is attempting to formalize the legal framework for suppressing dissent.
The question remains: Will the president’s plan be effective within the context of Abkhazian realities?
I harbor significant doubts.
Legislating claims to authoritarianism on paper is one thing. The true test lies in its viability within an environment where power is essentially within arm’s reach of every citizen.
Removing an undesirable president under societal pressure has evolved into an almost accepted method of power transition in Abkhazia. Interestingly, it was through this “tradition” that Aslan Bzhania assumed the presidency in 2020—though perhaps he prefers not to dwell on that fact now.
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