Aslan Bzhania laughed at the graves of the fallen
Abkhazia’s President Aslan Bzhania has come under sharp criticism from the opposition for his inappropriate behavior at the Glory Memorial, where those who died in the 1992-93 Georgian-Abkhaz war are buried. The opposition deemed it sacrilegious to see Bzhania laughing in front of the graves, specifically the fact that he laughed in such a place.
The situation was further exacerbated by the fact that these photos were taken on September 30, a day when Abkhazia commemorates Victory and Independence Day. For the people of Abkhazia, this day is more about remembrance than celebration.
“On September 30, Victory Day, mothers stood by the graves of their sons in tears, along with war veterans and volunteers. Meanwhile, Aslan Bzhania was telling jokes and laughing heartily where the Heroes lie, who gave their lives so that we could live and raise our children in the spirit of patriotism and respect for our country,” stated a joint declaration from opposition organizations.
According to the authors of the statement, such places require appropriate behavior, and Bzhania’s actions, along with those of his government members, offended the feelings of all those for whom Abkhazia is their homeland. They emphasized that “no nation’s history remembers such sacrilegious disregard for the memory of those who died in war.”
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Opposition members explain Bzhania’s behavior by pointing out that he did not participate in the war and spent the post-war years engaged in business in Russia while Abkhazia was under blockade.
“Aslan Bzhania only appeared in Abkhazia in 2010, and he cannot understand the pain our people endured during the war and the years of blockade,” the opposition concluded in their statement.
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