TBILISI, September 28 – Georgia on Sunday marked 33 years since the fall of Sukhumi, one of the most painful dates in the country’s recent history, with flags lowered, wreaths laid and a nighttime march through the capital.
State flags were lowered on government and other administrative buildings across Georgia on September 27 in memory of those killed in the Abkhazia war.
Sukhumi fell on September 27, 1993, after 11 days of fighting that began with an assault on the city on September 16. Georgian forces, left without heavy equipment, withdrew from the Abkhaz capital, followed by the withdrawal of Georgian military units from the rest of Abkhazia.
The situation remains unresolved, and forms one of Georgia’s two ‘frozen conflicts’; the other one being South Ossetia, which also broke away from Tbilisi’s control in the early 1990s, with both regions being propped up by Russia.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze laid a wreath at the memorial to those killed for Georgia’s unity and described September 27 as an “extremely tragic day.” He said Georgia had an obligation to do everything possible to restore its territorial integrity by peaceful means.
Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili also visited the memorial, paying tribute to soldiers and civilians killed in the war. He said the day was a reminder of the violence Georgia experienced during the conflicts of the 1990s.
The Georgian Orthodox Church also held a memorial service. Catholicos-Patriarch Shio III recalled the words of his predecessor, Ilia II, that there had been no winner in the war, saying both Abkhaz and Georgians had lost and that the two peoples needed reconciliation and mutual forgiveness.
The US Embassy in Tbilisi marked the anniversary by remembering those who died defending Georgia and people forced from their homes by the war.
Reflecting the deep political divides in Georgia’s politics, the opposition held separate events. Sunday evening, with politicians and civil society groups marching from Tbilisi State University to Heroes Square behind a banner reading: “Abkhazia is Georgia, glory to the heroes, Russia is the enemy.” At Heroes Square, participants read out the names of people killed for Georgia’s unity and paid tribute to them.
