Over 20,000 people from across the unrecognized republic gathered Wednesday in Sukhumi, Abkhazia's capital, for a 'national gathering' to show their determination to gain full independence from Georgia, and to draw international attention to the issue.
"We are stating an objective reality - Abkhazia and Georgia cannot exist within the borders of a single country," Sergei Bagapsh said addressing the crowd.
Georgia's leadership has pledged to bring Abkhazia, which declared its independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union, back under its control.
Bagapsh said Abkhazia had serious concerns over Georgia's recent intense militarization, and said that some countries trying to act as mediators in the conflict resolution are aiding this militarization process.
"We cannot count on a fair and objective resolution of the problem under such conditions," the president said. "It is quite obvious that such military support for Georgia directly contributes to its aggressive plans."
"Our people know from bitter experience that Georgia is a country that poses a threat to Abkhazia and its sovereignty," Bagapsh said.
During the bloody conflict for Abkhazia's independence in the early 1990s, 10,000 people were killed on both sides, and 300,000 fled the region.
On October 13, the UN Security Council unanimously approved a Russian-sponsored draft resolution on Georgia, urging the ex-Soviet republic to refrain from provocative actions in Abkhazia's Kodori Gorge, and calling for an extension of the Russian peacekeeping mission in the breakaway region until April 15, 2007.
Bagapsh also praised assistance in resolving the conflict provided by Russia, which maintains a peacekeeping contingent in the region.
People at the 'national gathering' adopted a statement, in which they appealed for international recognition of Abkhazia's independence.
"We call on Russia, the UN and the international community as a whole with an appeal to recognize the sovereignty of our country," the statement said. "This gathering of Abkhaz people supports the rightful demands of the people of Transdnestr [a self-proclaimed Moldovan republic] and South Ossetia [another Georgian breakaway region] on the recognition of their sovereignty."
The United States, European Union and international organizations still consider Abkhazia to be an integral part of Georgia. Russia has stressed the right of breakaway regions in post-Soviet states to self-determination, and has drawn a parallel with Kosovo's drive for independence from Serbia.
South Ossetia, which also separated from Georgia in the early 1990s following a series of violent clashes, held presidential elections and a referendum on secession from Georgia on November 12. Incumbent President Eduard Kokoity won a landslide victory, and locals gave their resounding backing for independence.
Pro-Western Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who swept into power on the back of a 'color' revolution in 2003, while aiming to bring the self-proclaimed republics back into the fold, accuses Russia of backing the regions' separatists.
