NEWS ALERT: Georgian Monks And Nuns Forced To Leave Abkhazia

"They must submit to the authority of our Church or leave Abkhazia," the head of the Abkhaz Orthodox Church, Priest Vissarion Aplia, said in a statement released by the news service of rights group Forum 18. 

The priest, who visited the monks and nuns last month during the fighting between Russian and Georgian forces, reportedly defended his church policies saying Abkhazia is "our territory."

Abkhaz Deputy Foreign Minister Maxim Gvinjia said he "backs" the right of the Abkhaz Church to enforce its will on the monks and nuns. "Of course we won’t defend their rights, given the context of current developments," he said in published remarks. "Abkhazia is a Christian Orthodox country and the Abkhaz Orthodox Church is the main church."

ORTHODOX INSTITUTIONS  

Since the expulsion of a Georgian Orthodox priest in April, the two monasteries in the Upper Kodori Gorge area are the only remaining Georgian Orthodox institutions left in Abkhazia, Forum 18 said.

It comes after the Human Rigts Watch group warned of ethnic cleansing in Georgia’s rebel regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The two areas were recognized by Russia as independent states, despite Western opposition.

On Thursday, September 5, United States Vice-President Dick Cheney condemned Russia’s actions, saying Moscow was involved in "invading" the former Soviet republic. Speaking in Tblisi after talks with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, he unveiled America’s billion-dollar aid package to rebuild what he described as "the world’s fastest growing economy."

RUSSIA ACTIONS

He said, "Russia’s actions have cast grave doubt on Russia’s intentions and on its reliability as an international partner – not just in Georgia but across this region and, indeed, throughout the international system."

Before leaving for Ukraine, Cheney visited a military airport near Tbilisi to meet US workers and military personnel who are carrying humanitarian aid to the country.