“The preservation of Sokhumi State University holds moral, humane, and political significance; it is a symbol of our unity with Abkhazia,” stated MP Sopho Khorguani, a member of the Gakharia for Georgia party.

According to her, the recent decision to determine student quotas marks the beginning of the process to dismantle Sokhumi State University, a move that is a direct insult to every displaced person.

“Abkhazia is Georgia! We must respond to Irakli Kobakhidze’s anti-national, anti-Georgian decision, voiced by Zurab Adeishvili’s deputy, Givi Mikanadze. This decision effectively initiates the liquidation of Sokhumi State University. What they are proposing is the end of the institution. Yet, Irakli Kobakhidze publicly promised when he appeared before Parliament that they would preserve it. He repeatedly referenced its historical profile and significance, but once again, he has lied. Sokhumi State University is not merely an educational centre. We have the Abkhazian government-in-exile, but the importance of Sokhumi University extends far beyond that. The fight for Georgia’s independence and freedom has always been intertwined with the fight for the right to education.

The foundation of the university in Sokhumi cost the lives of those who loved their homeland. Displaced persons, who endured the war and rebuilt their lives in Tbilisi, painstakingly restored the university in November 1993, and it stands today. It is home to approximately 500 professors and teachers, and around 3,000 students.

The preservation of Sokhumi State University is of moral, humane, and political importance. It is a place of memory, a symbol of identity and survival, a testament to our unity with Abkhazia. It is also a sanctuary that saved many IDPs during those dark years. Survival is not merely physical; it is a profound act of resilience. To discredit this institution is a slap in the face for every IDP. For those living daily with the hope of returning home to Abkhazia.

What do they expect from IDPs? Meagre aid, years of waiting in line for housing, and political corruption that taints the process. With this decision, Irakli Kobakhidze is telling IDPs, who dream of returning home, that their knowledge and experience are of no value, that their hopes for the revival of their homeland are futile.

We call on Irakli Kobakhidze to revoke this decision, which contradicts our national interests, and to preserve the current status of Sokhumi State University. Once again, Abkhazia is Georgia! It seems we must remind those in power of this truth time and again. We will return to Abkhazia; we will bring back the Abkhazian people, and together, we will build a united and prosperous Georgia! And Georgia will prevail. Abkhazia is Georgia,” Khorguani declared.