On January 5, 2003, displaced persons from Abkhazia held a protest at the Enguri Bridge, demanding the suspension of railway traffic between Abkhazia and Russia, which had resumed on December 25, 2002. A parallel demonstration took place on January 8 in front of the Russian Embassy in Tbilisi, where participants also called for an end to the granting of Russian citizenship to residents of Abkhazia. Five displaced persons began a hunger strike outside the embassy. On January 21, the protesters were received by Russia’s ambassador to Georgia, Vladimir Chkhikvishvili. As in previous years, the demonstrators also demanded the withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers from Abkhazia.

On February 19, the organizers met with Georgia’s State Minister Avtandil Jorbenadze and U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Richard Miles. Following the meeting at the State Chancellery, the organizers temporarily suspended the protest after the American ambassador assured them that the U.S. administration would take a more active role in helping resolve the Abkhazian conflict.