Press Scanner
Compiled by Liana Bezhanishvili
Thursday, January 28
Kalandadze promises a worthy future to residents of the occupied territories
Sakartvelos Respublika reports that Georgia is ready to create a good future for people in the occupied territories who wish to migrate to the rest of Georgia. “If people no longer wish to live on the occupied territories in unbearable conditions we are ready to create worthy living conditions and an education for them in the rest of Georgia,” Deputy Minister Nino Kalandadze has stated.
Kalandadze said that children who live on the occupied territories cannot now learn the Georgian language and are being forbidden from freely relocating, and this confirms that human rights are not being respected there and the threat of conflict is never far away. According to reports about 60 school pupils and their parents have left the Gali region and migrated to Zugdidi in protest at this.
No IDP will remain homeless
Versia writes that several months ago the removal of IDPs from compact settlements began. Some were offered homes in the regions and some in the capital, but the majority of IDPs are dissatisfied with the offered alternative accommodation. They state that the police removed them from their shelters by force.
Head of the Administrative Department of the Ministry of Refugees and Accommodation Valeri Kopaleishvili has stated that: "There are only 1,600 compact settlements. 700 of them are in Tbilisi. For the most part there are no proper living conditions in these settlements. That is why it was decided to pick State properties where they would have better living conditions for them to move to. We have chosen180 places in Tbilisi. After the August War most of the IDPs ended up in Tbilisi.”
“The Iashvili Clinic, where IDPs have been living for18 years, is private property. This is a hospital, where long-term residence is not permitted. Because these people have been living in Tbilisi 18 years we have given them places in Mukhiani which will be their own property. Doors, windows and a water system have been put in. It is true that there are no individual water facilities but what we have given them is better conditions than they had at the hospital. The IDPs accepted our offer and we showed them the place. More work will be done to the property after they have moved there and they knew about this,” said Valeri Kopaleishvili.
"We did not force anyone out. The people you refer to were helping 58 IDPs who were moving out. It is normal for the police to monitor this process. The IDPs say that one of the policemen stuck a woman and injured her head. This is false information. She ran and hit her head on a wall.
“The August War created new IDPs. Most of these live in Gori or Tbilisi. Either we could give them private houses or the money to rent the places they wanted. 7,000 IDPs had no ID and if we had given them money they would have used it to resolve other problems and spent all the money. So we decided to build cottages for them. Some of them wanted the money because they have other homes to go to. About 1,500 received it," stated Valeri Kopaleishvili.
Sakartvelos Respublika reports that Georgia is ready to create a good future for people in the occupied territories who wish to migrate to the rest of Georgia. “If people no longer wish to live on the occupied territories in unbearable conditions we are ready to create worthy living conditions and an education for them in the rest of Georgia,” Deputy Minister Nino Kalandadze has stated.
Kalandadze said that children who live on the occupied territories cannot now learn the Georgian language and are being forbidden from freely relocating, and this confirms that human rights are not being respected there and the threat of conflict is never far away. According to reports about 60 school pupils and their parents have left the Gali region and migrated to Zugdidi in protest at this.
No IDP will remain homeless
Versia writes that several months ago the removal of IDPs from compact settlements began. Some were offered homes in the regions and some in the capital, but the majority of IDPs are dissatisfied with the offered alternative accommodation. They state that the police removed them from their shelters by force.
Head of the Administrative Department of the Ministry of Refugees and Accommodation Valeri Kopaleishvili has stated that: "There are only 1,600 compact settlements. 700 of them are in Tbilisi. For the most part there are no proper living conditions in these settlements. That is why it was decided to pick State properties where they would have better living conditions for them to move to. We have chosen180 places in Tbilisi. After the August War most of the IDPs ended up in Tbilisi.”
“The Iashvili Clinic, where IDPs have been living for18 years, is private property. This is a hospital, where long-term residence is not permitted. Because these people have been living in Tbilisi 18 years we have given them places in Mukhiani which will be their own property. Doors, windows and a water system have been put in. It is true that there are no individual water facilities but what we have given them is better conditions than they had at the hospital. The IDPs accepted our offer and we showed them the place. More work will be done to the property after they have moved there and they knew about this,” said Valeri Kopaleishvili.
"We did not force anyone out. The people you refer to were helping 58 IDPs who were moving out. It is normal for the police to monitor this process. The IDPs say that one of the policemen stuck a woman and injured her head. This is false information. She ran and hit her head on a wall.
“The August War created new IDPs. Most of these live in Gori or Tbilisi. Either we could give them private houses or the money to rent the places they wanted. 7,000 IDPs had no ID and if we had given them money they would have used it to resolve other problems and spent all the money. So we decided to build cottages for them. Some of them wanted the money because they have other homes to go to. About 1,500 received it," stated Valeri Kopaleishvili.