Evicted IDP continues Protest

79-year-old Nino Tsindeliani, an IDP from Abkhazia evicted from the so-called Isani Military Hospital by police on August 13 continues her hunger strike at Heroes' Square where her son’s name [who died in the Abkhazian War] is engraved on the Memorial of Heroes. Iulia Kharaishvili from the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Accommodation and Refugees of Georgia telephoned the lady on August 15 requesting that she stop the extreme type of protest which would only irritate the Minister Koba Subeliani and be followed by deletion from the list [of IDPs].

A veteran of the Abkhazia War, Tsindeliani, along with 700 other families evicted from the Military Hospital remains homeless. Claiming all her possessions had been taken to the storehouse of the Tbilisi City Hall in Vashlidzvari, Tsindeliani decided to express her protest towards the Government of Georgia. As the IDP told the media she was offered accommodation in the village of Jvari, 30 kilometres from Zugdidi [in Samegrelo]. “I have a student grandchild who must be in Tbilisi for her university classes; she cannot travel from Jvari to Tbilisi everyday, so the offer was unacceptable for me,” she told the media adding she would continue protesting until she is provided with suitable accommodation in Tbilisi.

Five homeless IDPs asked their IDP relatives for shelter at the former building of the Medical Science at Kerchi Street basement. “We [the family] live in a small room ourselves, so it was physically impossible to shelter the IDPs with us. It’s hard to imagine how all those people can live in the open basement…They have sent their children out of Tbilisi but still there are two old people with heart diseases which will now have to sleep there. Let anyone help those people,” Darejan Nakopia, the “host” of IDPs shared with the media.

The Messenger was unable to contact the Press Services of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Accommodation and Refugees of Georgia but found a statement released by the United Nations Refugee Agency concerning the recent evictions of internally displaced persons at the web-page of the Ministry on August 14. “In connection with the recent sudden evictions of the IDPs living in Tbilisi by the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Accommodation and Refugees of Georgia, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) takes note that organised relocation of the IDPs may be necessary for providing them with the durable housing solutions. Nevertheless UNHCR insists that any eviction caused from such relocations should be undertaken in the frames of the Georgian legislation, international standards and international human rights law,” said the UNHCR statement.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees protects, assists and seeks solutions for refugees and internally displaced people worldwide. Stressing that the agency has been working with the Georgian Ministry and the international community in Georgia, UNHCR said it aims to protect the rights of IDPs but Tsindeliani claims she won’t stop protesting and will continue fighting for her rights with the other 700 IDPs in front of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Accommodation and Refugees of Georgia.