Maka Malakmadze, Adjara
Plots were seized from 272 families in theGonio community. The local authority explained the decision by referencing the law, which forbids settlement close to the cultural monument – Gonio Fortress in this particular case. However, as it was cleared up, only two plots were assigned in contradiction to this law in Gonio. The land Property Recognition Commission of the Khelvachauri district easily resolved the fates of 272 plot-owners within 40 minutes – the cadastre draft and boundary of the culture monument was increased several kilometers. In fact, half of Gonio’s residents remained without plots. The local inhabitants intend to hold protest rallies and appeal to the Strasbourg Court.
The inhabitants of Gonio community have been cultivating their plots since the 1990s. Then, they leased the plots and paid 200 GEL annually. This situation lasted until the president issued his famous decree which allowed people to register the plots that they had cultivated for several years.
Presidential decree # 525 on “Recognition of Property Rights on Plots and Release of Property Certificate” was dated by September 15 2007. Based on this decree the residents of the Gonio community became the owners of the plots in accordance with Article Vii of the Law of Georgia on Recognition of Property Rights of Physical and Legal Entities on Plots Which They Cultivated.”
Natela Iremadze, resident of Gonio: “As soon as I learned that we could register the plot which we had been cultivating for several years, I started to collect all the necessary documents. Finally, they gave me the property certificate dated May 29, 2008; the chairman of that-time property registration commission Kakhidze signed the certificate. Now, they allege I have registered the plot illegally. I cannot understand what is going on?! If it was not legal, why did they register the plot in my name then?! I provided the commission with all the necessary documents and now I am not going to cede my property. It is the only source of income for our family and they are going to seize it from us!”
Revaz Kakhidze, a resident of Gonio: “Levan Varshalomidze (head of the government of Adjara autonomous republic) arrived at our school and assigned the property certificates to about 30 people personally. He said it was a gift from the president. Now they are seizing those plots from us. They gave us those plots because of the upcoming presidential elections and tried to bribe us with it.”
The representatives of the Land Property Recognition Commission of Khelvachauri district state that previous decisions were annulled based on the letter from the Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia.
The letter states that the plots assigned to the residents in the Gonio community are located in the territory of cultural heritage.
Gocha Gabrushidze, chairman of the Land Property Recognition Commission of Khelvachauri District: “The ministry wrote that the territory close to the Gonio Fortress – Gonio-Apsaros museum preserve – is a zone of archeological preservation and it is foreseen for archeological excavations and various activities. The ministry instructed us to study the legality of the issued property certificates.”
Gonio residents claim that their plots are located are about 2-3 kilometers away from the Gonio Fortress and they cannot hinder the archeological excavations. The director of the Archeological Museum Amiran Kakhidze also stated that the plots cannot be seized from the local population on that ground. “Of course, there should be boundaries between cultural monuments and agricultural plots and this requirement is preserved in this area. The plots shall be at least 70 meters away from the monuments. I think there is some other reason for seizing the plots from the population instead of the official version of the Khelvachauri municipal board.”
Gonio residents also speak about other reasons of seizure. An Arab Sheikh has purchased part of Gonio: “According to our information, a certain Sheikh purchased the hills behind the Gonio Fortress and Gonio farm and apparently he wants to change the view from his property; our plots are located in front of his property.”
The former owners of the plots held several protest rallies before the commission released the instruction. “We could not get a reply from the government,” said Guram Mikeladze.
Illegal Protocol on the Recognition of Property Rights on Plots
On December 3, 2010 the Khelvachauri district Commission for the Recognition of Property Rights issued protocol # 39 and annulled the property certificates issued to the residents of Gonio village; the same happened with 43 certificates of the residents of Akhalsopeli and Kvariati villages. In total, 272 families lost their property rights.
In the protocol, only the names and numbers of property certificates of 272 property owners are altered. The commission has not discussed factual circumstances.
The commission session lasted 40 minutes and the fate of the property owners was resolved within several minutes. The property rights were stripped from the Gonio residents without informing them about the scheduled session.
The head of the non-governmental organization “Center for Public Interests” Jimber Didmanidze said the activities of the commission are illegal. “The commission has the authority to assign state properties to private owners. However, they cannot seize properties from owners. In accordance to the Constitution of Georgia and other normative acts, private property is inviolable. The state has the authority to seize the property in cases of public necessity through expropriation; but this procedure is regulated by concrete law and rules.”
Didmanidze said their Center intends to assist the victimized people to appeal against the illegal protocol and to protect their rights.
Chairman of the Public Experts Union of Adjara Autonomous Republic Tamaz Tsintsadze shares the opinion that in 2007 the plots were assigned to the local residents because of the presidential elections of January 5, 2008. “The plots can be seized from owners if the citizens provided fraud documents to the recognition commission and mislead them. However, these violations were not observed. Consequently, this version shall be excluded as well. Or, those plots were seized if the president’s decree is abolished. However, we should take into consideration that before the law or normative act was annulled, all previous decisions were legal.”
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