Two-facedness is the Well-known Tool of the Feeble Government

Two-facedness is the Well-known Tool of the Feeble Government

/IDPs are Illegally Exiled  from Hotel "Adjara"/

The government is trying to deceive the IDPs and is driving 640 people out in the street, and promises 7000USD as a present. How the government treated IDPs can obviously be seen from the previous example of driving IDPs out from Hotel “Iveria”. “50 families have been made into tramps. We can see that the government does not take proper care of us and is subject to partial interests”, - stated IDPs living in Hotel “Adjara”, who soon may turn out to be in the street. NGO – Human Rights Information and Documentation Centre held a special press conference on November 3 where the statements about the conditions of the exile of IDPs from the hotels “Iveria” and “Adjara”. According to the statements made by Ucha Nanuashvili, Executive Director of the Centre and Giorgi Tumanishvili and Nutsa Chokheli, lawyers of the Centre rights of the IDPs are being blatantly violated.

Till November 1, 2004 the contract was to be concluded between Joint Stock “Hotel Adjara” and IDPs temporarily living in Hotel “Adjara”. According to the contract the IDPs undertake the responsibility to leave the hotel till December 1 of the current year. As for the Joint Stock “Hotel Adjara” it will pay 7000 USD to each IDP family as a “assistance”.

Looking at the contract at first sight it seems to be harmless. At the same time the government provides such an explanation that with this contract it (the government) fulfills the obligation considered in the Georgian law on “Internally Displaced Persons”, namely in the second paragraph of  article 5 of this law and ensures IDPs with temporary living places. The representatives of the government claim that the money which the IDPs are given for leaving the rooms of Hotel “Adjara” is designed for the IDPs to purchase the living places.

It is known to everybody that two-facedness is the well-known tool of the feeble government. But the Georgian government refers to this tool in relation with its citizens again. Namely, we would like to direct your attention to the following:

1. The contracts are being signed between the Joint Stock “Hotel Adjara” and the IDPs living in this hotel. Consequently, they are the sides mentioned in the contract and the state is not the subject of the contract.

2. In Article 1.1 of the contract it is said: “The administration takes the obligation to provide moneyed assistance of 7000USD to the IDPs who are going to leave the hotel”. We think that the term “moneyed assistance” in the context that it is the price for which the person who gets the “assistance” must leave the room of the hotel is worth paying attention. Proceeding from the content of the contract this concept is not bearing the understanding which is usually adequately perceived by the society. This term is used to avoid many taxes while conducting financial operations linked with the contract.

3. Article 2.1 of the contract has to be well thought about as one can even wait for the fulfillment of its conditions for hundred years; namely, this article says: The administration has the obligation to provide the citizens with the moneyed assistance of 7000USD after the given contract is approved by the notary from November 1, 2004. This means that this obligation may be fulfilled at any time from November 1, 2004 till the end of the world as the term from November 1 bears exactly this meaning. When the IDPs deceived by such formulation of the contract refer to court they won’t be able to achieve anything as the term is legally correct and the IDPs are the persons who signed the contract whereas the above-mentioned term is consistent and at the same time the main part of the contract.

4. The explanation of the government that after concluding the contract and paying 7000USD to IDPs the legally undertaken obligations of the Georgian government to the IDPs must be considered as fulfilled is not true. The government still has the obligation to ensure the IDPs with appropriate temporary living places and the IDPs have not agreed to free the government of this obligation.

We’d like to express hope that the government will draw special attention to this issue which deals with the citizens who are in quite heavy conditions anyway.

We would also like to note that neglect of the above-mentioned questions may cause fatal results from the side of the society as well as the international commonwealth. Any obligation must be fulfilled thoroughly, appropriately and in time. Each person has the right guaranteed by the constitution to refer to court in case of violation of his/her rights.

Does the government want to have a number of complaints of deceived IDPs in court?
Time will show …

Member of ABA
Lawyer of Human Rights Information and Documentation Centre
Giorgi Tumanishvili (Junior)