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Series of Evictions Have Started in Batumi

January 22, 2007

gamosaxleba_1.gifIn Batumi, nearly 300 families were left without shelters for the last week. Eviction of the illegally lodged in families from three different buildings started.

Two weeks ago, nearly 200 families were forced out from their shelters in the building of an electro-mechanical factory. Five days ago, the executive bureau visited the building of the Sakmsheni [Georgian Construction Company] and evicted twenty families from there.

“We act under the law. There is a court verdict which must be followed. The families, who were illegally lodged there, must leave the place,” said Gela Tavdgiridze, the head of the executive bureau.

The representatives of the executive bureau had to ask the police for help while evicting the families from Sakmsheni’s building. The people living there did not intend to leave the place. “We appealed against the verdict of the City Court. However, the executive does not want to wait for the new court process.  It is illicit. We did not intend to leave the building, but the police arrived and we were afraid of being thrown out of windows and left the place on our own,” said Natela Kobuladze.

Seventy-two families, who live in the building of the Pharmacy, were also warned about upcoming evictions. Most of those families are socially excluded people who have arrived from the villages; the others are homeless families. In the near future, they will have to leave their shelters, too. Most of the families began living in that building three years ago, on May 6 [the day of the Rose Revolution in the Adjara Region]. “The president encouraged us to enter every building that was empty and live there. We did not have our homes and came in this building to live. There were only walls there and we built them up. We supplied the building with water and electricity. However, they are going to evict us from here,” said Malkhaz Davitadze.

The people from the building of the Pharmacy appealed against the court verdict. The trial is going to be held on January 26 in the Kutaisi Appeal Court. However, the people have to leave the building immediately.

According to Bakur Bolkvadze, a lawyer, “If the court has passed a verdict on immediate eviction of the people from their temporary lodgings, the verdict should be followed even though it is appealed.”

Tamaz Beridze does not know the legislation, however he considers that the government does not care about the socially excluded people and does not draw attention to their problems. “I do not know the law, but leaving the people in the street in such cold is dishonest.  Are not they sorry for children? They do not care what will happen with us. They only said that they are not responsible for homeless people.”

Sofo Zhghenti, Batumi

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