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Victims of Earthquake Remain Homeless for the Second Time (part III)

February 23, 2007

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The first and second parts of the journalistic investigation focused on how the victims of the earthquake were lodged in various flats and how they are now being evicted. The third part of it will attract your attention to the documents that include the case materials of the victims. (photo: pressconference at HRIDC)

Having spoken with the victims, I studied those documents from the case materials. These materials prove that victim’s families reside in those flats legally.

 What is written in the documents? 

Document 1. Tbilisi Authority enacted the structure of the Fund for Liquidation of the April 25, 2002 Earthquake Results under the July 4, 2002 resolution # 11.03.201. Tbilisi Prime Mayer, Gia Sheradze, signed the document, which stipulated that a) the fund is established with donations; b) money used to purchase flats for the victims of the earthquake will be apportioned from the fund; c) contracts and transfer reports will be signed between the fund and the victim’s family after they move into the new flats purchased by the fund (neither contracts nor reports have been drawn up), etc.

Document 2. On May 22, 2003 the authorities drew up a new resolution that was designed to address the absence of documentation of 346 flats of the victims and Karbelashvili (Vice Prime Mayer) is obliged to register those flats on victim’s families. However, Karbelashvili did not follow the resolution.

Document 3. At that time, Tbilisi Mayer Vano Zodelava and Chairman of the Tbilisi Municipality Mikheil Saakashvili, considered that those flats were registered as victim families’ property.

Document 4. There is another document, Tbilisi Authority’s December 2002 report # 24, which provides detailed information about the victims and flats that should be registered under their names.

Document 5. Under the Tbilisi Municipality March 18, 2005 resolution # 28, the chairman of the Municipality, Zaza Begashvili, ordered Temur Kurkhuli, a representative of the Tbilisi Authority: “To discuss the question of purchasing the temporary shelters for the victims of earthquake by the special Fund for Liquidation the Earthquake Results and prepare a contract on private property transfer with the victims. Also, the document pointed out that it is an urgent order of the Georgian President.”

Document 6. Tbilisi Authority enacted the regulation of the property transfer under the June 5, 2003 resolution # 08.28.176.
 
Document 7. On August 9 2005, Akaki Gongladze, the chairman of the fund sent the following letter to the Tbilisi Mayer Gigi Ugulava and Prime Mayer Temur Kurkhuli: “First of all, let me express my gratitude in the name of the citizens whose flats are being registered. These flats were transferred to them as temporary shelters because of the loss of their houses after the earthquake. Fifty-eight families have already registered their flats and this process is going on… I want to kindly remind you that some families, who live in the flats purchased by the former board of the city hall and Municipality members, have no connections with the earthquake. The court has passed judjment on these families’ and is prepared to evict them from those flats. There are two ways-either these families should be evicted, or some alternative accommodations should be found for them. We do not support the first way; however, the second way of resolving the problem is beyond our competence.”

Document 9.  Tbilisi Authority’s May 22 2003 resolution # 07.02.146, signed by Gia Sheradze, states the following: “The flats must be registered on victim’s families for permanent residence. Deputy Prime Mayer Giorgi Karbelashvili is in charge to oversee how the resolution is implemented.”

Having found no justice at the court, the victims applied to the Human Rights Center for assistance. The center applied to the Tbilisi City Hall and demanded to investigate the situation. On January 16, 2007, the center received an answer from the chief of the Local Property Management City Service Department, Sergo Kavtaradze, which goes as follows: “According to our information, the fund has sent 47 cases of eviction to the court. One of these cases deals with the Dzavashvili’s family, which wasn’t affected by the earthquake. As for Basilashvili’s and Bregvadze’s families, we do not have any information about their eviction.”

Lawyer for the center, Davit Managadze, took effort to conduct a full and complete investigation into the matter and raveled that their demands are legal.

Davit Managadze: “Demands of these people are legal. The fund was to register flats on those families; however, they did not do that. These people really are victims of the earthquake and they were compensated with those flats. The fund should not have bought the flats for them if they had broken into those houses? The aim of establishing the fund is to satisfy the population with accommodations. The Tbilisi Authority must resolve this problem once and for all. The flats must be registered under the names of the victim’s families. Under some circumstances, the board of the fund and Tbilisi Authority will be charged for stark violations.”

(part IV)http://www.humanrights.ge/eng_/articles.php?id=614

Eka Gulua  

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