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Khelvachauri Municipality Seized Plots of More Than One Thousand Families

June 1, 2007

murad_malakmadzeb.gifKhelvachauri Municipality concluded that plots distributed to people between the years 1999 to 2004 were illegal. Initially, the New Rights Party, the National Forum Party and the Georgian Young Lawyers Association appealed to court against the Municipality resolution on nullifying the distribution of plots. Roin Malakmadze, the chairman of the Khelvachauri Municipality, said that all the acts were cancelled that had been adopted illegally. Murad Malakmadze, a resident of the village of Sharabidzeebi, protests the Chairman’s actions. “The plot was granted to me under the reform. I have built a house, started a farm on it, and now they say it is illegal. Do I have any fault in it?!”

“The municipality decision is legal but unfair,” said Avtandil Beridze, a member of the Republic Party, to the Municipality Decision.  He said that by abolishing the acts on granting plots to people in 1999-2004, the Municipality had violated the rights of many ordinary people.  

Khelvachauri Court started the discussion of the appeal of “New Rights”.

Rezo Lomadze, the head of the Khelvachauri District Organization, said that “the court allowed us to become involved in the case as a third party. Now we are collecting the signatures of the people who have become victims of the new resolution. We will monitor the case all the way to Strasburg [ECHR].”

Davit Gamkrelidze plans restitution (new property grants to people with seized lots) if he is elected to office. Members of the Republic Party state the same in their public speeches.

National Forum sent a similar appeal to the court. Tamaz Kobuladze, the head of the regional organization, said that they have prepared an appeal in the name of residents. “We do not have any complaints about [what] New Rights [is doing]. If the court joins our appeals, we will not protest. There were too many signatures, but in order to avoid the misunderstanding of the witnesses’ absence at court, we asked only five people to sign [the petition].”

“Nationals” are going to appeal to the Constitutional Court. Kakha Shartava stated that the Khevachauri Municipality has violated two articles in preparing their resolutions. In addition, they are going to introduce the draft law to the Adjara Supreme Council. “The Adjara Supreme Council should introduce the initiative to the Georgian Parliament. They should demand the enforcement of land reform in Kobuleti and Khelvachauri. It needs the signatures of two thousand people. We will introduce the Supreme Council with the initiative in the nearest future,” said Shartava.

One more organization, the Georgian Young Lawyers Association, plans to protect the rights of the Khevachauri residents. (Unofficially this organization is considered an affiliate of the Republican Party).

Nikoloz Gegeshidze, member of the organization, said that Association is getting ready to protect the rights of the property-deprived people. “We have received the applications of seventy people so far. The number will probably be more.”

Chairman of the Khelvachauri Municipality, Roin Malakmadze, calls the opposition’s accusations absurd. “We have discussed the legality of the acts. Part of those acts were found to be nonsense or needed to be abolished. There are some acts that we have not cancelled. These acts dealt with old families, who received those plots legally, and families who purchased the illegally granted plots. In this case, they are the legal owners.”

Murad Malakmadze protests Malakmadze’s actions. “I had leased the land in the village of Sharabidzeebi. Then the land was registered in my name. I built a house and started a farm on it. It cost much money. Now they tell me that the land was purchased illegally. Why is it my fault?! If somebody had sold the land illegally to me, let them punish him and not me.”

Sergo Goradze, a resident of Gonio, said that he is an old settler of the district but even he was deprived of the land. “I have registered the plot in my name according to the law, though they have now seized it. The reason is that I live close to the Sea.”

What happened in Khelvachauri was discussed by Tamaz Tsintsadze, the head of the non-governmental organization, “Social Experts Union.”On December 31, 1998, the land reform was completed in Georgia. At the time, Aslan Abashidze, former head of the Adjara Supreme Council, dropped the reform in Kobuleti and Khelvachauri districts. Then in 1999-2004 the Adjara Government continued the reform illegally and registered some plots for certain families. In fact, it was illegal, and therefore the resolution of the Khelvachauri Municipality on abolishing those acts is legal. However, peasants have purchased those lands honestly.”

“On November 26, 2004, Georigan Parliament adopted a new two-chapter resolution according to which the land reform should have been finished in Adjara before December 31, 2006. Unfortunately, the reform was not finished by that time. The reason for the delay were changes to the parliament’s resolution carried out by the Adjara Government. Under the law, the land should have been granted to the families settled before 1992. Adjara Government demanded that families that settled after 2004 be included, too.

“The reason for hindering the land reform is obvious. The central government does not want to distribute plots located on the coast. The incident, which occurred on the Mount Feria, proved this. The central government is trying to seize the land. Otherwise, they should have punished the local government for delaying the reform,” said Tsintsadze.

Emzar Diasamidze, Batumi

 

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