IDP’s require assistance

33 IDP families living in Zugdidi require assistance from the government. A new owner of the building asked residents to leave the building on June 1. Otherwise, he threatened to use force. Although the date of ultimatum has expired, the owner still has not used force. IDPs are still afraid that Kvikvinia will manage to evict them without the police.

Natela Kobalia is a lawyer by trade. She says that besides the fact they will be evicted from the building, their human rights are violated, too. “Can you imagine the terrible conditions they live in. We are living under fear; we do not know when we will have to leave the building. Furthermore, we live in awful conditions. Kvikviania has bought the building and has started some renovations and we now have no running water. He changed the doors and locks and installed a new iron one, and now we cannot leave as soon as it becomes dark. Even if we need doctor we cannot leave the building during nights and have to wait until morning,” says Kobalia.

As Murman Malazonia the head of NGO “Centre for Civic society development” says that this is not the only case of IDP problems. “We all must act together. We cannot ignore this problem. They say that some other buildings have already been sold and that investors will withdraw those people, too. Nobody is talking about it, yet. However, I have heard that the former porcelain building has been sold too. All the buildings will soon be sold and the IDPs will be in the streets,” says Malazonia.

According to Levan Mikava, a representative from the Ministry of Refugees, the eviction in Samegrelo region is against a law concerning IDPs. “According to the Georgian law on Refugees, there are particular limitations on how property owners can treat IDPs. These are:

1) The eviction must take place based on a written agreement between investor and IDPs.
2) By allocating a living place which does not worsen the living conditions of the IDPs.

Lawyers say that the law is too general. “The law says that eviction must take place based on a written agreement and that IDP living conditions must not be made worse by the eviction, but there is nothing written defining ‘worse’. There are no specific definitions of it. It is very general.” says lawyer of HRIDC’s Zugdidi office, Zaza Qvacabaia.

According to the lawyer for Kvikvinia, they are waiting for permission from the Ministry of Refugees. ”The matter of eviction is solved without court decision by the help of police, but there is also a decree of the interior minister according to which eviction can happen only based on the permission of Minister of Refugees. We have sent all documents to the ministry and proof that we have provided territory for IDPs currently on Kvikvinia’s property. We have not received an answer, yet,” says the lawyer Demur Sotkilava. Sotkilava says that he does not have information about locking doors. He says that the ministry will form a special commission that will examine IDP’s situation in details.

IDPs living in Griboedov 99 are afraid that Kvikinia will soon receive permission from the ministry to evict them.

Nana Sajaia, Zugdidi