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People Are Demanded to Return to Knolevi Village

January 28, 2009

 Buses are brought to take IDPs to Knolevi
Nona Suvarian, Tbilisi

Residents of Knolevi village in Kareli district, who shelter in the building of Rustavi Vocational College # 17, are demanded to return to their village; whilst people are afraid to go there. Knolevi borders with Znauri district that is controlled by occupants. Checkpoint of occupants is opened at the one side of the village and Ossetian militants are deployed on the other side.

Residents of Knolevi applied to the Human Rights Center for help initially in November 2008. The Ministry of Refugees and Accommodation demanded them to return to the village. As internally displaced people reported to the Human Rights Center, they were even “bullied”. Curtains were torn away, and IDPs were compelled to get on the bus and go to Knolevi. The Human Rights Center initially met the IDPs at the Ministry of Refugees and Accommodation. Then they requested to meet the minister however, nobody listened to them. www.humanrights.ge has already published one article about the issue.

Vladimer Jugheli, the head of Kareli district police department, claimed that return of IDPs to the village is safe. Later, an official from the Ministry repeated the same with IDPs in Rustavi. However, before that he was claiming that presence of women in the village is really dangerous. The officials from the ministry spoke about the necessity of IDPs’ return to Knolevi based on the information of Lado Vardzelashvili, Shida Kartli regional governor.  However, the women from the village, whom the Human Rights Center met in front of the Ministry, stated that gun-fire was often heard in the village. www.humanrights.ge got in touch with deputy Kareli district governor to check the information. Levan Abashashvili confirmed that the situation is not very safe in the village. However, he added that the situation was not urgent in Knolevi, but on the territory that is located at the border. He said that officials had information about the situation and demanding the women to return to Knolevi might be a mistake.

Nevertheless, Levan Abashashvili stated that IDPs should return to the village immediately because if their houses remain empty Ossetians will occupy it. It must be pointed out that the government demands those 9 people to “defend the position” out of whom 5 are children.

Ledi Birtvelishvili, a resident of Knolevi, stated to the Human Rights Center that officials from the Ministry compel the people to pack luggage in the bus and go to the village.
Ledi Birtvelishvili:”We have little children and we are afraid for them. Our living conditions are unbearable. Let them wait a little and when it is calm we will go there. They took some people but everybody returned here. We do not request anybody to help us; we are just waiting for safety. Despite that, people from government are coming and demanding us to pack luggage. Russians are closer to our houses in Knolevi then Georgian police. Men are in the village but women and children cannot stay there.”

It must be pointed out that on January 16 2009 at 10:00 am, 27-year-old Mamuka Kakhniashvili, a policeman from Shida Kartli regional department, was killed when fire was opened from the territory occupied by Ossetians. The Ministry of Internal Affairs spread information about it. The accident happened at the administrative border near the police station in Knolevi village. According to the preliminary information the policeman was killed by muffler sniper weapon. This accident frightened local residents even more. They state the government will not guarantee their safety if they return to the village; particularly those people who live close to border will be in serious danger.

Davit Chkonia, the head of Kvemo Kartli, Mtskheta-Tianeti and Kakheti region department of territorial agency within the Ministry of Refugees and Accommodation, states that a policeman can be killed in every place at any moment. It does not mean that law enforcers do not control the situation in Knolevi.

“These people are not from occupied territories. They live in the village close to border. They will not get the same assistance as IDPs from occupied territories. They have their own houses. 90 % of villagers live in their houses. They have children who go to the village school. The state guarantees their safety in Knolevi.”

Vova Jugheli claims that safety of Knolevi residents is protected and the entire village is controlled by Georgian police.

“Our checkpoint is in front of Russian checkpoint. People do not live in front of the checkpoint. Most local residents have already returned to the village and do not run anywhere. However, if somebody does not want to return, it is different problem.” 

Soso Papuashvili, lawyer for the Human Rights Center, states that situation cannot be generalized. There are people who are never afraid of anything. Some of them stayed in conflict zone during the war operations. Residents of Knolevi who shelter in vocational college in Rustavi now, are still compelled to return to the village. However, these people are afraid to go there.

Soso Papuashvili added that the Ministry breaches basic principles of treating internally displaced people; according to these principles IDPs should return to their homes voluntarily.

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