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Gori District Governor Lost A Court Case VS Victims of the War

April 8, 2010

Saba Tsitsikashvili, Gori

The house of Valeri Bidzinashvili in the village of Karbi in Gori district was damaged during the bombardment in August, 2008. Bidzinashvili applied to the local authority and requested reconstruction of his house. He personally informed the regional governor about the concrete people who did not allow him to repair the damaged house; they were the village governor and the representative of the village to the municipality board. Despite that, he could not achieve any positive results.

Valeri Bidzinashvili brought suit against Gori district administration at the court. The court satisfied his suit and the lawyer of the district administration agreed with the requirements of the verdict at the trial. However, district governor Davit Khmiadashvili and head of the economic department Givi Khuroshvili understood the verdict in a different way.

Bidzinashvili was complaining because in 2008 less than needed was spent on the reconstruction of his house from the allocated 9, 5 million GEL. At that time, the district administration and the building company signed the offer and acceptance agreement without asking the owner of the house whether he liked the reconstructed house or not.

Valeri Bidzinashvili said the reconstruction activities were done at a low quality. The only thing that was done by the workers hired by the district administration was covering the damaged walls with a roof. However, they did not repair the damaged walls. Valeri Bidzinashvili had to appeal against the district administration at the court. Before that, he petitioned to various human rights organizations, among them to the Gori office of the Human Rights Center; however, with the support of the village governor his house was not reconstructed.

Valeri Bidzinashvili thinks that the village governor and the representative of the village to the municipality board persecuted him on purpose because he complained about them to the regional governor.

“Tell me, who is distributing humanitarian aid illegally in this village in front of these people?” said the regional governor Lado Vardzelashvili to Valeri Bidzinashvili and his relatives.

“Those who are close to you,” the Berdzenishvilis replied to him. The regional governor pretended to be the just person and rebuked the regional governor and the deputy. “Why did you assure me that everything is ok in the village?”

Many weeks have passed since then; the next day the village governor and representative beat one of the relatives of Bidzinashvili in the village center for having denounced them with the regional governor. The Bidzinashvilis were not inserted on the next list of humanitarian aid which was drawn up by the village administration in accordance to the order of Vardzelashvili.

In his suit to the court Valeri Bidzinashvili requested to order the Gori district administration to reconstruct his house to the previous position. More precisely, he requested to install metal-plastic windows, to install veneers on the ceiling and to restore damaged walls. Gori district administration accepted the request.

On October 10, 2008 the government of Georgia issued resolution # 665 on the “Allocation of Funds from the Reserve Foundation of the Government of Georgia for the Rehabilitation of the Buildings Damaged during Military Operations”. According to the resolution, Gori district administration received 9 181 000 GEL from the reserve foundation to give compensations to the families victimized during the war and for the rehabilitation of the damaged houses.

Alongside that, the district administrations were allowed, in accordance to the Law of Georgia on State Purchases, to carry out rehabilitation activities within the shortest time through the negotiation with only one person.

In the village of Karbi, the district administration negotiated with the Intermsheni Ltd, signed agreement with them and the company took responsibility to carry out rehabilitation activities. In his conversation with the Human Rights Center, Valeri Bidzinashvili said that Intermsheni only roofed his house and it was done at a low quality; later, it was cleared up that the Intermsheni Ltd and Gori district administration signed offer and acceptance agreement. Thus, the employer and the employee decided that the rehabilitation of the house completed without asking the opinion of Bidzinashvili.

Bidzinashvili provided the estimating document of the Intermsheni to the court. According to the document, metal-plastic windows and veneers shall be installed in the house of Bidzinashvili. Besides that, the wall on the west side was also damaged during the bombardment. According to the government’s resolution, the damages were to be eradicated.

The court judgment stated that the defendant Gori district administration acknowledged the verdict before the main trial of the court. “Valeri Bidzinashvili’s suit shall be satisfied” reads the judgment, “Gori district administration shall install metal-plastic windows, veneers on the ceiling and restore damaged walls on the west side of the house (outside and inside) in the village of Karbi in accordance to the Law of Georgia in State Purchases.”

Valeri Bidzinashvili is satisfied with the verdict; however, after the meeting with the Gori district administration he got sure that they are not going to repair his house.

The Human Rights Center met the district governor together with Valeri Bidzinashvili. “I am doing what the court ordered me to do,” said the governor. Bidzinashvili said the house is so damaged that only metal-plastic windows will not help it.

“MR. Davit, the court satisfied his suit; and does not it mean that you should implement all requirements of the suit?” asked the representative of the Human Rights Center to the district governor.

“I repeat once more, I will do what the judge ordered me to do,” replied astonished district governor. The head of the economic department showed us the judgment and underlined the words of the judge: “The district administration shall install metal-plastic windows and veneers on the ceiling.”

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