Entrepreneur Demands the Regional Governor to Return His Harvest

Nodar Maisuradze, a leaser from the village of Kvemo Khviti in the Gori District, received a warrant from the Gori Regional Tax Inspection. The warrant stated that he was to pay fee for his 230 acres of land. The total amount of the fee was 9 000 GEL in 2006.

The entrepreneur cannot pay the fee because of the people have seized the crops he had grown on his land. Those people were encouraged by Mikheil Kareli, the regional governor and Nukri Papunashvili, former Gamgebeli of the Kareli District. The crop was seized by the technique and with the help of the heads of the village based state Ltd “Saltvisi 2”.  Temur Bitadze, the deputy director of the Ltd Saltvici 2, and a resident of the village of Kvemo Khviti, said that, “In spring 2005, a group of MPs, the board of the district administration and the president’s representative to the Shida Kartli arrived at the village. They explained to the villagers that Nodar Maisuradze was not a leaser of the abovementioned land any more. Thus, the people thought that Maisuradze was illegal owner of the land and seized the crops without asking for permission.”

The incident happened in spring of 2004 and 2005. It happened in front of the policemen. Maisuradze could not take even a kilo of wheat to sow for the next season. Despite all abovementioned facts, the state demands the leaser to pay taxes for the plot.

Nodar Maisuradze, with the assistance of the Human Rights Center’s Gori office, appealed to the Regional Tax Inspection to give him time to pay the tax. He cannot pay the money until seizers return him the wheat.

Regarding the situation, the Human Rights Center’s Gori Office is going to hold a press-conference where they will demand to punish the high ranking officials who encouraged the villagers form Kvemo Khviti to seize crops. It should be pointed out that the Gori District Police launched a preliminary investigation under the Criminal Code, Article 360 on ‘willfulness’. However, the villagers seized the crops on the basis of the regional governor and district governor’s statements.

The Human Rights Center has video and audio materials on regional governor and former district governor’s visit to the village that clearly shows how Mikheil Kareli and Papunashvili encouraged people to get hold of the wheat from Maisuradze’s land.

Maisuradze said that his family had never had any debts to the state budget during the eight years they were cultivating the land. The receipts of the tax inspection confirm the fact.

The Human Rights Center is concerned regarding the situation in the village of Kvemo Khviti. The entrepreneur is harassed and the state Ltd Saltvisi 2 is destroyed too. It makes evident that the regional governor’s “effort’ has seriously damaged the state budget. It must be pointed out that the abovementioned field of the agriculture in the village has been destroyed and the 450 acres of land has turned into pastures and is covered with prickly hedges.

Saba Tsitsikashvili, Gori