Physical Eviction on Sakanela Street for Sake of Greed and Safety

Nona Suvariani, Tbilisi

“It was 1:00 AM when the telephone rang. At the time I was speaking with my relative when somebody broke into the house. They must have planned everything very well. They broke into each flat simultaneously. Strangers grabbed sleeping children and took them outside. We were like prisoners; they seized mobile phone from us; then we rushed to the embankment but there was nobody there. We had no phones to call emergency service. Women were in shock; children started to cry … I could never imagine such terrible situation in my life,” one of the residents of Sakanela Street recalled the night of July 27 when he was forced out of his house together with other neighbors. Representatives of the Supervision Service Department, who evicted these people, state that their action was organized with the interest of security of the residents in mind.

These people have been guarding  their flats for five nights already	Julieta Manukova said that her furniture was thrown out from this window	Destroyed room

The controversy between them and Centre Plaza, which purchased houses in the area, started when residents of the Sakanela Street # 37 were offered 1,500 USD per square meter. The residents did not accept the offer because the space of flats were small, nearly 10 sq. meters each and they could not buy new flats with the offered money. Consequently, the residents requested alternative accommodations in the new building the company intended to build in the place of their old house. Representatives of the Centre Plaza stated that the families demanded enormous sums of money for their flats. In terms of alternative flats in replacement, the company claims that it cannot assign new flats because the company intends to build A level building for offices. Centre Plaza is one of the construction companies within Development Solution, which is a member of Silk Road Group. The company representatives state that the complaints of the residents are groundless. Moreover, the residents complain that the deconstruction of neighboring buildings has damaged their building.

The Supervision Service Department of the Tbilisi City Hall has become active after the negotiations started and decided to resolve the problem….

Residents of the Sakanela Street told that doors of every inhabitant of their building were broke into simultaneously. Strangers started evicting them from their flats.

Marina Kublashvili, one of the homeless residents: “My house was built five years ago and it was a very steady one. Strange people rushed into our flat at 1:00 AM. They did not produce their ID cards; strangers twisted our wrists and demanded to leave our houses. We asked them to explain who they were; why they had rushed in (I could not realize why 30 people could attack me at night). They did not reply anything. I demanded them to show the document based on which I had to leave my house. They did not show any document and did not comment as well. As soon as I was taken out they started to pack my furniture and carried it out too. They brought a truck and transported my staff very operatively. Later we recognized some of them were employees of the Supervision Service Department. We had seen those people with the investors. As it was later learned, they were not observing the deconstruction process but they were preparing for an operation. Thus, quite unexpectedly I became an IDP in my native city with the effort of city authorities.

At that night 70-year-old Julieta Manukova was alone together with her two under-age grandchildren at home. She recalls she was taking a shower when the noise was heard. She hardly managed to get dressed when strange men rushed into her flat and grabbed the children.

“I rushed into a small room and locked the door. I thought they would not get in there but broke the door and went in. they took me out and started throwing furniture from the window.”

In the afternoon of July 23, as residents of the flat retold, representatives of the supervision department visited one of their neighbors. They threatened with deconstruction unless they left the building before 9:00 PM. The residents can name those people; they were Zviad Kervalishvili and Davit Adnguladze.

“We appealed to the police. We asked them to protect us. Our appeal was sent to the Regional Prosecutor’s Office but the reply was the same at every instance. Police could assist us only after abusers had really harassed us.”

Before the employees of the Supervision Department arrived there residents of the Sakanela Street had argument with the representatives of the Centre Plaza. As a rule, workers started deconstruction work at night.

“They explained they had purchased the place and had right to destroy the building. They did not preserve the security norms. Mainly they worked with heavy equipment at night. Children could not sleep at night. We called patrol police but nobody reacted on it. The argument started on July 22nd and on July 23rd employees of the Supervision Department physically attacked us,” said Shorena Gogsadze.

One day before July 27 workers of the company removed the roof of one of the houses. The family applied to the patrol police and the latter drew up a protocol on the incident. The company employees promised to repair the damaged roof but they did not do that. Furthermore, on the next day, the employees of the supervision department started to evict residents for the sake of their security.

“The people from the supervision department claimed the house was damaged and tried to save it from deconstruction. Everything was smooth all day long. The investor did not appear at all. When we were dragged outside the building we saw a live wall of the staff from the supervision department; they did not allow us to get int. they introduced themselves to us only outside the building,” said Tamar Manukova.

When people were in the street they heard terrible noise; the wall pulled down. Later, when they managed to go upstairs they saw that the wooden boards of the wall that separated two houses were sawed. Residents are sure that it was done on purpose.

There is a dentist’s clinic next to these houses. It is newly repaired building. However, the representatives of the supervision department have already managed to visit the clinic already (however it is strange who they wanted to evacuate at 1:00 AM). Every window of the clinic is smashed; moreover, the toilet bowl was broken down. If they wanted to rescue people why did they damage the toilet of the clinic?

Medical clinic’s smashed windows	Fallen Ceiling.	If people from Supervision Department wanted to rescue people why did they break the toilet in the clinic?

Davit Avaliani, the deputy head of the Supervision Department, explained that people were evacuated for their security.

Davit Avaliani: “The deconstruction was going on with heavy equipment; the residents applied to us for help personally to stop this process because they were in danger. We could not stop deconstruction. It was not necessary to carry out expertise to prove that their house was in poor condition; it was evident. Besides, one of the families had their ceiling pulled down on that day. We arrived at the place at midnight because we wanted to avoid argument. Our employees asked them to leave the house because of their own security. It some incident happened there and any of the inhabitants got injured there the supervision department was to be blamed. I cannot tell you who smashed clinic windows.

-One of the houses was built 5 years ago but they have evicted the family from there too…

-They avoided some incident. We had to continue deconstruction of the houses in the area and buildings might become damaged in closed proximity. If it had happened, you would have come and blame us why we had not taken any measures to prevent the incident….

-Why do not you return the furniture to these people?

-Who has seized furniture from them? We assisted them in removing their items from their homes and the inhabitants took their furniture.

-Where is the furniture?

-How can I know where it is? The inhabitants also participated in the process. Less than ten people from the Supervision Department worked there. There were representatives from the Investor Company and workers as well.

-If inhabitants decide to return to their houses shall nobody prevent them from doing that?

-No, nobody shall.  But if anything happens with their house, they should not blame us.

-Don’t you think that it was not adequate behavior when you rushed into the families at midnight even if you wanted to rescue them?

-We arrived there after the ceiling fell down. We were watching the area in turns. The person, in whose house the ceiling fell down, applied to our people for help. We assisted initially that woman and then rescued others. We explained to everybody that the same could happen in their flats too and suggested to leave the house.

At the end of the conversation Davit Avaliani added that they did not want to insult anybody but recently the inhabitants were making absurd statements.

“Our department has not started any legal proceedings regarding these houses. We have no complaints about them. If we knew that these houses are illegal we would have destroyed them. These buildings were built one hundred years ago and living in them is dangerous. We requested the Central Plaza to rent flats for the people until they repaired the buildings because they had breached the rights of the inhabitants. The company agreed our request verbally in the presence of citizens,” said Avaliani.

Kakha Kozhovidze, lawyer for the Young Lawyers Association, protects the rights of inhabitants of the Sakanela Street. The suit has already submitted to the court. The attorney said that Davit Avaliani’s statement as inhabitants had applied to the Supervision Department for help is false. “These people were insulted and mocked. A person must be a crazy if s/he applies to anybody to help in the deconstruction of his/her property and assist in abusing their children.”

Kakha Kozhovidze: “We applied to the court and requested to prohibit the supervision department to cease the deconstruction until the suit is discussed and decision is reached. Meanwhile, the supervision department should not be allowed to destroy the private properties. However, the court did not satisfy our request. It is shameful when the court supports illegal acts of the department.

“Preliminary investigation has started. Inhabitants of the Sakanela Street are victims. They have also been interrogated. The point is how impartial the investigation will be and if law enforcers estimate the participation of the Supervision Department in the offense. The police should collect evidence in the case. Representatives of the Supervision Department mentioned their names; let us say that somebody’s house was in poor conditions and it should have been destroyed; but what should they say about the medical clinic which was recently repaired in modern standards. Why have they destroyed it? It is important to carry out an expert investigation to estimate the actual situation. If the supervision department conducts the expertise it will conclude that the house was in poor conditions and had to be immediately destroyed.”

Kakha Kozhovidze stated that representatives of the supervision department can act under the Law on State Supervision on Construction. The department is always happy to act under the law. “There is one article in that law that bans deconstruction of the damaged houses. If expert considers the building damaged (and the expert would necessarily consider it as damaged because it is acceptable for them) the Supervision Department can impose fine on the inhabitants of the damaged house because they hindered the deconstruction process.”

At least the inhabitants of Sakanela Street have decided to return to their flats. They are going to spend this night in their own flats and not outside the building as a heavy rain at night come at night and their already complicated lives will be even that much more complicated.

Our houses will not be sold! We live here! Don’t destroy our houses!	A wardrobe thrown from the balcony	“I rushed into the small room and locked the door. I thought they would not enter but they broke down its door too. They then dragged me out of the house;