“Minister Hour” Format – Giorgi Gakharia Reports to Parliament
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Friday, May 3
On May 2, 2019, Georgian Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia reported to parliament for the 5th time this year. At the beginning of his speech, he stressed the importance of transparency. He addressed the most discussed and important current issues.
Concerning Pankisi region Gakharia admitted that government agencies have made mistake – the risks were not assessed correctly, there was more room for discussion with locals and he said that what needs to be researched is where and when the mistake was made. He also remarked that locals from Pankisi expressed social protest and the subject shouldn’t be politicized. Minister also stated that those who violated the law on April 21st will be punished in accordance with the law. According to Gakharia, the issue will be solved in a way that is beneficial for the country’s citizens. Gakharia also said that there is a tendency by some forces to discredit, politicize police or restrict the area of their activities. “I want to say that the police protect each citizen and effective police is in the interests of each Georgian citizen,” – Minister remarked.
On April 21st there was a confrontation between law enforcement units and locals, who were trying to prevent the building of small Hydro Electric Power Plant. Tear gas was used by the police – citizens were fighting with stones and sticks. As a result, more than 30 policemen and 17 citizens were injured. The bigger group of policemen was sent to the gorge to regulate the situation. In the answer to criticism, Gakharia told the opposition that no special unit was sent to Pankisi last month and no special operation was conducted there. He said that police entered the gorge to calm the situation, as this happens in other cases.
In the context of David Gareji issue, Gakharia expressed his belief that demarcation subject will be handled in a friendly manner only. He also said, that there will be a special committee formed concerning the issue. David Gareji is a monastery, Georgian cultural heritage situated on the border of Georgia and Azerbaijan – border demarcation processes need to be finalized there.
During his report in the format of “Ministry Hour” in Parliament, Gakharia stated that the most modern criminal laboratory in South Caucasus region will be built in Georgia. The criminal laboratory is said to have its own DNA lab as well. .”Without modern infrastructure and technologies police activities are not as effective as they must be,” Gakharia said. According to Vice Premier, about 97 million GELs were spent on the development of the police infrastructure this year - all preliminary detention facilities in the country have been renovated and equipped with cameras. The number of street cameras is supposed to rise from 2 600 to 5 000 at the end of this year. He also stated that the border police, which had a single helicopter, will have four helicopters this year and that nine new emergency management facilities are being built in Georgian regions with modern equipment and vehicles.
The Minister of Internal Affairs also emphasized the reforms implemented by the Ministry in terms of human rights protection. According to Giorgi Gakharia, about a year and a half ago, the Human Rights Department was established, which was recognized by international and non-governmental organizations. Gakharia talked about the reforms implemented in terms of Human Rights and spoke about the developed infrastructure of temporary detention isolators.
Minister also referred to the need for additional patrol crews. As he said that the number of patrol police employees has not been increased since 2010, while the number of registered vehicles in the period increased from 700,000 to 1,200,000. He also stated that unlike previous years, each employee of police now has clearly specified duties.
According to the Minister, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia has expanded the network of police attaches to international police cooperation. He presented statistics and results of the international special operations conducted by the Ministry in different countries. According to him, the Interior Ministry carried out 10 international operations last year, with 166 offenders detained. Among the detainees, ten were so-called Georgian criminal bosses.
Concerning domestic violence and femicide, Gakharia said that in 2018 more than 6,000 restraining orders were issued last year and for the first time no femicide was recorded when such an order was present. He stated that now people are open to cooperating with law enforcers regarding family violence.
“Precise crime statistics” provided by Minister’s employees revealed that 44 percent of crimes committed in Georgia are crimes against property. Of the 44 percent, 70 percent is robbery- Interior minister noted that there is a need of changes in the criminal code to address the issue.
Speaking at the Parliament, Minister of Internal Affairs spoke about ongoing reforms at the Patrol Police Department. He emphasized the novelty of what is called a tourist patrol. According to him, thanks to the young people employees in the Tourist Patrol, the number of facts of harassment of the guests on the streets is reduced and today our citizens and city guests are walking freely in Old Tbilisi streets.
Gakharia referred to road safety as one of the top priorities for the Interior Ministry in the situation when hundreds of Georgians are killed annually in accidents. According to him, in the year of 2018, more than 500 people died in road accidents. Minister mentioned the campaign of Interior Ministry “For your Life” – he said that this social campaign is very effective and more and more people get involved.
