The Mayor of Gori visits Gugutiantkari village
By Inga Kakulia
Tuesday, August 20
Konstantine Tavzarashvili, the Mayor of Gori went to speak with the residents of Gugutiantkari village. Tavzarashvili was not present during the resumption of illegal borderisation due to a vacation. This is his first official response to the events.
Mayor of Gori said he spoke with the occupation forces who resumed installation of the poles on August 19th, at 11:15 AM.
“I went to talk to them and said that what they’re doing is illegal. I asked them why they do such things in our land, but they did not answer, they just turned their backs on me. It was just my request for them to stop this action right now but again, they did not answer and turned their backs on me.
According to Tavzarashvili, the only thing Russian soldiers said was that they were fulfilling their orders. The mayor of Gori told the journalists that he will stay in the village all day and do everything in his power to stop the illegal borderisation process. Tavzarashvili also stressed that he’s sure that the area will be free soon enough.
The Mayor of Gori shared the information that the Russian military doesn’t plan to bring the water reservoir into the occupied territories and that the population won’t be left without water supply.
The mayor has gotten a lot of negative attention recently due to not suspending his vacation even during the events that happened in Gugutiantkari last week. When asked about the population’s dissatisfaction the mayor said that this issue if of the secondary nature. He said that even though he was not present he was getting all the information from his colleagues regarding the situation.
"The EU Monitoring Mission has been informed and a hotline has been activated to prevent additional problems. As you know, eight Georgian citizens were illegally detained and all the leverages are being used to have them released from custody as soon as possible,” said the Mayor of Gori.
The process of illegal borderisation in Gugutiantkari began on the 11th anniversary of the August war, on August 7 and was suspended for several days. On August 15, the occupation regime resumed work.
The so-called Russian military drew the border between the homes of Georgian citizens, Razmadze and Gugutishvili. Beyond the occupation, the line was their house, a land, presumably a water reservoir as well. The occupation regime gave locals three days to evacuate their homes. The Razmadze family completely dismantled the house and brought out the construction materials.
