Borderisation in parallel to the pandemic
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Wednesday, April 22
Occupation forces in central Georgia's Kareli Municipality carried out an act of borderisation last Friday near the village of Takhtisdziri in the Kareli municipality where the signs denoting ‘state borders’ were erected by the occupying forces.
The incident was classified by the State Security Service of Georgia (SSS) as ‘significantly damaging’ to the local security situation and daily lives of the local population.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia ‘categorically condemned’ the incident that placed locals in ‘intolerable conditions’ through limiting their access to farmlands.
“Such destructive actions are particularly concerning in circumstances in which the entire world is attempting to combat the spread of the Coronavirus infection,” the ministry said.
Besides, the MFA pointed to the damage caused to locals of the occupied Tskhinvali region by a recent closure of cross points of the administrative divide by the occupying forces, which had prevented the civilians from receiving medical treatment on the Georgian-controlled territory.
It’s noteworthy that earlier last week the Georgian parliament received the annual 2019 security report from the SSS, in which the agency said Russia's policy towards Georgia continued to pose major threats for the country throughout the last year.
“To gain influence, Russia has continued to exert military pressure on the occupied territories, as well as various covert and cyber operations and media manipulations," the report said.
It is also noted that the activity of the special services of foreign countries was aimed at introducing internal political processes and public order.
The report also read that Russian occupying forces are creating (and financially supporting) a waste landfill on the remains of residential areas of Georgia population in the village of Eredvi, one of the hotspots of military clashes during the conflict to cover traces of Georgian villages deserted during the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia.
The report also said the effort was aimed at ‘erasing traces of the Georgian population’ and preventing their return in the future.
Amnesty International’s annual 2019 report for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, released this month, also says that Russia and the de facto authorities of the Georgian occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions continue to restrict freedom of movement with the rest of Georgia, affecting the economic situation of the locals and their rights in general.
The known practice of occupation forces - illegal detention of locals, on the pretext of violating ‘border’ continues despite the COVID-19-related emergencies.
Malkhaz Kurtaev, the grandson of Data Vanishvili and his wife Tatia Adikashvili, who live behind the barbed wire fences erected by the occupation forces in the village of Khurvaleti in Gori Municipality are currently in two-week quarantine in Tskhinvali. Their relatives have received information that they will be taken to the isolator after quarantine. Due to the transition from one part of the village to another, the representatives of the occupation forces accused them of the violation of the so-called border.
Kurtaev was detained by the occupation forces on April 16 and his wife was taken out of Vanishvili's house the next morning. Vanishvili became known to the world after his house was razed to the ground in Khurvaleti after the August 2008 war. Most of the foreign leaders who visit Georgia usually visit Khurvaleti and hear Data Vanishvili's troubles from the other side of the barbed wire.
According to the State Security Service of Georgia, “a hotline has been set up in connection with a possible incident in the occupied territories, the European Union Monitoring Mission has been informed and the information is being clarified.”
The co-chairs of the Geneva International Discussions (GID) as well as the United States and the European Union have condemned borderisation activities near the village of Takhtisdziri.
“We condemn any actions by the de facto authorities in Tskhinvali that aggravate tensions and distract from urgent efforts to safeguard the lives and health of the affected populations, particularly during the Orthodox Easter weekend and against the backdrop of the global pandemic crisis,” the US Embassy stated.
It further called for “an immediate halt to the construction of any signs, structures, fencing, or barriers intended to strengthen or expand the illegal borderisation of the administrative boundary line.
The US also called on Russia to withdraw its forces to pre-conflict positions, to end its illegal occupation of 20 percent of Georgian territory and to allow unfettered access for the delivery of humanitarian assistance
The European Union Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell has also condemned the act as completely unacceptable. “I call on South Ossetian and Russian security actors to immediately stop these activities and to refrain from any further steps that could escalate the situation,” he added.
British Ambassador to Georgia Justin McKenzie Smith wrote on Twitter that the latest moves by Russia and de facto Tskhinvali officials serve "to destabilise and increase hardship" on the ground.
The co-chairs of the GID from the EU, UN and the OSCE, Toivo Klaar, Cihan Sultanoglu and Rudolf Michalka condemned borderisation activities near the village of Takhtisdziri close to the Russia-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region.
They called on UN Secretary General Guterres to “strongly urge all the GID participants to set aside differences and to refrain from actions that could lead to increased tension” amid the Coronavirus pandemic.
The GID Co-Chairs also noted that “in the face of the current global challenge of COVID-19” joint approaches and cooperation is needed.
Marek Szczygiel, new Head of the European Union Monitoring mission (EUMM - the only monitoring mission patrolling at occupation lines in Georgia), said the EUMM ‘closely monitors’ the situation, urging to remain calm and avoid any provocation.
The Estonian, Polish and Ukrainian Foreign Ministries also strongly condemned further illegal borderisation in Georgia.
“For Russia, the Coronavirus is serving as a smokescreen for further ‘borderization’. We strongly condemn militarization along the occupation line of Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia,” Minister of FA of Lithuania, Linas Linkevicius wrote on twitter.
The Secretariat of the Organisation for Democracy and Economic Development (GUAM), which unites Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, also reaffirmed its support to independence and sovereignty of Georgia.
