In Summer of 2010, the large-scale eviction of IDPs began in Tbilisi and continued through January of this year. Continued evictions will occur throughout Georgia in the months to come. The newest phase of evictions in the regions will start in March of 2011. According to the State Strategy on IDPs, every displaced family should be provided with adequate housing by 2011. However, problems have been identified in the early stages of this resettlement process. These include: lack of information, short terms of eviction period (eviction orders given on too short notice) and in some cases, inhumane and degrading treatment.
Levan Gvaramia, an IDP from Abkhazia told Human Rights House Tbilisi, “I had been living in Tbilisi paying rent over the period of 1993-2008. I was then resettled to school #185 by the Ministry’s organization. Now they are saying that we moved here illegally. However, the Ministry itself is the one that placed us here.”
According to the law, the state takes on the responsibility to provide temporary residence for IDPs. The Ministry can offer an alternative place of residence provided that the housing conditions are not worse. The written agreement is made based on the corresponding legal parameters: The law prohibits eviction of IDPs from compact settlement places before the full restoration of Georgian jurisdiction with the following exception: when the IDPs illegitimately or illegally move to a place of residence. According to the Ministry, the current evictions reflect illegitimate settlement activity.
“IDPs illegitimately moved into these buildings after the war. There were approximately 750 such buildings in Tbilisi. There was a case when a cottage was given to an IDP in Tserovani as compensation but he decided to continue living in that building because Tbilisi was more attractive to him,” – stated Valeri Kopaleishvili, Head of the Department for Settlement of Refugees at the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Accommodation and Refugees of Georgia.
The evictions have been taking place according to Decree Number 747 issued by the Ministry on May 24th of 2007 and according to the “Unlawful Appropriation or other Violations of Property Ownership.”, According to Article Vii of the Law on Normative Acts, the law has a superior power towards the law subordinated normative acts, However the Ministry of IPDs, Accommodation and Refugees applied the MIA decree instead of the Law on IDPs.
By active intervention on behalf of local and international organizations, the evictions carried out in the summer of 2010 were temporarily halted prior to the development of the special procedures. Through the active participation of the UNHCR, the Ministry worked out the “Standard Operative Procedures of Eviction/Resettlement to another place of residence for Ensuring IDPs with the Long-term Residence Places.” This document was adopted by the IDP Management Committee Supervisory Council of the Ministry of Refugees and Accommodation in September of 2010. These principles do not have the power of law, rather they are guiding principles concerning the procedural aspects of the eviction, such as terms and forms.
Since January 30th of 2011, the “second wave” of evictions has started in the Vake region. Earlier, the IDPs in 22 temporary places of residence were notified that the buildings which they factually resided in were not the compact settlement places intended for long-term living, thus they were given ten days for emptying the building.
The eviction process was observed by different local and international organizations, including the Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA). In a special statement issued on January 20th, GYLA notes that “the forceful eviction of IDPs from #4 Abzianidze St. was carried out with violations and in an abusive f. The IDPs were taken out of the building by trucks at 7 am. The truck was meant for the carrying of their belongings. Placing the refugees in a truck designated for their goods is abusive to their dignity. In addition, the IDPs received their eviction notice only a few hours prior to their eviction. The notice did not indicate the date of eviction. The IDPs were particularly concerned by the fact that the families who had received individual notices on the issuance of compensation had not received the compensation money.”
It should be noted that law enforcement officials did not allow the MPs and NGOs officially monitoring the eviction process to enter the buildings and conduct effective monitoring.
“We have conducted two test evictions and concluded that the monitoring can be conducted without entering the buildings. As for the ordinary evictions, since this process was supervised by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, we did not have the right to restrict IDPs from entering the buildings,” – stated Kopaleishvili.
The Tbilisi Human Rights House addressed the MIA with an official letter and requested an explanation as to why the monitors were restricted from entering the buildings. The Ministry referred to the decree regulating the IDP eviction and left our question unanswered.
The evicted IDPs were given alternative places in the following regions: the village of Bakurtsikhe of Gurjaani Municipality, the villages of the Chkhorotsku Municipality: Zumi, Lesichine and Potskhoetseri; the villages Chkaduashi and Narazeni of the Zugdidi Municipality, the village Nojikhevi of the Khobi Municipality and the village Abashispiri of the Abasha Municipality.
As far as the IDPs who have been living in Tbilisi for several years now, going to another region is tantamount to one more “internal displacement.” This is why the majority of them reject the Ministry’s offer.
“I have been living in Tbilisi for 17 years now; my children study and work here. I have no idea what to do in the region, how to take care of myself,” – states an Abkhazian IDP by the name of Levan Gvaramia.
“We do not force anyone to move to the region. They can stay in Tbilisi until the Ministry offers the desired alternative place if they do not want to move,” – stated Valeri Kopaleishvili.
“I went to Potskhoetseri since I had nowhere else to go. Nobody gave me a job there. In addition, my state of health had deteriorated and I was forced to come back to Tbilisi,” – stated an IDP from Abkhazia Madona Vekua.
“First we provide transportation for the IDPs and then assist them on the spot. It is very hard to know beforehand what they will need. They need different things. Some say they do not want to stay there at all,” – stated Kopaleishvili.
Psychologist Nato Zazashvili observed the implementation of the State Strategy for the Provision of Permanent Residence Places for IDPs. She was alarmed by the way in which the evictions are carried out. “The IDPs are [already] psychologically traumatized because of the war. They had to start over with their lives. And now, they are losing their homes again. This can traumatize them all over again. Usually, changing home can bring about stress- even when the housing conditions are improved. In this case, the honor and a dignity of these people were abused. Overcoming this blow depends on the level of economic, moral and psychological support they get,” – stated Nato Zazashvili to Human Rights House.
Shorena Latatia
