Reconciliation minister in parliament: Tskhinvali region is now almost completely isolated
Reconciliation Minister Ketevan Tsikhelashvili has briefed MPs regarding the current situation in the occupied regions. Photo: IPN.
Tweet 
Share
Georgian Minister for Reconciliation and Civil Equality Ketevan Tsikhelashvili has stated in parliament earlier today that at the moment she was delivering a speech in parliament, Georgia’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region was “was almost fully isolated” from the rest of Georgia.
The de facto Tskhinvali government has temporarily closed the so-called checkpoint to the Akhalgori district. Another so-called checkpoint at the village of Perevi also remains closed,” Tsikhelashvili said.
She stated that the closure of so-called checkpoints harms ethnic Georgians and Ossetians living in the region equally.
Tsikhelashvili has urged the “decision-makers” on the issue to open the so-called checkpoints to allow locals to have access to everyday items they buy in the rest of Georgia.
It remains unknown when the de facto authorities reopen the a so-called checkpoint to Akhalgori. Photo: TASS.
Standing from the tribune I want to encourage and thank the people living beyond the barbed-wire-fences, who have undergone much trouble, and tell them that we, the Georgian government, spare no efforts to ease your burden. I want to assure you the artificial wall erected between us will be definitely destroyed like the Berlin Wall,” Tsikhelashvili said.
Tbilisi condemned the ‘temporary closure’ of the so-called checkpoint at the village of Perevi in an official statement released yesterday, pointing at serious humanitarian problems caused by such decisions.
Two crossing points at Tskhinvali occupation line - Odzisi and Sinaguri - have been closed since September 4, 2019 ’due to security threats’, the de facto government says.
The central Georgian government, the US Embassy to Georgia and the European Union Monitoring mission (EUMM) say that the closure of the so-called borders further complicates the situation on the ground and creates humanitarian problems.
Tbilisi has condemned the ‘temporary closure’ of a so-called checkpoint at the village of Perevi in western Georgia by the de facto government of Georgia’ Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region, saying that such steps not only violate the right of locals to free movement, but also create a humanitarian crisis.
The US is concerned by the current tension at the Tskhinvali occupation line and the closure of so-called borders which further complicates the situation on the ground and creates serious humanitarian problems, Acting US Ambassador to Georgia Elisabeth Rood said.
The European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM), which is the only mission deployed in Georgia after the Russia-Georgia 2008 war, has provided details regarding the current tension at Georgia’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region ‘‘due to the level of press interest and to dispel inaccurate reports.”
The de facto Tskhinvali government has announced the closure of two crossing points with the rest of Georgia, saying the reason is an ‘escalation of tension at certain sections of the border with Georgia.’The so-called security committee of Tskhinvali has accused Tbilisi of sparking the tension, stating that the crossing points will reopen when the tension fades.
A mother living in Georgia’s Russian-occupied Akhalgori district was not allowed to leave the territory for several days to mourn her son who died in the Tserovani settlement, on Tbilisi-administered territory. The story caused public turmoil on social media, with the mother permitted to leave Akhalgori only late yesterday [while the young man died on September 22], Radio Liberty reports.
Head of the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) to Georgia Erik Hoeg has briefed the Political and Security Committee (PSC) ambassadors from EU member states on the recent developments at the occupation line with Georgia’s currently Russian-occupied Tskhinvali (so-called South Ossetia) region in Brussels.
The US McCain Institute for International Leadership in cooperation with the Heritage Foundation and the Economic Policy Research Center has created two video visualisations showing Russia’s policy of ‘borderisation’ [erection of illegal barriers, barbed-wire-fences] in the two occupied regions of Georgia Abkhazia and Tskhinvali.
De facto Security Committee of Georgia’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region says that Tbilisi is getting ready for “a large-scale provocation” at the occupation line, near the villages of Chorchana and Tsnelisi.
De facto authorities of Georgia’s Russian-controlled Tskhinvali region say that the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) monitors were held yesterday as they “illegally crossed the border in the village of Tsnelisi (Kareli Municipality, under the Russian control),” adding that the action by the EUMM was “provocative.”
EUMM head to Georgia Erik Hoeg says that the 7th special meeting in Ergneti, which was dedicated to easing tension at the villages of Tsnelisi and Chorchana, has ended without substantial progress.The Georgian State Security Service has reported that the Russian-controlled de facto government of Tskhinvali still continues to demand the removal of an ordinary police post from the village of Chorchana, Khashuri municipality, which is located on the Tbilisi-controlled territory.
Tamar Gigauri, who fell into a well of seven meters deep in Georgia’s Russian-occupied Akhalgori on November 4, is in critical condition, states Democracy Research Institute.
People in Russian-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region don’t have access to vitally important healthcare services as the region has been in isolation for months, State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality Ketevan Tsikhelashvili stated earlier today.
Residents of Georgia’s Russian-occupied Akhalgori district are prohibited not only from moving to the central government-controlled territory and receiving quality medical services there, but also from receiving scheduled services at the Akhalgori local hospital, reports Democracy Research Institute NGO (DRI).
The Democracy Research Institute (DRI) reports that the de-facto authorities of South Ossetia have launched a so-called ‘Family Reunification Programme’, which allows ethnic Georgians in the heavily-Georgian district of Akhalgori to relocate to areas controlled by Tbilisi where their family members live.