IDPs from Abkhazia hold rally demanding new flats

Georgian refugees from Abkhazia are holding a rally in front of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labor, Health, and Social Affairs of Georgia demanding they be given apartments.

Demonstrators are also demanding the resignation of Health Minister Ekaterine Tikaradze.

They announced that 59 families met the eligibility criteria, but only three of them have received apartments from the ministry. We have been waiting for a meeting with the minister for a month. 27 years have passed since we have become refugees and how did it happen that have been unable to satisfy the criteria to get apartments? Today we demand the resignation of the minister, Ekaterine Tikaradze. We give her one hour. We will try to enter the building if she does not meet us”, announced demonstrators.

The IDPs also demanded the creation of a new commission to deal with the process of providing apartments and accused the ministry of making illegal deals regarding the flats; one of the IDPs who has not received a flat tried to hurt himself.

The new apartments are distributed through a points system with 15 criteria – those with more points are higher on the list. For example, [you receive] three points if an applicant lives in a garage, the staircase of a building, watchman’s booth, self-constructed wooden/plank building, dug-out. A family/person will get three points if a family member was killed or wounded fighting for Georgia’s territorial integrity, and/or if someone in the family has a disability”, reads the official page of the ministry.

Later, Deputy Minister of Health Giorgi Tsotskolauri made an official statement about apartment distribution.

The ministry announced the second phase of apartment distribution which started from October 15 and lasts till October 31. More than 270 apartments will be distributed by the end of the year in Tbilisi. All the IDPs who are interested in flat distribution can fill application and address the ministry with statements”.

Deputy Minister Tsotskolauri also explained the specific criteria and principle of apartment distribution.

It is important [to find out] whether IDPs have social assistance, severe living conditions, whether they are two or more teenagers in the family. Also, it is important if there is a family member with disabilities.  All these criteria are based on a point and that point determines the row number of IDPs”, said Giorgi Tsotskolauri.

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He also said that several families don’t have an address in Tbilisi and the ministry offered them apartments in regions.

The distribution of apartments will begin soon in Gori, Khashuri, Kutaisi and other regions of Georgia. We offered several IDP families to come and participate in the discussion of applications, but, unfortunately, they didn’t apply”, stated Giorgi Tsotskolauri.

Statistical data provided by the Ministry of Health, Social Care and Internally Displaced People shows there are 86,283 IDP families in Georgia as the conflicts in Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) regions.

Armed conflict in Abkhazia began on August 14, 1992 when Georgia's Armed Forces, intending to defend the Sochi-Enguri section of the railway, were confronted by Abkhaz Gvardia [armed forces].

 The Abkhaz militant group involved Russian soldiers and was created under the order of the head of the Supreme Council of Abkhazia, Vladislav Ardzinba, near Okhurei Village in Ochamchire district.

In response, the State Council of Georgia decided to send the National Guard units to Abkhazia to challenge the militant group.

This confrontation sparked the beginning of hostilities in Abkhazia. More than 10,000 Georgian soldiers and civilians died in Abkhazia while 300,000 people became internally displaced.

The Abkhaz side reported 3,500 Abkhaz died and 2,000 were wounded in the conflict.

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