Three women sew mouths shut to demand compensation from Georgian Manganese
Tweet 
Share
Three women from the Georgian village of Shukruti, near Chiatura in the western Georgian region of Imereti, have sewn their mouths up and joined in a hunger strike to protest the activities of Georgian Manganese, a producer and exporter of ferroalloys and manganese ore.
In total eight people have sewn their mouths in protest so far.
They say that destructive mining works in the village had ceased after Soviet years, only to resume some six years ago after a commercial company entered the area.
The mining is carried out by Shukruti+, a contractor of Georgian Manganese. The locals claim that more than 200 families are affected as of today and demand the company compensate them for the damage.
But Georgian Manganese does not agree to the claim, stating that the damage indicated by the protesters is related to works done during the Soviet period and was already compensated back then.
Photo: Tata Kachkachishvili/RFERL.
However, the company announced on May 20 that it was ready to request Samkharauli Forensics Bureau assess the due compensation demanded by protesters, under the condition that 'the stalled negotiation over the compensation with these residents moves into the legal domain and the existing dispute be resolved through the courts'.
Shukruti+ has paid about 2 million GEL in compensation since June 2020 and remains ready to conclude individual treaties with those protesting. At the same time, an offer to sign individual agreements with the strikers remains in force to which the population of the village of Shukruti, except for these few families [who are on strike], fully joins", Georgian Manganese said.
Locals held similar demonstrations with the same demands in September 2019 as well, and blocked the road leading to Georgian Manganese and stopped the operations of the manganese mines.
Following the September protests, a commission was set up with Georgian Manganese, Chiatura mayor and the village governor to investigate the damage and then start the process of compensation for claimed loss, but locals say the commission's work has not yielded any real results.
Workers of bottling factories at Borjomi mineral water plants in central Georgia who went on strike on May 18 demanding higher salaries and better working conditions have announced large-scale rallies in Borjomi if the company does not meet their demands.
Three individuals living in the village of Shukruti in Chiatura in western Georgian region of Imereti, have sewed their mouths shut to protest the activities of Georgian Manganese, a producer and exporter of ferroalloys and manganese ore.
Nearly 2,000 employees of the Rustavi Azot chemical plant in Rustavi, a town 20km south of the capital Tbilisi, are on strike. Workers are demanding an increase of their salaries of 50% after stoppin the functioning of the plant yesterday as part of their protest.
Several of fifteen miners of the Georgian Manganese in Georgia's western town of Chiatura have sewn their mouths in protest as the company refuses to fulfil their demands regarding increased salaries.
Locals of the Georgian village of Shukruti in the western Georgian region of Imereti, who demand Georgian Manganese compensate them for the damages, have gathered in front of the United States Embassy in Tbilisi to ‘make their voices heard’.
Georgian Manganese and locals in the village of Shukruti in western Georgia have reached an agreement on compensation for damage inflicted on their homes due to mining activity in the area. Georgian Manganese exports ferroalloys and manganese ore from mines near the village.
Residents of the village of Shkmeri in Oni municipality of Georgia have held a rally earlier today in protest of the issuance of licenses for manganese mining. The protesters claim that manganese mining, which involves digging up the territory, will pollute the air and damage the houses in Shkhmeri.