Creeping Occupation Line Now in Khurvaleti

Lado Bichashvili, Shida Kartli

Traveling along Tbilisi-Senaki-Leselidze central motorway, one can easily detect signpost of the so called South Ossetia with wire around it near Khurvaleti village. 

As a result of creeping occupation, house of local Davit Vanishvili is now on the other side of the ABL. Despite the warning from Russian soldiers, Vanishvili complained about his problems with foreign diplomats and journalists, who arrived on the place.

Davit Vanishvili, resident of Khurvaleti village: “They attacked me at home at 12:00 pm last night and warned against complaining with you; they threatened me with detention.”

Foreign diplomats also follow the creeping occupation line. This time, they were interested in the situation in Khurvaleti village. President of Socialist-Democratic Fraction of the European Parliament Hanes Svoboda personally talked with Davit Vanishvili. He told journalists that he acknowledges territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia. 

Hanes Svoboda, president of Social-Democratic Fraction at the European Parliament: “I am deeply concerned about new facts of borderization. Instead avoiding the tension, and making relations more human, new facts of borderization are observed here that contradicts the agreement with Russia.”

Member of the European Parliament paid visit to the region with the initiative of the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD). The organization’s representative in South Caucasus Levan Tsutskiridze said during similar visits diplomats learn more about local problems.

Levan Tsutskiridze: “This visit aims to provide the fraction and Mr. Svoboda with accurate information about ongoing political processes in the country. It is not information from newspapers and interpreted facts but real first hand information about tense situation.”

Representative of the Analytic Department at the Georgian MIA Kakhaber Kemoklidze accompanied the member of the European Parliament in Khurvaleti. He provided the foreign diplomat with the general situation in the region caused by creeping occupation.