Osethians are Not Issued Georgian Passports in Gori

Osethians are Not Issued Georgian Passports in Gori

In Gori Court, the number of the cases of Osethian people, who have requested the issue Georgian passports, has significantly increased. One such demand was satisfied by the judge Gocha Gochitashvili, followed by disciplinary pursuit from the High Council of Justice. The judges from Gori are embarrassed – in fear, they do not issue passports and birth certificates with Georgian symbolic neither to the new-born Georgian children or Osethians. As seen, the law, regulating such cases does not exist.

Mindiashvili, born in the village Argvitsi, Patara Liakhvi gorge, is getting four, but he still does not have Georgian passport or citizenship. Mindiashvili was born in Tskhinvali maternity house and only has the birth certificate, issued by the Osethian side. The Georgian body of Civil Acts Registration does not accept Osethian documentations.

Zaur Djodjishvili, born in Tskhinvali, has a document confirming that he is Georgian born in Tskhinvali, but it was not accepted by the Administrative bodies of Gori and he was not issued a birth certificate or passport.

The lawyer Manana Ivelashvili says: “I want to admit that Djodjishvili had serious problems with obtaining a Georgian passport. He needs the birth certificate for the passport department. The birth certificate is not issued in the Civil Acts Registration Department, as they do not have a permission to give it to persons, born in other places. In advance, Djodjishvili is born in Tskhinvali. The fact is that no documents issued in Tskhinvali have a power. Zaur Djodjishvili wants to receive Georgian citizenship, but he can not get it, because in addition to the birth certificate, the judge asks for several other  documentations.”

As Zaza Mindiashvili, the chief of Gori Passport Department says such cases occur very often. “We have an official letter from the Ministry of Justice to ignore all the documentations issued by de-facto government of Osethia. Only in a case where we have judicially approved documents, the Passport Department is able to give the birth certificates and accordingly the passports.”

We must admit that the disciplinary pursuit against the judge Gocha Gochishvili from the High Council of Justice started after he made a decision to issue the birth certificate to one of the citizens. The statement, made by the former Minister of Justice, which envisaged issuing passports and birth certificates without problems to the citizens born in the conflict zone appeared to be a false promise. And if someone dares to issue passports and birth certificates without any problem to the citizens, they might have put themselves in danger.

Saba Tsitsikashvili from Gori