Categories
Journalistic Survey
Articles
Reportage
Analitic
Photo Reportage
Exclusive
Interview
Foreign Media about Georgia
Editorial
Position
Reader's opinion
Blog
Themes
Children's Rights
Women's Rights
Justice
Refugees/IDPs
Minorities
Media
Army
Health
Corruption
Elections
Education
Penitentiary
Religion
Others

Government Refuses to Help Shalva Begiashvili, Man Who Stepped on Land Mine in Vaziani

January 20, 2006

Government Refuses to Help Shalva Begiashvili, Man Who Stepped on Land Mine in Vaziani

It is still difficult for him to talk about the day which changed his life. 26 year old Shalva Begiashvili stepped on a land mine on March 24th, 2004. After the explosion he lost both of his hands and a leg.

“I gathered all the documentation that I needed for enrollment in national army. I did not have money for transport, so I went to look for scrap- iron at Vaziani polygon,” said Shalva Begiashvili. The father of two children, he was the only person who was bringing money into the home.  Shalva says this was not the first time that he went searching for scrap-iron in this territory. In many cases he found detonated bombs, but in this case everything was different; the bomb he found exploded.

After the incident, his family members visited the Ministry of Defense several times in order to request treatment money, but without result.

The territory where the former Russian bases are located is under the ownership of the Ministry of Defense. People who live near the Vaziani polygon usually go there for scrap-iron. Shalva was not the first one who had such a tragic incident as there have been several cases of explosion in the area, one of which ended in death. The territory is open, and there is no warning stating that the territory is mined.

Begiashvili’s family is attempting to get reparations with the help of courts. This is a priority-driven case, so it should have been considered immediately. Nevertheless, the beginning of consideration of the case took year and a half, and it began only last week.

“First they were saying that the territory did not belong to them. However, we found documentation that stated that the Ministry did indeed own the territory. After that they just refused to pay money. They must make this place a secure place for citizens, it should be their priority,” said Shalva Begiashvili’s advocate Manana Kobakhidze.

According to an official letter from the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry has no finances in order to provide medical treatment for Shalva Begiashvili.

“This is not only civil case but also criminal case. Those persons who are responsible for making the place secure for citizens and did not do this should be punished,” stated Human Rights Information and Documentation Centre lawyer Giga Giorgadze. 

A pension of 28 laris is the only support that has come from the government. He received prosthesis from the humanitarian organization of the International Red Cross, but as Shalva says they are out of order and practically unusable. Medical experts will decide how much money Shalva needs for treatment and then it is up to judge to decide if this money must be paid by the Ministry of Defense or not.

Ann Chkhaidze

News