“Successful” Special Operation of Georgian Law-Enforcements –Two Killed Persons and Homeless Family

"Successful” Special Operation of Georgian Law-Enforcements –
Two Killed Persons and Homeless Family

No one can hide their emotions when they see the Gumashvili’s completely ruined house in Duisi, a village in the Pankisi gorge. Some time ago, a family inhabited this currently destroyed home.

A small hut is next to the house. It is dilapidated, smelly, and the rain pours through the roof. Nowadays, Nina Gumashvili lives there with her offspring. It was entirely different several months ago.

On July 3, Nina Gumashvili was immensely confused when she saw about two hundred armed persons from the Special Forces. The family had no time to ask the reason of their appearance. Suddenly, a wild shooting began and the whole village was covered with the smoke of gunfire.  One could hear children and women crying, men shouting, dogs barking… Later, Nina Gumashvili realized that the “visit” occurred because of her son Avtandil Gumashvili.

The bloody operation that took place on July 3, 2005 had a wide resonance in Georgia.

The family’s tragic history started ten years ago when Otar Margoshvili raped Avtandil Gumashvili’s spouse. The family separated, and Nana Gumashvili’s daughter-in-law left for Russia with the grandchildren. Otar Margoshvili also left the region.  A blood feud was inevitable according to the tradition in the mountains, and Gumashvili started to search for Margoshvili. After a long search he found him, but when he saw his children he lost his determination and just wounded the man who had dishonored him. Margoshvili applied to the police for help and the search for Gumashvili began.

Avtandil Gumashvili, suspected of the crime, and his cousin Vakhtang Gumashvili, resisted and opened the fire against the armed forces, which in their turn responded and liquidated the two men. The house was completely burned and ruined. After the “successful operation,” the old mother no longer had a house where she could cry for her dead son, whose remains was difficult to gather.

The important issue is that the severe operation caused irritation among the population, who expressed support for the family, and protested the attack by throwing stones at the armed forces. It should be mentioned that some people were arrested during the operation. Another interesting issue asks the question of why it was necessary to use the entire Georgian arsenal against two persons.

The prognosis that the situation in the region would get worse did not come true, as the situation in Pankisi remains stable. The families of Gumashvili, as well as the inhabitants of the village Duisi, who see the demolished house every day, remember the July 3rd operation.

We could not find a person who described Avtandil Gumashvili as a criminal. The neighbors remember him with tears in their eyes, and now try to aid the homeless family.

“It was terrifying. At first, they killed him and later set fire to the house as if it was a criminal hide-out. The poor mother could not even cry for her son. What is the government that ruins the homes of its citizens?” asks Kavtarashvili, the inhabitant of Duisi.

“They demonstrated their force in order to frighten us. We gathered two kilos of bullets on the nearby territory. The neighbors were in danger as well, as the fire could easily have spread to their houses, and our village is heavily populated. The government takes pride in their operation, but no one cares that the family is left homeless,” comments the neighbor.

According to Nina Gumashvili, Temur Andjaparidze- the head of the police department and the “Best Policeman of Year 2005” promised to help the family. He spoke to the governor of Duisi, Djafar Khangoshvili, who noted that they had decided to help the family by purchasing building materials. However, Andjaparidze did not believe this and added that the government would never assist persons they saw as criminals.

Because it is difficult for the “criminal’s” mother to speak of her son and ruined house, we talked instead to Malkhaz Gumashvili, brother of the “culprit.” “We pleaded for help, but unsuccessfully. They killed my brother and set fire to the house. What shall we do? We have no shelter and must sleep on the ground. I can bear that, but the children cannot. The only hope is the President, to whom I plan to apply.”

Despite the concern and sharp reprimand that the family of Gumashvili and the inhabitants of Duisi have about the government, our “independent country” could not find the time to consider the problems and violations the family had experienced. Today, fewer people in Pankisi have such illusions about the government.

Veriko Kobiashvili from Pankisi