What Will happen Today on the Border?

What Will happen Today on the Border?

Tomorrow the orthodox community celebrates St. George’s Day (‘Giorgoba’). The inhabitants of Saingilo are also preparing for the celebration and await their guests from Georgia. Despite four months of banned bordering crossings and firm resistance by the border guards, Ingilos living in the village of Samtatskaro in the Dedoplistskaro region intend to cross the border today, to visit their relatives in Azerbaijan. The border guards state that they will follow their orders and oppose any attempts made to cross the Samtatskaro checkpoint.

“The Kakheti Governor gave smuggling as the reason for closing the bridge. It is ridiculous. We, the inhabitants of the region, are above suspicion. It is obvious that gas and other goods from Azerbaijan are smuggled in by the authorities. However, nobody is interested in the truth. On December 31st 2005, despite the resistance, the Georgian-Azerbaijan border was closed. People are not allowed to visit their relatives in Saingilo. On May 6th, we celebrate ‘Giorgoba’. We will not compromise. We will go to Kakhi by all means. If they do not let us, we will use force to cross the border. We have no guns but we will struggle desperately to pray in the St. George Church in Kurmukhi”, state the angry population of Samtatskaro.

“There is no need to comment on the situation. Although the situation on Georgia –Azerbaijan border is complicated and the inhabitants threaten to cross it by force, they will be able to do nothing. If Ingilos, living in Samtatskaro, want to go to Saingilo, they can do so through the Lagodekhi check-point”, sates the Administration of the Presidential Representative in the Kakheti Region.

The guards at the Samtatskaro checkpoint do not pay any attention to the warnings of the local population. The guards say that they have not been instructed to let people cross the border. “The border has been closed for four months. We did not receive any orders stating differently. We do not want to argue with the local population but we have no alternative”, say the border guards. 

The Samtatskaro inhabitants, who gathered next to the check-point at 10 a.m., demand the government reopens the border by 2p.m. Both the government and the inhabitants are not going to compromise. What then will happen today on the Georgia Azerbaijan border and who will be responsible if something terrible happens? 

Gela Mtivlishvili from Kakheti