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Prisoners of Pankisi Gorge

April 12, 2007

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Human Rights Defenders blame the Georgian Government for not having followed demands and recommendations of the International Organizations. Chechen refugees have become victims of illegal activities more frequently for the last time. The number of the attacks and murders has caused serious public concern.

Escape

Nearly 8 000 Chechen resettled in Georgia in 1999 as a result of Chechen-Russian conflict. According to the statistics, total 2000 Chechen refugees are registered in our country. Most of them are ethnic Kists; Chechens are only nearly 500 out of them.

Refugees appealed to various international organizations in order to get the permission of resettlement into a third country. Until 2005 Sweden, Canada and some other countries accepted the refugees but afterwards it has become impossible for them to resettle to any other county. The reason for the current situation, as refugees think, is that they have been equalized criminals and terrorists. They can neither be naturalized in Georgia because it is quite a complicated process to go through. Meanwhile, the number of refugees reduces day-by-day. Some of them accepted the offer of the Russian Ministry of Urgent Matters and returned to Chechnya. However, relatives cannot get in touch with them now. Some of them died in Chechnya in vague situation, or was killed or disappeared. Similar facts have become more frequent lately.

Refusal to Constitutional Court

Last year, Ziaudin Idigoev applied to the Georgian Constitutional Court. The Chechen refugees demanded the court to abolish several regulations within the Georgian Law on Refugees, enacted on February 18, 1998, that contradicts international conventions and does not give the opportunity of issuing the traveling documents to them. Idigoev’s suit defines that Georgia joined UN Convention on Refugees in November 1999, though the government could not support them properly and protect their rights. The main point is that the rights of refugees to resettle to the third country are restricted. Consequently the Chechen refugees have turned into the hostages into the Pankisi Gorge. “There is a complicated internal policy in Georgia, aggravated by the insufficient system for human rights protection and Russian influence is still maintained in the country. Regarding all abovementioned facts, Chechen refugees cannot feel themselves protected. We have endured the war; we have escaped the battles peacefully and now we want to go on peaceful life somewhere. Seven years have passed but the question-whether Chechen refugees cause danger for Georgia, is not settled yet. If we do, the government should get rid of us and let us resettle in a third country. If we do not, then, the question of the transportation should be settled and ‘Individual Status’ and traveling documents of the refugee should be granted to us. Actually, current “group status” is fiction and not an identity card”, said Idigoev. His suit was the first attempt in Georgia during all six years and if the Constitutional Court had made positive decision, refugees would have had chance to resettle in a third country. The third country should have decided itself to accept them or not. However, the Constitutional Court did not discuss the suit. The court recommended the Parliament to introduce some amendments to the Law on Refugees in order to follow the demands of the European Convention.

Controversy

There are several mosques in Pankisi Gorge. One of them is in the village of Jokholo and two of them are in the village of Duisi. The mosque with high building of Minaret has been built in the center of Duisi recently. Old Muslims say that young people enter the new mosque to pray. It was built as soon as Chechen refugees were resettled in the gorge. Old Muslims call the young people vahabists and they think that those people are dangerous because they share the opinions of terrorists. However, the young people categorically deny being vahabists. Omar Khangoshvili said that he prays in the new mosque and is ordinary Muslim. Vahabism is a radical belief and he does not follow it. Khangoshvili also said that unlike many Muslims he follows most rules of the Koran.  “They called us Vahabists in order to blame us for being their enemies. They want everybody to be afraid of us as if we were committing terrible things. It is not right and they aim to blame us for everything bad that will happen in the gorge,” said Khangoshvili.

Murder in Jokholo

The murder that happened in the village of Jokholo on March 9 2007 is connected with the so-called religious diversity. A Chechen woman saw a body of a man in the yard of the Mosque in Jokholo. Hasan Shahbulatov, born in 1966, was deadly wounded with PSM pistol in his head. “Hasan was killed in an obscure situation. We saw him at approximately 9:00 PM on March 8. He was praying in the Mosque. He was a great believer. Besides the deadly wound in the head, there were some injuries on his body,” said Chechen refugee, Raisa Takhaeva.

Ziaudin Idigoev, the head of the Coordinative Council for Chechen Refugees residing in Georgia, thinks that everything could have happened in a different way. “Before his death, Hasan used to say: “I doubt I would involve the resettlement program and return to Chechnya. The only hope I have is-maybe the government will issue “transportation documents” for us. Those people, who have suspended this process, should be responsible for the death of the Chechen man. Similar tragic events have become more frequent. Thus, we appeal to governmental bodies to take all necessary measures to resolve the problem. The total number of the Chechen refugees is 350.

Deputy Chairman of the Akhmeta District Municipality, Jafar Khangoshvili stated that the murder of the Chechen refugee in the yard of the Mosque was premeditated provocation in order to unleash religious controversy. “There is no bigger sin than killing a person near the mosque. Shahbulatov was murdered near the Mosque and then put in the yard. I cannot exclude the possibility that the murder was a well-arranged provocation in order to cause the controversy between Muslims and Vahabists.  If we also take into consideration that the brother of the murdered man is going to arrive in Georgia and investigate the situation…” said Khangoshvili, who added that the old tradition of taking revenge, still works in the gorge.

On March 13, another Chechen refugee, Ruslan Timaev, born in 1973, disappeared. On the second day, law enforcers found his car near Tbilisi. There were three bullet shells and blood stains in the car. Fortunately, the incident ended peacefully. Ziaudin Indigoev said in his conversation with the Human Rights Center that Timaev returned home several days ago.

The refugees do not doubt that the recent events that threaten their lives have a political nature and threatens their lives. “The activities that breed fear in the people serve to destabilize the region. Thus we appeal international and human rights organizations to prevent the brutal process,’ said refugees.

The Government Does not Follow the Recommendations of the International Organizations

On June 30 2006, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance mentioned Georgia in its report and made several recommendations to the Georgian Government regarding the Chechen refugees. The European Commission that was set up by the Council of Europe called upon the Georgian government to explore the humanitarian situation of the Chechen refugees and resolve all problems in order to satisfy their essential demands. “We are determined in our recommendations to the Georgian Government to take all measures to prevent all illegal, selfish or discriminating activities of law enforcers towards the Chechen refugees and  punish the offenders in the case of necessity,” stated the extract of the recommendation.  

“Any statement that accuse Georgian law enforcement bodies for abusing their power regarding the Chechen refugees, for harassment or dispersing the refugees, is unreasonable,’ said representatives of the Georgian Prosecutor General’s office.

Koba Chofliani, the coordinator for the Ethnic Minorities at the Georgian Public Defender’s Office, calls upon the authority to take urgent measures in order to improve the unbearable conditions for the Chechen refugees. “There have not been any facts of extradition. However, the murders in Jokholo, disappearing of chechen refugees in Tbilisi make the refugees think that they might face even more danger very soon. They cope with unbearable economical situation and cannot receive proper education. As for the recommendations of the international organizations to Georgian Government regarding the Chechen Refugees, it is absolutely objective and should be followed,’ said Chofliani.

Non-governmental organization Human Rights Center monitors the rights of the Chechen refugees. Special report of the organization stated that Georgian Authority does not follow the international standards regarding the refugees. “Authority does not treat the refugees according to the international norms. We can also admit that the Georgian Law on Refugees envisages the inhuman treatment of refugees. The fate of the Chechen refugees is up to the international organizations that are implementing various projects in the Pankisi Gorge. Thus Georgian government does not do anything to assist the refugees. As far as I know they have not apportioned any tetri to refugees. As for the recent accidents, we can say that it was rather a provocation than a controversy. Other forces are interested into aggravating the situation in the gorge. We have some information that in the nearest future a visit of the Russian Ministry for Urgent Matters is planned in the Pankisi Gorge. The aim of the visit is to persuade refugees to return to Chechnya. Aggravating the situation, creating unbearable social conditions for them and many other artificial problems serve to assure refugees to go back to their home-land,” said Ucha Nanuashvili, Executive Director of the Human Rights Center.

Gela Mtivlishvili, Kakheti

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