Publication: N6 / Review Period: January 1-31, 2022 / Author: Elene Mindiashvili
Monitoring of the Situation at the Occupation Line in the Tskhinvali Region is being prepared within the framework of the project - Roadmap to Kremlin's Policy in Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali Region. The purpose of the publication is to review the situation and ongoing important developments near the occupation line in the Tskhinvali region. The review will be useful for everyone – decision-makers, public employees, media representatives and other people who are interested in the mentioned topic.
Ergneti Meeting
On January 20, 2022, the 104th Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) meeting was held under the co-facilitation of Ambassador Marek Szczygieł, Head of the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM), and Ambassador Viorel Moşanu, newly appointed Special Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office for the South Caucasus (for more details about the meeting, see the article).
Meeting in Ergneti. Source: eumm.eu
Priority and problematic issues were voiced by Georgian and Ossetian delegations at the meeting. Official Tbilisi raised the issue of the release of illegally detained six Georgian citizens and the illegal process of “borderization.”
Among the priority concerns voiced by the Ossetian delegation were the issues of checkpoints and the violation of the so-called airspace by unmanned aerial vehicles. The de facto Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy for post-conflict settlement of the so-called South Ossetia, Egor Kochiev, demanded the closure of the Chorchana-Tsnelis block post this time as well. The Ossetian delegation highlighted the cases of the airspace violation by the Power is in Unity anti-occupation movement. The movement was accused of conducting reconnaissance in Ossetian villages.
From Meeting to Meeting - Resolved Issues
Only one issue was resolved in November-January, between the 103rd and 104th meetings. Illegally detained Gela Gochoshvili was released. He was handed over to the Georgian side on December 19, 2021.
From Meeting to Meeting - Unresolved Issues
During the period between the rounds, the issue of the protracted closure of crossing points remained problematic, although no special attention was paid to this issue at the 104th meeting. The issue of detentions remained the number one priority as well as the ongoing “borderization” process. The concerns of the Ossetian side have not changed either - the unresolved issues of the Chorchana-Tsnelisi checkpoint and the violation of the so-called airspace by unmanned aerial vehicles.
Closed Meeting in Ergneti
On January 20, 2022, in addition to the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) regular meeting, another closed meeting was also held in Ergneti. According to Ekho Kavkaza, the sides discussed the issue of three citizens (Alan Khachirov, Alan Khugayev and Sultan Pliev) who went missing on October 13, 2008. According to Nika Svimonishvili, the Head of the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association, who was present at the meeting, relatives of the missing will be interrogated. Svimonishvili did not specify other details of the meeting with the media due to the information confidentiality.
Detained Citizens
Detention of Lasha Khetereli
Lasha Khetereli, a resident of the village of Shaumiani, Marneuli municipality, was arrested for the sixth time on January 5. He was released from the Tskhinvali prison on June 17, 2021, after serving a one-year prison term. Reportedly, Khetereli periodically visits his close relatives living in Tskhinvali. Information about his arrest was confirmed by the State Security Service of Georgia.
Detention and Release of Levan Makashvili
The “State” Security Committee of the Tskhinvali region announced that on January 22, near Tskhinvali, Ossetian border guards detained Levan Makashvili, a resident of the village of Bebnisi, Kareli municipality, born in 1981. According to the Committee, “the impasse such as the socio-economic instability as well as the unemployment in Georgia motivated the border trespasser to the illegal action.” As the Committee noted, due to Makashvili's health problems, he was extradited to the Georgian side without paying a fine on January 24.
“Borderization” and Ongoing Activities Along the Occupation Line
Upgraded Barbed Wire on the Kwaisa-Iri road
On January 7, Davit Katsarava, the leader of the Power is in Unity anti-occupation movement, discovered new traces of the occupation forces’ activities on the Kvaisa-Iri road in Racha. He claims that the so-called border guards upgraded the barbed wire.
Upgraded Barbed Wire on the Kvaisi-Iri Road. Source: Davit Katsarava's Facebook Page
Demarcation Works in Kirbali
In the morning of January 19 of the current year, the occupation forces started demarcation works in the village of Kirbali, Gori municipality, on the Georgian-controlled territory, near the so-called border banner. They crossed the “border” of the de facto republic and marked the perimeter adjacent to the occupation line with white stripes. Locals suggest that the marking is a prerequisite for the establishment of a new occupation line. If the assumption is correct, the entire occupation line around the village of Kirbali will invade 100 meters of the Georgian-controlled territory.
Demarcation Work in the Village of Kirbali. Source: radiotavisupleba.ge
Patrolling on the Occupation Line
In December, a Russian border unit has particularly intensified patrolling on the occupation line, for which checkpoints were gradually expanded. The process also continued in January. Along with those villages where the “borderization” process is directly taking place, the special intensity of patrolling was observed in the villages of Chorchana and Khurvaleti. Davit Katsarava, the leader of the Power is in Unity anti-occupation movement, released a video footage of the occupation forces patrolling the Georgian-controlled territory, in Chorchana. As for Khurvaleti, he spreads information about Valia Vanishvili’s condition on his Facebook page. According to Katsarava, on the spot he learned from Data, Valia Vanishvili's grandson, that representatives of the occupation forces did not allow Vanishvili to take firewood left near the barbed wire.
State Projects
Tea Akhvlediani, the State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality, awarded a Kosta Khetagurov Scholarship and a certificate to Ana Barbakadze, an excellent student from the occupied Tskhinvali region. She is studying at the Ilia State University. The scholarship for students from the occupied territories who show the best results in the Unified National Examinations was established in 2018 at the initiative of the Office of the State Minister and with the support of the Ministry of Education and Science.