Publication N2 / Review Period: September 1-30, 2021 / 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.
Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) Meetings
The 102nd Meeting
On September 27, the 102nd meeting of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) took place in Ergneti, under the co-facilitation of Ambassador Marek Szczygieł, Head of the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM), and Ambassador Annika Söder, Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the South Caucasus.
During the meeting, representatives of the central government of Georgia highlighted several issues. The Georgian party voiced the need to release Georgian citizens, illegally detained by the occupied regime, as well as requested accurate information about the whereabouts of Gela Gochoshvili. Participants also discussed the impact that the protracted closure of crossing points has on conflict-affected communities which is one of the many factors contributing to the abandonment of ethnic Georgians living in the occupied territories and their transition to the territory controlled by the central government of Georgia.
The 102nd Meeting in Ergneti. Source: eumm.eu
Tskhinvali’s Assessment
At the meeting, one of the most important demands of the Ossetian side was to close the block post in the village of Chorchana, where the Georgian police have been patrolling since August 2019, when the first instance of “borderization” occurred. After the 2019 precedent there was no new case of “borderization” in the area; however, the Ossetian side has been ultimately demanding the closure of the Chorchana block post until now. Representatives of the occupation regime also stated that unmanned aerial vehicles flying from the territory of Georgia violate the airspace of the so-called Republic of South Ossetia.
From Meeting to Meeting - Resolved Issues
To recall the issues discussed at the IPRM 101st meeting the main development was the release of Zaza Gakheladze, although it is questionable whether the release of the Georgian citizen from illegal detention was a direct result of the IPRM meeting. Facilitators hail the progress of “effective co-operation” over access to water; however, they did not specify what is meant under “effective co-operation” over access to water – a new drinking water system opened in Tsitsagiantkari, or any progress made in addressing the problem of irrigation water from the Tirifoni Canal after the previous meeting.
From Meeting to Meeting - Unresolved Issues
The issue of closed crossing points remained unsolved and accordingly became a subject of discussion at the 102nd meeting.
Meeting of the Coordination Mechanism for the Search for Missing Persons
On September 16, in the village of Ergneti, a meeting of the Coordination Mechanism was held for the search for missing persons in connection with the 1990s and August 2008 conflicts.
The Coordination Mechanism is a humanitarian platform that brings together Georgian, Ossetian, and Russian participants to exchange information. The platform was established in 2010 under the auspices and with the technical support of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in its capacity as a neutral intermediary.
The discussions included an update on the progress made since the last meeting of the Coordination Mechanism in October 2020 and further efforts needed to clarify the fate of the 122 persons who remain missing in relation to the armed conflicts.
Who Was Kidnapped and Where?
Abduction of Zura Dotiashvili
In September, Zura Dotiashvili, a Georgian citizen from the village of Kirbali, was accused of crossing the occupation line of the Tskhinvali region. He was arrested and taken to the Tskhinvali isolator on charges of illegally crossing the so-called border. According to the Georgian State Security Service (SSS), the hotline was activated in connection with the illegal detention by occupants and information was provided to the EUMM. Dotiashvili was released on the day of the abduction.
Abduction of Gela Gochoshvili
Before the IPRM 102nd meeting, Irakli Antadze, the Deputy Director of the Information-Analytical Department of the SSS, reported to the media about another detained Georgian citizen, Gela Gochoshvili, who is in pre-trial detention on the occupied territory. According to him, Gochoshvili was arrested in August; however, the occupation regime provided information to the Georgian side with a delay. The Georgian citizen is allegedly accused of illegally crossing the so-called border.
Released Citizens
Arrest and release of Jackson Paul Kramer
Jackson Paul Kramer is the first US citizen to be illegally detained by the Tskhinvali occupation regime. He spent 11 days in the Tskhinvali isolator. Information about his arrest was spread only on September 6, when Kramer left the Tskhinvali isolator after 11 days of detention and was handed over to the Georgian side. According to the SSS, the hotline on the arrest of the American tourist was immediately activated and the necessary measures were taken to release him, although the reason and purpose of disseminating information about the arrest is not known.
Kramer is a traveler and was following the southern ridge of the Caucasus Mountains to reach the Black Sea when border guards of the occupation regime arrested him near the village of Erman in the occupied Java region. As it turned out after his briefing with local journalists, the American traveler had no idea about the existence of the de facto Tskhinvali region regime and its invisible and non-existent border crossing.
The de facto Tskhinvali authorities used Kramer's arrest for propaganda purposes. He was taken on an excursion and shown the “Memorial to the Victims of Georgian Aggression,” as well as provided information about the “Republic of South Ossetia.”
As the Ossetian media reports, the Georgian and American sides share full responsibility for this fact since they “deliberately hide the existence of the so-called Republic of South Ossetia and the conflict between Georgia and the Tskhinvali region and Abkhazia from their citizens.”
Jackson Paul Kramer After the Release. Source: ssg.gov.ge
“Borderization” and Ongoing Activities Along the Occupation Line
Illegal “Borderization” in Khurvaleti
On September 3, Khurvaleti became the epicenter of “borderization” once again when a new barbed wire and green so-called border banner appeared blocking the inner road of the village and cutting off Nora Batonisashvili, a resident of Khurvaleti, access road to her house and land.
According to Batonisashvili, representatives of the occupation regime have established informal control over this area since April 2019. Soldiers of the occupation forces often appeared on her territory. Batonisashvili initially stopped cultivating the land, then stopped visiting, and now a barbed wire fence has appeared next to her house.
Initially, the SSS denied the fact of “borderization” and only confirmed it two weeks later.
Illegal Borderization in Khurvaleti. Source: Author's photo
Installation of a Danger Area Sign
On September 4, the anti-occupation movement - Power is in Unity, discovered a new banner in the village of Khurvaleti, 1 km from the central highway. The banner differs from green banners that were previously installed. The new sign has a warning: Attention, Dangerous Area. Since this type of banner is the first, it is difficult to say exactly what might the “dangerous area” mean and what to expect in the “dangerous” zone.
According to the SSS, the hotline was activated which means that the European Union Monitoring Mission was informed, and the issue is on the agenda of the Geneva talks.
New Banner in Khurvaleti. Source: radiotavisupleba.ge
Illegal “Borderization” in the village of Takhtisdziri
On September 11, another instance of “borderization” occurred. Reportedly, access to 20 hectares of Georgian territory was limited in the village of Takhtisdziri in the Kareli municipality. The villagers used this territory for sowing. New barbed wire prevents them from visiting their own plots and the high risk of kidnapping - even from visiting the adjacent territory.
As the SSS stated, the so-called “borderization“ process damages the security environment and complicates the lives of the local population, for which the Russian Federation is fully responsible.
This is not the first case of so-called border relocation in this area. The process of creeping occupation has been ongoing here since 2011, although the situation particularly aggravated by the facts of increased “borderization” in recent years. The area was initially plowed and later representatives of the occupation forces returned with poles and banners to erect the final fence. The argument remained the same - the land on which the Takhtisdziri villagers sowed and reaped crops for generations and which the occupation forces fenced - belonged to them. Demarcation works in the area were resumed in April this year.
Illegal “Borderization” in Takhtisdziri. Source: tvmonitoringi.ge
Important Visits
Czech Delegation in the Village of Odzisi
On September 14, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Europe of the Czech Republic, Aleš Chmelař, paid an official visit to the occupation line in the village of Odzisi. He was hosted by the Head of the EUMM, Ambassador Marek Szczygieł, who briefed the deputy minister about the situation, informed about the facts of “borderization” and the protracted closure of crossing points which has a negative impact on the freedom of movement of locals on both sides of the occupation line and their access to education, medical and social services.
Czech Delegation in the Village of Odzisi. Source: eumm.ge
Business Projects in Villages Near the Occupation Line
Natural Beverage Enterprise Kombucha
A natural beverage enterprise Kombucha was launched in the village of Karapila with the support of the JSC Partnership Fund’s StartUp Georgia and USAID/Zrda. Kombucha will produce completely natural, carbonated, healthy drink made from completely new, fermented tea. According to the Director of Kombucha Brewers Georgia, the total volume of the first phase of the enterprise is GEL 700,000.
Opening of the Enterprise. Source: bm.ge