Human Rights in Georgia, April - May 2000: excerpts
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Subject: Human Rights in Georgia, April - May 2000: excerpts
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Original sender: Emil Adelkhanov-Steinberg <[email protected]>
Human Rights in Georgia, April - May 2000: excerpts
South Caucasian Human Rights Monitor
published by the Caucasian Institute for Peace, Development and
Democracy
with the help of the Winston Foundation for Peace
Editor: Emil Adelkhanov-Steinberg
Part 3
Human Rights in Georgia
April 2000
- The political prisoners on hunger strike
- Presidential elections
- Presidential pardon
- Leila Tsomaia harrased
- Freedom of press
- Freedom of religion
- In and about Abkhazia
- Varia
------------
.......................
In and about Abkhazia
At a request of Abkhaz authorities, on March 29 the Georgian party
released two Abkhazians, Gennady Ashkhatsava and Gela Vanacha, who
were arrested in the district of Zugdidi on January 25. In exchange,
Abkhaz officials promised to free some Georgian prisoners. But before
it happened, the two released Abkhazians killed Mamuka Antia, a
Georgian POW, in the Sukhumi prison on March 31. (Antia had been
captured by Abkhaz in May 1998, when there was a guerrilla warfare in
the district of Gali. At first, he was sentenced to death, but then
the sentence was mitigated to 15 years' imprisonment.)
"Akhali Taoba" No. 92, April 3, p. 8, Gea news agency, "A Georgian
guerrilla killed in the Sukhumi prison"
The "Shvidi Dge" newspaper proposes its own version: Mamuka Antia
committed suicide, having fallen victim to constant psychological
pressure and beatings.
"Shvidi Dge" No. 38, April 3-4, p. 1, "The Abkhaz killed a Georgian
guerrilla before the POW exchange"
Georgian guerrillas and relatives of Mamuka Antia's mounted a protest
action in Zugdidi on April 3, demanding a meeting with Avtandil
Ioseliani, the chairman of the State Intelligence Department and the
head of the commission for POW exchange and search of the missing.
"Rezonansi" No. 90, April 4, p. 3, Gea news agency, "An action began
on the Enguri bridge"
Presentation of books on human rights (translated into Abkhazian) took
place in the Sukhumi office of Dieter Boden, the envoy of the UN
Secretary General to Georgia: "The International Bill of Human Rights"
and "Learning Human Rights". Two UN documents are also being
translated: on preventing tortures and on children rights.
"Shvidi Dge" No. 39, April 5-6, p. 2, Tengiz Patchkoria, "The Abkhaz
getting familiar with human rights"
The other day unidentified gunmen fired at Abkhaz frontier guards near
the village of Chuburgini, Gali District, killing one of them, Murman
Dzandzava, and wounding two others, including Smirba, the commander of
the Napati customs office. Georgian guerrillas have not claimed
responsibility for the attack.
"Akhali Taoba" No. 96, April 7, p. 3, Prime-News agency, "One man
killed and two wounded"
On April 14 Abkhaz authorities submitted the results of post-mortem of
Mamuka Antia (the Georgian guerrilla who had died in the Sukhumi
prison under suspicious circumstances) to Tbilisi. The Abkhaz experts
claim that he had hanged himself in the wards. Levan Chachua, deputy
head of the Georgian forensic bureau, doubts their version because
several bruises were revealed on the dead body.
"Dilis Gazeti" No. 85, April 18, p. 2, Gea news agency, "The Abkhaz
delivered the results of the post-mortem"
According to Raul Khadjindjal, the head of the Sukhumi security
service, Georgian guerrillas led by Zaza Gagulia fired at an Abkhaz
police car near the village of Tagiloni, Gali district of Abkhazia
(the zone of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping troops), on
April 14, killing seven Abkhaz policemen. Commenting on the incident,
Avtandil Ioseliani, the chairman of the Georgian State Intelligence
Department, said it might delay the transfer of the bodies of the 47
killed Georgians to the Georgian side, though the Georgian and Abkhaz
parties had agreed on the issue earlier.
"Akhali Taoba" No. 105, April 17, p. 2, Prime-News agency, "Seven
Abkhaz policemen killed near Tagiloni"
Kakha Tsutskiridze, a cameraman of the independent TV company
"Rustavi-2", was wounded the other day in the Gali district of
Abkhazia. He says he was wounded by accident. In his words, he had
used to cross the Enguri River and enter Abkhazia almost every weak to
make a film. Russian peacekeepers have beaten him more than once and
broke his camera but nobody had fired at him before.
"Rezonansi" No. 112, April 26, p. 2, Rusiko Mikava, "Who fired at the
journalist?"
According to the interior ministry of Abkhazia, Georgian guerrillas
fired at a car of the Abkhaz frontier guards near the village of
Saberio, Gali district, on April 27, killing three guards and a
Georgian woman (local resident) and wounding one guard. Georgian
guerrillas refused to claim responsibility for the incident.
"Akhali Taoba" No. 117, April 29, p. 3, Prime-News agency, "Four
people killed in a gunfire in the Gali district"
.......................
Varia
When President Shevardnadze was on a pre-election tour in the
Akhalkalaki district (Armenian-populated Samtskhe-Djavakheti region),
about 200 local Armenians carried out a meeting, demanding to give
Djavakheti an autonomous status, officialy recognise the fact of
genocide of Armenians in Turkey in the early 20th century and solve
social problems of the region.
"Rezonansi" No. 91, April 5, p. 1, Prime-News agency, "An action to
restore the Djavakheti autonomy"
(In 1915, when the district (uyezd) of Akhalkalaki was resubordinated
from the Armenian-populated province of Kars to that of Tiflis, the
local Armenians demanded a special status for it, to be autonomous
from the Tiflis authority. That is why the author uses the verb "to
restore". - CIPDD)
.......................
On April 18 the parliament amended the Constitution of Georgia to give
Ajaria the formal status of an autonomous republic (when adopting the
Constitution, MPs left out the issue of territorial arrangement of the
country - CIPDD).
"Rezonansi" No. 105, April 19, p. 2, Tamara Mtchedlishvili, "A day of
great reconciliation in the parliament"
---------------------------
May 2000
- Ombudsman
- Mass media
- Religion and society
- National reconciliation and pardoning
- Hunger strikes in custody
- Other political prisoners
- The policeman killed a man
- In and about Abkhazia
- Varia
-------------------------
.......................
In and about Abkhazia
Two Georgians - Jeka Khuntsaria, 23, and Roland Kharchilava, 30 - and
one unidentified Abkhaz were killed in a clash in the Zugdidi district
late on May 16 night. According to Georgian law-enforcement agencies,
Abkhaz gunmen crossed the Enguri River to abduct Georgians.
"Rezonansi" No. 130, May 17, p. 6, Rusiko Mikava, "Two Georgians and
one Abkhaz died in a bloody clash"
The Abkhaz police reportedly killed 30-year-old Raigul Badzagua in the
preventive detention wards of Gali, Abkhazia. He had been arrested
without any explanation in the village of Nabakevi, Gali district of
Abkhazia, two months earlier.
"Alia" No. 80, May 23, p. 2, Kavkaz-Press agency, "The Abkhaz killed a
Georgian"
According to Malkhaz Kakabadze, the Georgian ambassador to Russia,
1,200 civilians have been shot to death and 600 houses burnt down in
Abkhazia during the last six months.
"Shvidi Dge" No. 59, May 24-25, p. 2, GMS agency, "Cannot the death of
1,200 people be called genocide?"
Vladislav Ardzinba, the president of the self-proclaimed Abkhaz
republic, flatly refused to accept the proposal of UN experts to
discuss with Georgian officials the possibility of division of
constitutional powers.
"Dilis Gazeti" No. 117, May 26, p. 5, Kavkaz-Press agency, "Abkhazia
unwilling even to discuss the division of constitutional powers"
.......................
Varia
.......................
Two reporters of the Tbilisi newspaper "Kviris Palitra" were arrested
by South Ossetian police in Ergneti, South Ossetia, on May 8, when
attempting to probe into smuggling from Russia to Georgia through a
local market. They faced moral and physical abuse when in the
Tskhinvali prison. Both were released the next day thanks to an
intervention of the Georgian authorities. They say there are some
dozen Georgian prisoners in the prison and neither their relatives nor
Georgian authorities know anything about their imprisonment.
"Dilis Gazeti" No. 105, May 12, Gea news agency, "The Ossetians
arrested Georgian journalists"
.......................
The Ministry of Justice appealed to the parliament to restore the
ethnicity item in citizens' IDs before the spring parliamentary
session comes to its end. According to Justice Minister Johnny
Khetsuriani, President Shevardnadze has been long proposing this
measure.
"Shvidi Dge" No. 59, May 24-25, p. 3, Eliso Gurgenidze, "Ethnicity to
be restored in the ID before long"
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