OSCE top official visits Georgian IDPs
By Mushvig Mehdiyev
Top OSCE official visited IDPs in Khurvaleti, a Georgian village located at the border of Georgia’s breakaway Tskhinvali region this week.
Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Lamberto Zannier, has made a trip to Georgia's war-torn area and spoken with people who were evicted from their homes as a result of the conflict.
In Khurvaleti, Zannier witnessed the barbed wire fences installed by Russian soldiers on Georgian territory, near the so-called administrative boundary line with separatist Tskhinvali.
The fences have caused major problems to local population as portion of their gardens and cornfields happen to be located on the other side of the fences, which they are now forbidden to cross.
After a walk in Khurvaleti, Zannier travelled to Tserovani, a settlement for IDPs near Tbilisi where he visited those who were forced to leave their homes in Khurvaleti village after the Russia-Georgia war in 2008.
He also visited a local school, met with a local family in Tserovani, and familiarized himself with the daily challenges IDPs have come against.
According to Global Overview 2014 Report, there are up to 206,600 IDPs registered in Georgia as of the end of 2013. These people came from both the breakaway Tskhinvali and Abkhazia regions of Georgia which are now under Russia's occupation.
The same report stated that some of the main issues facing Georgian IDPs were access to adequate housing, employment, and segregated education or lack of education for youth.
The relations between Georgia and Russia reached a critical point when Georgian troops launched several military operations to retake the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia on August 8, 2008. At which point the Russian armed forces entered the regions to stop all military attacks by Georgian troops. After four days of intense fighting, Georgian forces were expelled from South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Both sides agreed to a ceasefire on August 12. Russia is currently dominating the collective peacekeeping missions in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
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