EUMM in Georgia Comments on Borderization Activities
Following media reports and statements made recently over the information that a new ‘Green Sign’ has been installed in the vicinity of Bershueti (Gduleti) of Gori District at the occupation line with the breakaway South Ossetia region, the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM) dispatched a patrol to the area to monitor the situation.
“The EUMM can confirm that borderization activities took place in the Gduleti area in June, but is not able to confirm the installation of new ‘Green Signs’ during the past week,” the statement of the EUMM reads.
The statement added that several ‘Green Signs’ were installed in the vicinity of Bershueti (Gduleti) on June 19 2017, very close to the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) on a position which is not under control of the Georgian government (Tbilisi Administered Territory).
“Nonetheless, the EUMM considers the placement of ‘Green Signs’ unwarranted. Borderization activities in any form, including placing of such signs, create obstacles to the freedom of movement and deprive farmers, who have been farming there for years, from cultivating their land,” the statement reads.
The EUMM says they will continue to monitor borderization activities closely.
Earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Georgia has made a comment regarding the issue and expressed its ‘deep’ concern over the ‘illegal installation’ of a so-called border sign across the occupation line in the Tskhinvali region, in the village of Bershueti, as a result of which several local farmers’ agricultural lands have now partially fallen beyond the occupation line.
“This is a continuation of the illegal process of the so-called borderization, which not only restricts the fundamental rights of local residents but considerably damages the security situation on the ground and obstructs Georgia’s efforts to achieve peaceful resolution of the conflict,” the statement reads.
The ministry went on to say that despite the international community’s repeated calls, the Russian Federation continues to grossly violate the principles of international law and its commitments undertaken under the Ceasefire Agreement of 12 August 2008. It also added that the general situation in Georgia’s occupied regions and adjacent territories once again point to the necessity of establishing international security arrangements and creating human rights monitoring mechanisms on the ground.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia calls upon the international community to duly assess the situation in Georgia’s occupied territory and take respective measures to stop Russia’s illegal actions," the statement reads, adding that the ministry will use everything at its disposal not to let the aforementioned action of Russia continue without due international assessment and reaction.
The information about borderization was released on July 4 by Gori Governor Davit Tsertsvadze, who stated that Russian soldiers resumed fortification efforts along the so-called border of de facto South Ossetia and moved the border sign 500 meters into Georgian-controlled territory.
The governor added that due to the erection of the sign, residents of the village of Bershueti - the Chilindrishvili and the Khodeli families have been deprived of access to 20 hectares of agricultural land, owned by them.
By Thea Morrison
Photo source: EUMM Georgia