82nd Ergneti IPRM Meeting Focuses on Problems in Occupied Tskhinvali

The 82nd Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) meeting was held in Ergneti on Friday.

Erik Hoeeg, Acting Head of the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM,) and Ambassador Guenther Baechler, Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the South Caucasus, co-chaired the meeting.

The State Security Service (SSS) of Georgia says representatives of the Central Government, alongside the members of the meeting, discussed significant incidents that took place in occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region, occupation line and its vicinities during recent weeks.

“Particular attention was paid to the case of Georgian citizen Giorgi Giunashvili, who is illegally detained in Tskhinvali's so called prison. The charges against him were made up by the de facto forces,” the head of the SSS Analytical Department, Kakhaber Kemoklidze, stated after the meeting. He added that the necessity of transparent investigation into the death of Akhalgori resident Davit Basharuli was also raised.

During the meeting, talks were held on the illegal process of so-called “borderization”, and its negative outcomes in the vicinities of the occupation line.

Representatives of the Georgian Government, alongside participants of the IPRM, discussed certain cases concerning illegal detentions for crossing of the so-called border.

The European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) in Georgia reports that the importance of early notification, via the hotline, on planned military events close to the ABL was once again stressed, and the participants agreed on the list of activities to be notified.

Participants reaffirmed their commitment to utilize the full potential of the IPRM format in order to identify concrete solutions to problems on the ground, and expressed appreciation of the effectiveness of the hotline in defusing possible tension.

“During the course of the meeting, the Acting Head of EUMM introduced the upcoming 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence campaign, and offered the IPRM participants the chance to White Ribbons, symbolizing the pledge to never commit or condone violence against women,” the EUMM said.

The next IPRM meeting will take place on December 19, 2017.

The Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism was created in February 2009 as a result of the Geneva discussions that followed the 2008 conflict in Georgia. The meetings are an opportunity to identify potential risks and problems facing the local community, follow up on incidents, and exchange information.

By Thea Morrison

Photo source: EUMM