83rd IPRM Meeting Takes Place in Ergneti

The recent developments that took place at Georgia’s breakaway South Ossetia (Tskhinvali) region, occupation line and its vicinities in the period of 16 November-18 December, were discussed at the 83rd Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) meeting in Ergneti on December 19.

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

The general security situation, Hotline activations and detention cases at the so called Administrative Border, were the key issues of the meeting.

The State Security Service (SSS) of Georgia says the Georgian side raised the issue of “undergoing militarization process in the region and illegal military exercises held throughout 2017.”

The SSS added that particular attention was paid to problems that occurred due to so-called borderization process conducted in the vicinities of occupation line and the necessity to investigate the case of Georgian national Davit Basharuli who went missing in2014 and found dead afterwards.

The EUMM reports that the co-facilitators commended and thanked participants for their continuing engagement, which contributes to the stabilization of the security situation in the region.

“All participants reconfirmed their commitment to the IPRM as an important platform to strengthen security and stability on the ground and to address the needs of the conflict-affected population from a humanitarian perspective” the EUMM said.

The next IPRM meeting will take place on 24 January 2018.

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