Protest action held at building of CoE mission in Tbilisi

On September 21 the activists of the Resistance Movement and several NGOs held a rally at the Council of Europe (CoE) mission in Tbilisi.

The "Caucasian Knot" reported that the protest action was timed to the visit of Tina Aketoft, Rapporteur of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population of the Council of Europe, to Georgia. The organizers wish to have information about how Georgia forces eviction of refugees, which aggrieved hundreds of refugee families.

The initiator of the protest action is "The Nationwide Resistance Movement." The action was aimed to bring to the CoE's attention to the real information on the situation of refugees. The participants of the action demanded a meeting with Tina Aketoft. The action was attended by the NGOs engaged in protecting the rights of refugees and by some politicians, the radio station" Echo of the Caucasus" reports.

"We came here to inform the CoE representatives the complete, objective and comprehensive information on the fact how during many years, and particularly recent years, violence against refugees occurs," David Liluashvili, the representative of the Resistance Movements, stated at the protest action, "Georgia On- line" reports.

Let us remind you that visit of Tina Aketoft to Georgia began on September 19. Earlier, she announced her intention to become personally familiar with the situation of internally displaced persons from Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

On September 20 Tina Aketoft herself told journalists that the PACE Committee, which she represents, is engaged in humanitarian issues and examines the incidents that took place during the events of August 2008. "I plan to meet in Georgia with the largest possible number of people, including internally displaced persons, representatives of authorities and NGOs," stated Ms Aketoft.