Georgian rights defenders criticize authorities for protracting consideration of Meskhetians' repatriation

In the course of public debates (and a press conference) on the topic "Repatriation Issues of Meskhetian Muslims", held in the Tbilisi office of the Heinrich Boell Foundation, Georgian public activists reproached the Ministry for Refugees' Matters and Internally Displaced Persons of Georgia of slow consideration of repatriation applications lodged by Meskhetian Turks evicted from Georgia back in 1944.

Earlier, the "Caucasian Knot" has reported that about 13,000 Meskhetian Turks living in Azerbaijan expressed their desire to return to Georgia. According to Shamsaddin Sarvarov, one of the leaders of the society "Samshoblo" (Homeland) created in Azerbaijan, Meskhetian Turks want to return to the Georgian region of Samtskhe-Javakheti, from where they were deported during World War II. Within eighteen months from the date of receipt of applications, the Ministry has considered only 105 of them.

Kokaya: state helps those who failed to submit all the necessary documents

"We've received 5200 applications from adults; however, also children were mentioned there; thus, in total, we have about 9000 applications. The applicants can be split into three categories: firstly, those, who managed to collect all the required documents; their application have been considered and responded to positively. Secondly, those applicants, who collected all the documents, except for one certificate - a proof of one's origin; we have 2100 such applications," Irakli Kokaya, head of the department for repatriation of the above Ministry, said during the debates, held on November 3.

According to his story, the Georgian state has undertaken to prove the origin of those who failed to present the respective documents; and by decree of Koba Subeliani, the Minister for Refugees' Matters and Accommodation, a special body was set up - the Board of Elders, which is studying such cases.

"Finally, the third category includes those, who failed to provide the required package of references and documents; we work with each of them separately and wait for them to collect all the required information," said Irakli Kokaya.

Adelkhanov: legislation assumes too many documents

NGO activists have noted that the return process of Meskhetian Turks is unsatisfactory.

Emil Adelkhanov, a Georgian rights defender and a member of the Amnesty International, did not want to comment the law on repatriation at all, arguing that analysis of the document "will give no results."

However, at the request of the moderator, Mr Adelkhanov pointed to shortcomings of the law. First of all, he stated that the law demands collection of too many documents.

"They demand biometric photos from applicants. Given that the majority of returnees to Georgia live in rural areas, they have to travel sometimes for hundreds of miles to take such photos... Besides, according to the law, documents should be submitted in Georgian or English. However, these people know none of them; while translation of documents is very expensive; and you can't guarantee the quality of translation and available translator," said Adelkhanov.

Besides, as he noted, the law fails to fix the deadlines for the Ministry to consider the applications.

"Most people return not under the law on repatriation but in a haphazard manner"

Emil Adelkhanov has noted that he is mostly concerned not about the law, but about the situation in Georgia. "Most people return not under law on repatriation, but in a haphazard manner, that is, under the other law - on a residence permit. But here they also encounter obstacles. For example, having received such a permit, people have to extend it," he said.

He also reminded about the incident that occurred in December 2010, when a family of Meskhetian Turks, who were moving from Azerbaijan to Georgia, was stopped at the border for a search. Finally, people were given back their property only a month later in improper condition; while the driver of the fixed-route taxi, who had transported the family, was sentenced to five years in prison for an attempt to give a bribe.

It should be noted that for a year already there were no messages about any violations of Meskhetians' rights at the border. Moreover, as noted by members of the Meskhetian community, interference of the media and public helped a lot. However, according to Adelkhanov, such actions had already scared off most of the Meskhetians.

Tarkhan-Mouravi: without solving the problem of Meskhetians' repatriation, Georgia may face many dangers

The Georgian government is not engaged in any integration of Meskhetians into the Georgian society, Jana Somerlund, an employee of the European Representative Office of Minority Affairs, said at the debates.

Professor Georgi Tarkhan-Mouravi, Director of the Institute of Public Policy, who worked on the book "Meskhetians: Road Home", said that without solving the problem of Meskhetian Turks' repatriation, Georgia may face many dangers.

"We may get tension foci inside Georgia and damage its international image; and, above all, don't forget that Georgia is within the international legal environment. Should descendants of Meskhetian Turks' address the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), demanding restoration of their property rights, it may cause very unpleasant consequences for Georgia," said Tarkhan-Mouravi.

Georgia has no Meskhetians' applications from Russia

During the press conference, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent asked why among the 9000 applications received by the department for repatriation, there were no applications from the Turks, who had been moved to Southern Russia after pogroms in Uzbekistan in 1989. "In fact, we have received no applications. We sent to all the organizations, which expressed their interest, the application forms, which indicated 35 points. These forms were also sent to the Russian public movement of Meskhetians" named "Vatan" (in 2008 it was still headed by Suleiman Barbakadze, and the office of the "Vatan" is in Moscow, - note of the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent)," said Irakli Kokaya.

"After a while, representatives of the 'Vatan' arrived in Tbilisi and left packages with these applications. Out of the 35 above points presented in the application, only three points were filled in - the name, surname and date of birth. Where these people live and where they came from - we don't know. There was no indication where they lived," stated Irakli Kokaya.

He could not answer the question why they had not attempted to contact the Russian rights defenders, who dealt with Meskhetians' matters in 2004-2007.

As stated by Marina Dubrovina, a rights defender from the Krasnodar Territory, several thousand persons in the Volgograd and Rostov Regions are still waiting for an answer from the Georgian government.

"Their signatures were collected Suleiman Barbakadze, the then head of the 'Vatan'. People are still asking when they will receive answers. But I'll have to tell them plainly that their applications had not been accepted, while the law has expired," Marina Dubrovina told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

However, Irakli Kokaya, when asked whether these Meskhetians had a chance to return to Georgia, replied in the affirmative: "Yes, the law has expired, but that doesn't mean that the windows are closed. On the contrary, the legislation of Georgia makes it very easy to get a residence permit. There are no restrictions on entry into Georgia on one's ethnicity; please, let people come, and in five years they'll be able to get the Georgian citizenship... We have precedents, when people receive dual citizenship."

However, when asked on how many Meskhetians had obtained dual citizenship, Irakli Kokaya answered that he possessed no accurate information. "As far as I know, there are several dozens of people," said Kokaya.

Nevertheless, despite the possibility to return to Georgia, many evictees' descendants are in no hurry to do it, because Georgia has failed to assume any return of their property, any preferences in purchase of housing and any employment programmes.

"We understand that it is really unfair to demand compensation for all the losses suffered by Meskhetians from Georgia. Since Russia is the successor of the Soviet Union, whose leaders organized the 1944 deportation, we find it reasonable to demand that Russia also takes over part of the problem to compensate the damage suffered by 100,000 people," Ali Eyubov, a member of the Meskhetian community in Georgia, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.