Georgian refugees protest at Saakashvili’s empty residence

Refugees from Abkhazia and South Osetia held a rally at the Tbilisi residence of President Mikheil Saakashvili Thursday protesting against the decision of city’s authorities to evict them from houses where they have been living for a very long time, Interfax reported.

According to some media, Georgian-born refugees who had to leave Abkhazia and South Osetia after the war of 1990s and the August war of 2008, moved into some empty buildings in Tbilisi. Meanwhile the city’s authorities are step by step evicting the refugees. In July, ten of dozens refugees were evicted from the Samshoblo Publishers building in center of Tbilisi, and on August 11 policemen began to evict people from a living block which was a house for nearly 700 families.

The authorities offer compensations and opportunities to move into houses in the regions, however, these people don’t want to leave the capital. “They offered us housing in villages of the western Georgia, where there are not even basic social conditions and jobs,” protesters told media.

It’s worth mentioning that on August 11 the refugees held a rally at the City Hall of Tbilisi. They said are going to campaign against the mentioned measures once a week, holding rallies at the presidential residence if the authorities don’t step back.

Meanwhile, Saakashvili himself is currently abroad. After a visit to Columbia where he participated in the inauguration ceremony of Columbian President, he arrived in Aruba Island in the Caribbean Sea, which is the part of Holland. There he held meetings with local senior officers.