GEORGIA: IDPS: NEW AND OLD THEMES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 TBILISI 000512 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/CARC, EUR/ACE, PRM E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/17/2019 TAGS: PHUM PGOV KIRF RR GG SUBJECT: GEORGIA: IDPS: NEW AND OLD THEMES REF: A. TBILISI 408 ¶B. TBILISI 407 Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOHN TEFFT FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) Summary: Recent trips to the west Georgian cities of Kutaisi and Zugdidi reinforce the impression that many of the problems for IDPs from the 1990's remain unaddressed, and the GoG's plan to target their needs directly has not yet yielded visible results. While the GoG has been criticized for building homes for new IDPs from the August 2008 conflict too hastily, a recent visit to one such settlement Tserovani revealed that some of the earlier logistical problems are being addressed. The continuing challenges for the Ministry of Refugees and Accommodation are dealing with the thousands of requests for assistance from individual IDPs and disseminating information to them systematically so people can make smart choices for themselves and their families. The Minister of Refugees and Accommodation works hard but not efficiently--as does the Ministry itself. From the standpoint of the donor community, many of the decisions which affect privatization of collective centers are being made at senior levels of government and are not shared in a streamlined way to de-conflict with donor plans. Improved communication is especially important because, even with the best of intentions, it will be some time before the government can respond to all IDPs' needs. Although opposition political parties are represented in the region, as of yet none of them are working yet on a regional level in a way that would allow them to address IDP social issues. End summary. NEW SOLUTIONS FOR "OLD" IDPs ¶2. (C) On February 25, Prime Minister Gilauri and Minister for Refugees and Accommodations (MRA) Subeliani, along with other GoG officials, briefed the international donor community on their plans for durable housing solutions for "old IDPs" or those who had been displaced during the 1989-1992 period. According to MRA information, 43 percent of IDPs are accommodated in 1600 collective centers, and 57 percent have found shelter individually, some staying with family or friends. Most of these IDPs reside in Tbilisi (45 percent),Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti (28 percent),and Imereti (13 percent). The plan for the integration of old IDPs is that those residing in collective centers (which are either owned by GoG or private entities) will be offered private ownership, although the GoG would have to buy the private properties first. For those buildings which cannot be refurbished or for families needing additional space, some new buildings may be required. The first step in this concept envisages rehabilitation and transferring property to IDPs for the symbolic price of 1 GEL. The plan is that IDPs will sign contracts, transferring ownership to them, and all property owners will then be entered into the Public Registry data base. The government will pay for all associated fees. GOG envisages that 138 million GEL will be allocated for this in 2009, but it will cost overall 700-800 million USD to realize the total project. (Embassy note: The 138 million GEL is a direct contribution from the EC to support Government efforts to provide durable resettlement options for the "old" IDPs. End note.) ¶3. (C) So far MRA has not shared this information with IDPs in written form, nor widely briefed them on the latest government plans. In a March 5 meeting with Subeliani, Matt Johnson, PRM Europe Program Officer, and Lisa Kierans, Moscow-based Regional Refugee coordinator, urged the Minister QMoscow-based Regional Refugee coordinator, urged the Minister to effectively disseminate written information to IDPs to clarify MRA policy and explains the IDPs' options. According to documents disseminated at the February 25 brief, the process of rehabilitation will be managed by the Ministry of Finance and MRA. In remarks at a March 8 roundtable held in honor of International Women's Day, Subeliani outlined the durable housing solutions for old IDPs but included information that was not in the earlier brief, such as compensation for IDPs who had bought their own accommodation in the last 15 years. Subeliani also said that clarification is needed to define who is an "old IDP." Ostensibly, IDPs born in Tbilisi to old caseload IDPs, or those who moved to Tbilisi more than 15 years ago from Sukhumi, should not be counted in overall old caseload IDP figures. He used himself as an example, saying that although his family was from Sukhumi, that they had moved to Tbilisi when he was very young and he had lived in the capital most of is life. Thus, by his own account, he is not an old IDP. NEW IDP SETTLEMENTS -------------- TBILISI 00000512 002 OF 005 ¶4. (U) On March 8 the IDP Women's Group CONSENT led by Chairperson Julia Kharashvili and Minister Subeliani co-hosted a gathering to discuss problems of new and old IDPs alike. Women from the new IDP settlements outlined their main concerns as lack of potable water, hygiene (related to problems with lack of or insufficient plumbing, showers and toilets),income generation, psychological counseling, lack of transport, and insufficient school books for their children. Perhaps the most notable deficiency was the lack of a mechanism of contacting the requisite MRA official to resolve issues without having to go straight to the top to contact the minister himself. On March 9, Poloffs traveled to the new IDP settlement of Tserovani, just outside of Tbilisi, which has received criticism for shoddy workmanship. Poloffs talked with three local Georgian contractors who were supervising the construction of a kindergarten, secondary school and municipal government buildings next to the housing complex. One of these contractors employs 32 IDPs from the surrounding area. Poloffs also saw bread being delivered to kiosks, several small shops selling foodstuffs, and residents queuing for a marshrutka minibus which now stops in the villages. Next to several homes bloomed flowers which were recently planted, and more than a half-dozen TV satellite dishes now adorn the roofs of some of the homes. A garbage truck, bearing a USAID sticker, was picking up garbage; the driver told Emboff they do so twice a week. Poloff also noted a recently installed underground drainage system which ran between the houses, presumably to assist with the issue of standing water. ¶5. (C) On March 8, Emboff talked with Guy Mooney from the USAID FORECAST project. Mooney leads a USAID-funded project to examine the interworkings of the MRA, noting where improvements in communication can be made. Mooney agreed that Subeliani is very dedicated and hardworking, but needs learn to delegate. Mooney tested the MRA hotline numbers to gauge responsiveness to incoming calls. He tried for three days to get through and ultimately got a recording. Subeliani takes many calls personally, with the end result that he is frantically busy and the exterior of his building and corridors are jammed with IDPs waiting to be heard. There currently doesn't appear to be an established regional hierarchy to which concerns can be directed. Additionally, there is friction between MRA and the Civil Registry over registering IDPs. (Comment: UNHCR in separate meetings mentioned this to Poloff as well. End comment.) Although the Civil Registry has streamlined other administrative practices to make them more efficient, there is resistance from MRA, which wants to create its own separate data base. ZUGDIDI IDPS -------------- ¶6. (C) Zugdidi, only a dozen kilometers away from the Abkhazia administrative boundary line, in previous visits looked quite deserted and dismal. However, the first thing that meets the eye today is much livelier streets, busy traffic, and the hallmark of a present-day Georgian town, a fountain which gurgles in sync to a musical soundtrack which began operating last year. Zugdidi is said to host a population 50,000 IDPs living in rundown collective centers. One chronic problem has been poor communication flow between the government and IDPs regarding GoG plans for future IDP disposition. On February 26, the Deputy Governor, Alexander Akhvlediani told Emboff that councils made up of IDPs had QAkhvlediani told Emboff that councils made up of IDPs had been established in collective centers through which information is now disseminated. This ensured better information flow, and also encouraged buy-in from residents. Akhvlediani said that he encouraged IDPs to participate in determining solutions; his plan was that IDPs would be involved every step of the way to the point when their apartments were totally refurbished. Then, IDPs would sign a document indicating that the living space met their expectations. ¶7. (C) Akhvlediani told Emboff that over 22 million GEL will be dedicated by fall this year to the region to refurbish collective centers. According to Akhvlediani, there are design projects in the works, and tenders will be announced soon. The local government is considering repairing some abandoned buildings that were left by Russians who had previously worked at the Enguri Dam for IDP use. Most IDPs hope for eventual repatriation, but right now people are focused on more immediate problems like finding a job. Akhvlediani was hopeful that public work projects, including improvement of roads, and upgrades to the water supply system, would provide locals with employment opportunities. As to the rumors of a Russian spring offensive (reftel A),Akhvlediani said that locals were frightened by this prospect--understandably so, with Russian TBILISI 00000512 003.2 OF 005 forces not that far away. In parting he told Emboff, "The role of the soldier is still not finished in this region." ¶8. (C) In a February 27 meeting, Marina Davitaia, NGO Samegrelo-Medea, outlined concerns of IDPs to poloff based on the results of some canvassing data from a project she is working on for Conciliation Resources, a British NGO. Her NGO is canvassing one IDP compact settlement, which includes three blocks of buildings, or 56 families (300 people.) Her task is to outline who is living in the apartments and how many reside there full-time. She also will examine their relationship with GoG municipal officials and intermediate between IDPs and the government to inform IDPs of their rights and how to use government structures. ¶9. (C) Davitaia said that out of the 300 IDPS she interviewed, only two percent of them were employed, and only one (a teacher) is working in her given profession. She had not heard of the public service works mentioned by Akhvlediani, and was not aware of any IDP council in her settlement. According to Davitaia, IDPs were very afraid of further destabilization and have grown despondent over the soaring prices of bribes to cross the Enguri bridge into Abkhazia. To IDPs, the memories of 1993 and 1998 were still fresh in their minds, and August was like "an open sore." Many feel now that they will never return to Abkhazia. When fighting erupted in August, only the very poor who could not leave remained in Zugdidi, which became a virtual ghost town. ¶10. (C) Davitaia said her most worrying concern now is young people who are not completing their education. Their parents can no longer afford to pay a portion of their university fees that scholarships do not cover, and so many are leaving for Turkey and other places, some illegally, to find employment. As for forced passportization, she said the reality is that as many as 50 percent of Georgians in Gali already have a Russian passport, and eventually all will take one. This is not due to force, but the reality that they cannot get paid or take care of many administrative tasks without it. (Comment: Poloff asked for clarification of the passport as to whether it was Abkhaz or Russian. Davitaia made no distinction between the two. Other sources suggest 50 percent is a considerable exaggeration.) POLITICS AND IDPS -------------- ¶11. (C) Poloff met with representatives from Democratic Movement United Georgia, Christian Democrat Movement (CDM), and We Ourselves opposition political parties in Zugdidi. Conversations with them indicated that local party representatives are not remunerated, only work a fraction of their business day on party business, and do not work together to tackle IDP problems. Most do not have full time offices. CDM rep, Temur Toloraia, however, did tell poloff that they were waiting for the local municipality to sort out the issue of office space; because CDM had cleared the threshold in the last election, the party is entitled to an office in government space. As Murman Malazonia, We Ourselves party told emboff, it is hard for opposition party members to get locals to sign on with opposition parties, given that the Abkhaz-government-in-exile has an active presence in Zugdidi. Malazonia said the government-in-exile's job is to remind IDPs what the government has done for them, especially during the voting period. According to Malazonia, he who controls the jobs, also controls the votes. Qalso controls the votes. ¶12. (C) Representatives of Nino Burjanadze's party Democratic Movement for United Georgia thought that locals were interested in new elections. Neither CDM nor We Ourselves seemed to think this was the case. As Marina Davitaia told us, most IDPs are not likely to vote for Burjanadze given her past remarks, and when opposition party representatives have visited collective centers before, they were often met with a hostility. (Comment: Davitaia was referring to an incident that occurred when IDPs were forced out collective centers which were privatized several years ago when Burjandaze was then Prime Minister. At that time, IDPs were reported to have said, "If we are treated like this, we will leave and go back to Abkhazia and live with the de factos." Burjanadze in turn reportedly called them all traitors. End Comment.) The consensus at least from CDM and We Ourselves was that the IDPs were bitterly disappointed with the results of the August conflict and Russian recognition of Abkhazia, but were not so upset that they planned to call for new elections. Regarding Alasania, Marina Davitaia said that some local residents had a positive impression of Alasania from his previous work there as the Georgian government representative for Abkhazia in exile, but TBILISI 00000512 004 OF 005 the vast majority do not know him very well. HUMAN RIGHTS IN GALI -------------- ¶13. (C) In a February 27 meeting, Rezo Bendeliani, of the NGO Mixed Families, told Emboff that although Enguri crossing are expensive and sometimes dangerous, people with family members remaining in Abkhazia still cross. Some of them do so at unofficial check points, and some hire guides who know where the crossing is easiest. Bendeliani maintains that even if the GoG and the Abkhaz de facto authorities may not be ready to settle some issues, ordinary people still need contact with their families. He regularly calls and speaks to his family in Sukhumi. Bendeliani discounted the accuracy of Georgian television reports about the human rights situation in Gali. He characterized the reports as sensationalist. During poloff's visit, there were widespread reports of Georgians being forcibly thrown out of their homes. Bendeliani said that the practice of drafting Georgians to serve in the Abkhaz militia continued, but no de facto authorities were forcibly evicting Georgians from their homes -- he ascribed this to media hype. (Note: In this case, however the reports were true. See reftel B.) ¶14. (C) Bendeliani had heard that some Abkhaz had returned from Turkey to live in Abkhazia. In the scope of things, however these represented a few isolated cases of individuals being brought back by their families. Integration for returnees was difficult, due to language and cultural differences, and there were in fact few integrated families. He said that the Russians do not want to see Abkhaz move in from Turkey, and that the strain between Russians and Abkhaz was growing more tense. He predicted that that soon more visible cracks in the relationship would show, as both sides realize the untenable situation they had created. GEORGIAN CHURCH IN ZUGDIDI -------------- ¶15. (C) Poloff met with Father Malkhaz Chanturia, Georgian Orthodox Church, at Kotskheli Nunnery to ask about the religious freedom of Georgians in Gali. In an earlier meeting with Metropolitan Daniel from Sukhumi, Metropolitan Daniel told emboff that GOC priests had difficulty traveling to Gali, and thus Georgians traveled to Zugdidi for their spiritual guidance. Chanturia estimates that up to one third of his congregation on ecclesiastical holidays and Sundays are from Gali. Chanturia said there was a GOC priest in Gali conducting services until last year, when local authorities showed up, demanded that he pack his things, and promptly escorted him across the administrative boundary line. After the GOC priest left, an Abkhaz priest led the services, but now he too has been recalled to Sukhumi by the de facto Bishop of Abkhazia, Besarion. Chanturia has heard unofficially that Georgian icons from the Ilori church, near Gali, have been replaced with Russian icons. ¶16. (C) Chanturia characterized priests serving in Abkhazia as Russian Orthodox priests who don't necessarily agree with ROC teachings, and so Abkhazia is a good posting for those wishing to escape the ROC yoke. Chanturia characterized the major issues affecting his congregants, besides security issues, as poor health and unemployment. The GOC there does work with Oxfam and Doctors without Borders to reach those in most need and connect them to currently available GoG services. (Comment: The recently passed GoG universal health insurance program is expected to address some of the current caps in basic health care, particularly for the most Qcurrent caps in basic health care, particularly for the most vulnerable. End Comment.) During the August conflict, he said that he and his fellow clergy had remained within the region, praying for a peaceful resolution. COMMENT -------------- ¶17. (C) Poloff had the opportunity on several occasions to meet Subeliani over the course of two weeks. He was engaged, and respected by the IDP community as someone who is dedicated to their issues. Poloff heard the presentation on solutions to the old IDP solutions three times: twice from Subeliani and once from the Governor of Imereti, each time with a different twist. The danger of not giving the government plan to IDPs in written form is that every time the presentation is delivered, additional tidbits are added and expectations may be inflated. As Marina Davitaia said, there are three ways to get info out to IDPs: TV, NGOs, and gossip. The challenge is to get the uniform message out to all IDPs and to create a mechanism so that information flows freely. FORECAST will be working with MRA on these very TBILISI 00000512 005 OF 005 issues. TEFFT