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Ex-president: Eviction of IDPs from Tbilisi 'barbarism'

Politics Materials 24 January 2011 11:51 (UTC +04:00)
The eviction of IDPs from their illegal places of residence is barbarism, ex-Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze said in an interview today with the Asaval-Dasavali weekly.
Ex-president: Eviction of IDPs from Tbilisi 'barbarism'

Georgia, Tbilisi, Jan. 24 / Trend N.Kirtzkhalia /

The eviction of IDPs from their illegal places of residence is barbarism, ex-Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze said in an interview today with the Asaval-Dasavali weekly.

On Jan. 20, the Georgian authorities began evicting IDPs who have illegally resided in Tbilisi since 2008. They are being relocated to the Samegrelo, Kakheti and Imereti regions. However, some IDPs and a number of opposition parties are protesting the evictions in front of parliament. About 200 people are protesting daily.

Shevardnadze stressed that after the expulsion of Georgians from Abkhazia in 1993, IDPs were allowed to reside in hotels, kindergartens and resorts.

"We did everything to ensure that they were not left in the streets," he said.

Shevardnadze urged the authorities to "think again" because the campaign "will bring about more problems."

"There is a time to give up and stop the planned evictions, especially since the process seriously harms Georgia's image abroad," he said, noting that it would be better to spend money on IDPs than organizing concerts for Placido Domingo and Andrea Bocelli.

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