Tbilisi Says Georgian Railway Experts Discriminated against in Abkhaz Talks

In a statement issued on August 11, Georgian State Minister for Conflict Resolution Issues Giorgi Khaindrava said that the exclusion of the Georgian railway experts who are internally displaced persons from Abkhazia is “discrimination,? which once again triggers ?our concerns regarding the violation of fundamental human rights by the de facto authorities in Abkhazia.?

Georgian experts were to participate in assessing the current condition of the railway in breakaway Abkhazia along with their counterparts from Russia and Abkhazia, which started on August 10. However, the Abkhaz side refused to grant entry to three ethnic Georgian experts native to Abkhazia that were forced to flee region after the armed conflict in the early 90’s. 

?It is na?ve to think that issues related to Abkhazia can be solved without the participation of the Georgian side,? the statement reads.

Vice-Premier of breakaway Abkhazia Leonid Lakerbaia said on August 10 that the Abkhaz side has no information as to the reason of the Georgian experts? absence. ?The Georgian side has no well-founded reason for being absent,? he said, adding ?it seems that politics has prevailed over economics once again.?

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