Police, Protesters Clash in Kvemo Kartli Region
A protest rally being held by local residents of the Damia-Gerarkhi village, in the Marneuli district of the predominantly Azeri populated Kvemo Kartli region, grew into a clash with police after protesters blocked the highway on February 22. Reportedly, 15 protesters were arrested by the police.
The protesters were demanding fair distribution of land in the region.
Nazim Ibragimov, chairman of the Azerbaijani State Committee in charge of monitoring compatriots’ rights living abroad, expressed concern regarding this incident and told the Azeri news agency ‘Trend’ on February 23 that a joint Georgian-Azeri intergovernmental commission will be set up soon to work over problems existing with the land distribution issues in the Kvemo Kartli region.
The Georgian Public Defender’s Office said on February 22 that it has probed into this reported clash between the police and protesters and concluded that “the police had the right to use force to unblock the central highway, as envisaged by the law.”
But the Georgian Public Defender’s Office condemned the police’s “violence” against the Azerbaijani journalists who were at the scene.
Crews from the Azeri television stations Leader TV and ANS TV were on the scene filming the protest rally and consequent clash. But the local police “physically abused the journalists” and confiscated tapes, according to the Georgian Public Defender’s Office.
