Ministry Says ‘Adequate’ Compensation Offered to Evicted IDPs

As the eviction of internally displaced persons from state-owned buildings in Tbilisi continued on January 22, the ministry in charge of IDP issues said all “resettled” families would be provided with “adequate durable housing solutions.”

Meanwhile a group of few hundred internally displaced persons rallied outside the Parliament on January 22 to protest against the eviction process, which was resumed on January 20 from 22 buildings in which, according to the authorities, IDPs settled “spontaneously” without the permission more than two years ago. Protesters then marched towards the presidential palace.

The Ministry for Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Accommodation and Refugees said in a statement, that it had studied the case of each family leaving in those buildings and found that not all of them were no longer eligible for compensation as some of them had already received either alternative housing or financial compensation.

Those who have not yet received compensation, the ministry said, are offered alternative housing solutions which are in line with standards set by a joint group involving representatives from the government, donor organizations and civil society groups.

Public Defender, Giorgi Tugushi, said in a statement on January 21, that his office carried out monitoring of five locations in western Georgia, where the authorities are offering alternative housing to the evicted IDPs and found that “there are a number of problems that could influence the IDPs’ condition negatively.”

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