საერთო ცხელი ხაზი +995 577 07 05 63
ETHNIC MINORITIES /
Statement
The response of the Center for Social Justice to the ongoing processes in Dmanisi
Photo: Radio Liberty
The Center for Social Justice (formerly EMC) responds to the ongoing events in Dmanisi and calls on the state to take immediate and effective measures to create a safe and peaceful environment on the ground. This requires the Ministry of Internal Affairs to mobilize additional police forces on the ground and involve high-ranking officials to defuse the situation.
Last night, information was spread about violence and conflict in Dmanisi, which at first glance started for domestic reasons, but it turned into a large-scale confrontation and violence between Svan eco-migrants and representatives of the Azerbaijani community in Georgia. The mentioned violence was followed by mass public speeches of both communities in Dmanisi today, which is accompanied by the facts of violent clashes.
Employees of the Social Justice Center are in Dmanisi, but it is difficult for them to work on the spot due to security risks. Media representatives are also prevented from working due to lack of security. According to our representatives, the police forces mobilized on the ground are insufficient and the situation on the streets is really out of control.
The Center for Social Justice will publish an extensive assessment of this issue in the near future.
At this stage, it is essential to ensure a peaceful environment and law and order on the ground, and only then to study the systemic causes of this large-scale controversy and to plan and implement policies aimed at them. For this reason, the Center for Social Justice calls on
The Ministry of Internal Affairs to
- Ensure the mobilization of additional police forces on the ground and the effective and real establishment of order;
The Government and the Prime Minister to
- Ensure the involvement of senior officials on the ground to defuse the situation;
- Examine the systemic social and political causes of the conflict and develop a long-term and broad vision for creating a substantially peaceful, inclusive and equal environment between different ethnic and religious groups and for conflict transformation in communities that have experienced it.
