While the ruling Georgian Dream party is rushing to pass the Russian law aimed at eliminating independent media and public organizations, the residents of Shukruti village in Chiatura have been fighting for the past 21 days to prevent themselves from being buried alive along with their houses.
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"We don't receive any feedback. No one pays attention to us.
We are fighting for our livelihoods so that everything doesn't collapse on us. A terrible disaster is looming. They threaten to arrest us if we don't stop our actions.
They cannot scare us. We are protecting our homes. We are willing to sacrifice ourselves for this cause," - In Chiatura, despite three weeks of continuous protests, including setting up a tent near the Korokhnali mine and paralyzing the enterprise, the residents of Shukruti village have failed to attract the attention of the local and central authorities, the public defender, and the national media.
The only residential house of the Asmat Neparidze family in Shukruti directly overlooks the Megrelishvili and Makhatadze neighborhood in the neighboring village of Itkhvisi, where the land caved in 2 years ago and buried the houses.
"Until now, I have been staring at Itkhvisi. A neurosis has struck me with the fear that we too may not avoid this danger. There is also a mine under Shukruti. Manganese was extracted to the end, and we were left with emptiness. Four months ago, the ground collapsed in front of our house. At night, we sleep in shifts."
The huge fissure is just 30-40 meters from the Neparidzes' house and stretches over the whole village, about 2 kilometers. The ground is already cracked at a height of one or two meters, and the pits are immensely deep.
Due to underground manganese mining, houses in Shukruti were damaged and even collapsed in previous years, although the village has not faced such a large-scale danger before. Manana Kupatadze, one of the active participants in the loudest and longest protest held by Shukruti residents in 2021, remembers how Georgian Manganese promised her that her house would not be demolished. It is this company that holds the license for manganese mining in the Chiatura region until 2047.
"People make a living from agriculture, but there are no fields anymore. The neighbor's cow fell into the crevice. The road leading to the plots was also destroyed. Everything is breaking down. They told us to help the village, but they are not helping us. they are destroying us, forcing us to leave here and become refugees." Manana Kupatadze's two-story residential house, together with the homestead plot, has been evaluated by Georgian Manganese for 87 thousand GEL. The victim refused to accept this amount, stating, "Will I build a house for 87 thousand GEL today? That's why I didn't agree. I didn't receive a single Tetri. My husband and I built it in the 1990s. We were half-starved when we built it, and we haven't finished it yet. And now this hard work of mine has to be destroyed by Georgian Manganese."
The company did not fulfill the agreement signed with Shukruti residents in 2021. Faced with increased threats and injustice, the victims are now being offered a contract with the subcontractor, Magaroeli LLC:
- Magaroeli LLC bears the responsibility, and Shukruti residents will not have any claims or demands against Georgian Manganese LLC.
- In case of signing a new contract, the victims are obliged, from the moment of signing the agreement, to grant the company the right to demolish the building they own in Chiatura before receiving payment. They will receive compensation 12 months after transferring this right, only if the company does not cease its activities in the village of Shukruti during this time for any reason.
- Magaroeli LLC reserves the right to transfer the aforementioned obligation to any person, without the consent of the victim, who may not own anything.
Georgian Manganese also complained to the police against the participants of the protest. The company accuses them of obstructing the work process in violation of the law. The company claims that protest participants threatened the employees' health by disconnecting the central ventilation system at the Shukruti mine. However, the ventilation system was turned off by a company employee only after all employees had left the mine. Despite this, the police immediately opened a criminal case.
The sole owner (100% owner) of Georgian Manganese is the company Georgian American Eloise, the controlling stake of which is owned by the Ukrainian billionaire Igor Kolomoisky. About 4% belongs to the Georgian group of shareholders, Giorgi Kapanadze (also known as Rizha).
For the 7th year, the Environmental Protection Ministry has appointed Georgian Manganese LLC special state manager, because a situation equal to an ecological disaster was created in Chiatura and needed urgent correction. The ecological situation in Chiatura has deteriorated significantly under the special state management regime.
Several months have passed since the actual management of Georgian Manganese was regained by representatives of the Ukrainian oligarch.
