‘’Abolish the decision of the government by which 104,712 hectares of forests in Racha and Kvemo Svaneti, including the forest massifs located near the border strip and the occupation line, were transferred to Davit Khidasheli, a partner of the Russian oligarch for 49 years; The planning of the newly established Racha National Park to be done only after the said decision is canceled, taking into account the interests of the population,’’ - these are the two main demands, with which the residents of Zemo Racha and the organization For Rioni Gorge Rescue started a protest movement.
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‘’We will continue the peaceful protest until these demands are met, and this protest will be in the same form as it was in Namakhvani,’’ Varlam Goletiani, the head of the non-governmental organization For Rioni Gorge Rescue , told Mountain Stories. The name of this very organization is associated with the 600-day continuous resistance to the Namakhvani HPP Cascade, after which the implementation of the project, which was supposed to flood several villages of Zemo Imereti and Lechkhumi, was stopped.
We oppose the alienation of the entire region to one person. The forests were handed over to a man with direct ties to Russia.
The forest massifs transferred to Khidasheli include borderline areas. This decision was made by the government secretly from the people and it threatens the state security. After that, the Racha National Park was established, which does not cover the main part of the Racha forests and does not include any rivers. The park was created at the expense of the living environment of the population of Racha - on pastures, fields, ancestral lands, which restricts the local population's access to forests, depriving them of the basic means to exist,’’ said Varlam Goletiani.
About 200 people participated in the protest held in the city of Oni. Initially, the police refused the organizers of the rally to set up a tent in the city center, next to the council building, but later agreed. The members of the movement will register those persons who demand the cancellation of this decision of the government and are ready to join the protest in the future.
The participants of the rally demanded a meeting with the leaders of the local government, but no one from Oni City Hall came to meet them.
Pavle Bokhashvili, a resident of the border village of Ghebi, addressed the people at the rally.
‘’On behalf of Ghebi, I can say that none of us who are here today knew anything about the transfer of these forests. They did not even have verbal consent from us, the people.
Such decisions should not be made by singles in cabinets, by people who may not have even set foot in the mountains once. Our mountains are not theirs to alienate.
I have 7 children and this is our one and only home. My children are going to grow up in the Ghebi. I would hate for them to have to leave Ghebi or especially Georgia. I cannot back down.
Shoda [mountain, deserted village] is the burial place of my ancestors, and the law on the protected areas prohibits me from going up Shoda, building a small dwelling, carrying goods, and living there to support my family. My ancestors lived there until the 18th century, with 25 families. Instead of being supportive, this is the decision they made.
We will not stop because we have nothing to lose. There will be more of us tomorrow and the day after. Let no one hope that we will get bored and give up. We will all swear in front of the Savior's icon that whoever betrays the village will be a traitor to the country and we will turn our backs on them for good,’’ said Pavle Bokhashvili.
Mountain Stories broke the news in April of last year that the government handed over the forests of Racha and Kvemo Svaneti to Davit Khidasheli, the partner of Putin’s next-door oligarch, and two months ago, we published an investigative film - the occupation of Racha forests. The government made the decision on the transfer of forests in violation of many laws - secretly from the people who use these forests, from environmentalists, community organizations, and the media. The transfer of tens of thousands of hectares threatens the private property of Racha's people. This decision violates both national laws and European conventions, and creates ecological and historical absurdities - to formalize the control of the occupier in the country by our own will, with our own hands, by our own decision.
The decision signed by former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia and the order of the head of the National Environmental Agency on the transfer of forests to Khidasheli have been appealed to the court by Green Alternative and the community organization of Racha, and they are demanding its cancellation.
Green Alternative and the Center for Civil Activities also appealed to the General Prosecutor's Office. Non-governmental organizations demand the initiation of an investigation into the possible facts of office fraud and bribery against the former mayor of Oni municipality, Emzar Sabanadze, and his first deputy, Dimitri Sakvarelidze.
