Systemic Oppression of Shukruti Residents: Failed Rally in Ivanishvili's Village

Along with dozens of employees from the patrol and criminal police, teams from the Special Tasks Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were also mobilized in Sachkhere. As the 32 protesting women were unable to enter Chorvila, the operation was led by Zaza Tskhakaia, head of the Imereti Police Department, and his deputy, Koka Maisuradze. The police officers were checking the cars entering the village one by one. In front of them, they physically assaulted the operator of TV First and prevented critical journalists from performing their professional duties. Meanwhile, journalists and cameramen from government propaganda channels such as Rustavi 2, Imedi, and POSTV remained safely behind the police barrier.

It was through these TV channels that they tried to discredit the protesters in the days leading up to the march announced in Chorvila.

"The individuals in charge of the mentioned process have fully received the compensation amounts due to them under the terms of this memorandum and agreement," says Mirian Bitchikashvili, the head of the social projects department at Chiatura Management Company LLC, in a report by Imedi TV.

POSTV describes the 165-day non-stop protest by some residents of Shukruti village as an "unfounded, destructive protest by a small group of citizens," whose only demand is for the company Georgian Manganese to have the damage caused to them assessed by the National Bureau of Forensic Expertise and to pay compensation accordingly. The company and the residents of Shukruti agreed to pay damages in this manner only in 2021, first in Chiatura and then in Tbilisi, at the US Embassy, after 134 days of protest, a lengthy hunger strike, and facial stitches. Georgian Manganese is the only company that, since 2007, has held a 40-year license for manganese mining on 16 430 hectares in the Chiatura and Sachkhere territories.

"Protest organizers received an average of more than 150 000 GEL in 2021 in accordance with the contract, and since 2020, the company has paid more than 12 million GEL to the residents of Shukruti village. It appears that the organizers of the radical protest bought real estate in Tbilisi with these funds and are now demanding additional money from the company through blackmail," POSTV reports, publishing documents confirming the company's payments to only those few protest participants who received relatively larger sums.

The government's propaganda channel does not mention the terms of the memorandum signed between the protest participants and the company, which states that these funds are not compensation but an advance.

The amount of compensation was supposed to be determined after the company invited experts from the Forensic Examination Bureau to conduct a detailed assessment, following which the final settlement would be made. However, the journalist does not mention this in the report. If we closely examine the published documents, it is evident that the amount paid is listed as "compensation for expected damages according to the contract."

"More than three years have passed since the agreement, and Georgian Manganese has still not provided us with the expert's report, so the final settlement has not been made either," 

The company deliberately avoids having the damage assessed by the Forensic Expertise Bureau because, objectively, they would have to pay much more than what their own audit reports. You don't agree to this because others might find out, and if everyone demands such objective compensation, your profits will be significantly reduced.

The entire Chiatura is devastated; we are not talking about just a few residents here. Therefore, they wanted the terms of negotiation and agreement to be confidential, and they did not want the lawyers of non-governmental organizations to participate in these processes. This is how they deceived us," says Giorgi Neparidze from Shukruti, one of the organizers of the rally, who has become a target of Georgian Manganese, government propaganda channels, and the system as a whole.

"A segment of the population, which is involved and faces certain criminal charges, is trying to extort money through blackmail. Legal measures are the only deterrent that can prevent these criminal actions," says lawyer Giorgi Kavlashvili in Postv's report. Kavlashvili represents Magaroeli LLC, which is suing the Shukruti protesters in the police, prosecutor's office, and court.

On August 1, the Sachkhere Prosecutor's Office charged three participants in the rally - Giorgi Neparidze, Roman Megrelishvili, and Malkhaz Labadze - with organizing a group rally and disrupting the work of the enterprise. As a preventive measure, the judge granted bail of 1000 GEL each to the three defendants. POSTV's report does not mention that none of the defendants plead guilty and that they believe the system is persecuting them. The stories from the government propaganda channels did not include any details about the destroyed, damaged, or life-threatening conditions of any participant's home or neighborhood.

Georgian Manganese did not believe in pursuing charges against the affected Shukruti residents and taking preventive measures. On August 9, the Sachkhere court approved an application from Magaroeli LLC, forbidding Shukruti residents from approaching the Korokhnali and Shukruti mines to "interfere with Magaroeli LLC." The company claimed in its court appeal that the protesters were obstructing the work of the mines, halting production, harming the company, and impacting the state budget. The company declared that during this period it had paid 5 563 481 GEL to its employees and demanded that the protesters be charged with reimbursing this amount.

However, Magaroeli LLC is identified as the victim in the criminal case by the Sachkhere Prosecutor's Office. The Sachkheri court also banned Shukruti residents from continuing the protest based on Magaroeli LLC's statement. Yet, documents submitted to the court reveal that Magaroeli LLC is an inappropriate plaintiff, as it is neither the owner of the mines nor the operator.

Based on the case materials, the service contract under which Georgian Manganese hired Magaroeli LLC to perform technical mining work expired on December 31, 2022.

Sachkhere Judge Ivane Kifiani prohibited a total of 20 people from protesting near the Shukruti and Korokhnali mines. At least five of them - Melano Neparidze, Nodar Neparidze, Tamaz Darbaidze, Giorgi Labadze, and Soso Tabatadze - did not participate in the protest at all and were never in the surrounding area during the continuous rally.

Representatives of the National Bureau of Enforcement have already questioned the protesters twice and asked them to leave the protest area.

"According to the court ruling, the defendants were prohibited from preventing Magaroeli Ltd. and its employees from carrying out mining activities in the Korokhnali and Shukruti mines and surrounding areas. The ruling is unclear about what specific actions are prohibited. The vague and unintelligible record allows the plaintiff to impose any restrictions they deem necessary, potentially using it to prevent the defendants from peacefully and legally protesting on the grounds that their presence interferes with work," notes Vladimer Kutateladze, the lawyer from the Civil Activities Center defending the protest participants. He highlights Articles 17 and 24 of the Constitution of Georgia, which protect the right to assemble in public and unarmed without prior permission, and the freedom of opinion and its expression. Persecution based on opinion and expression is prohibited. The lawyer has demanded the annulment of the verdict, but the court's decision is not yet known.

The people of Shukruti planned a protest march in Chorvila village of Ivanishvili after being convinced once again that  the system is fighting against them:

- Georgian Manganese, whose 100% owner is Georgian American Eloise, is controlled by Ukrainian billionaire Igor Kolomoisky, with about 4% owned by the Georgian shareholder Giorgi Kapanadze (aka Rizha), who is close to the ruling party. Since 2017, the state has officially appointed a special manager for Georgian Manganese due to its activities in Chiatura creating an ecological disaster and causing irreparable damage. Despite this, the situation worsened, open-pit mining increased alarmingly, and Chiatura became a disaster zone. Rustavi 2 television, led by Tamar Pkhakadze, who is the aunt of Giorgi Kapanadze, a member of the Georgian Manganese supervisory board, has been prominent in discrediting the protesters.

- The police, prosecutor's office, and court have all acted against the protest participants, with the prosecutor's office recognizing Magaroeli LLC as the victim and the court granting bail without verifying whether Magaroeli LLC was a proper complainant.

- During the 165 days of continuous protest, local and central authorities did not engage with the protesters, including elderly individuals, mothers with many children, and nursing mothers.

- For almost half a year, the protest participants did not approach the public defender, Levan Yoselian, even once. They showed no interest when the court issued a ban on their protest.

If Georgian Manganese does not meet the protesters' demands by September 1, they plan to escalate their protest by sewing their faces and going on a hunger strike.

Magaroeli LLC has filed another lawsuit with the Sachkheri court, increasing the number of defendants from 20 to 30 and demanding the seizure of all their houses.