Co-chairs of Geneva International Discussions welcome reopening of crossing points, say ‘closure was not justified’
De facto leadership of Tskhinvali closed its crossing points connecting the region with the rest of Georgia to “avoid the spread of H1NI” in January. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge
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Co-chairs of the Geneva International Discussions welcome the reopening of crossing points connecting the occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region and the rest of Georgia, but say “the closure was not justified”.
In a statement released yesterday, the co-chairs said they “have made this position clear through continuous engagement since the first day of the closure”, at the Ergneti Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) meeting in February and during their recent meetings in Tskhinvali.
The Co-Chairs have taken note of the public health concerns voiced and, for this reason, have referred to the World Health Organization (WHO), which is the competent international body on such issues”, the statement reads.
It further notes that “the WHO’s position is that closing crossing points offers no public health benefits. Therefore, the Co-Chairs have on numerous occasions restated their firm view that freedom of movement as a basic human right should always be upheld”.
They have stressed in particular the impact of the closure on people’s lives and have expressed the hope that in any future similar situation both the IPRM and the hotline would be fully used in order to avoid imposing undue hardship on the population”, the statement further says.
De facto leaderships of two Georgian occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali decided to close their respective crossing points to “avoid the spread of H1NI” from the rest of Georgia in January. Abkhazia reopened its crossing point earlier in February, while Tskhivali lifted its sanctions only yesterday.
De facto leaderships of two Georgian occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) have decided to close the so-called border with the rest of Georgia to “avoid the spread of H1NI,” the flu which has claimed 15 lives in Georgia.
The so-called border between the Georgian occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region and the rest of Georgia has reopened after about a two-month closure, the European Union Monitoring Mission head to Georgia Erik Hoeg has confirmed.
Co-chairs of the Geneva Internal Discussions from the EU, UN and EU, dealing with Georgian conflict issues, are in the Russian occupied Abkhazia region of Georgia to discuss the details of the recent death of Georgian citizen Irakli Kvaratskhelia in the region.
The Georgian occupied region of Abkhazia has re-opened the so-called border with the rest of Georgia yesterday, which was closed on 11 January by the de facto leadership of the region “to avoid the spread of swine flu.” Erik Hoeg, the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) head to Georgia, tweeted the news yesterday.
The de-facto leadership of one of Georgia’s Russian occupied regions of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) will close the crossing-points connecting with the rest of Georgia tomorrow.
Illegal detention and sentencing of a Georgian doctor Vazha Gaprindashvili in the Russian-occupied Georgian region of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) was the key issue raised at the 50th Geneva International Discussions on December 10-11.