NGO "Fund of People Willing to Return to Abkhazia" is functioning in Georgia

A non-governmental organization "Fund of People Willing to Return to Abkhazia" started working in Georgia, its task is to "come to terms and establish communication with the Abkhazians".

"Council of the Elders has been created in our Fund which is trying to come to terms with the Abkhazian party for we are all natives of Abkhazia and our relatives and friends have remained there", Oleg Jolia, Leader of the Fund, said to a reporter of "Caucasian Knot".

According to Jolia, "Fund of People Willing to Return to Abkhazia" was created in Tbilisi last August. At this stage the leaders of the organization intend to collaborate with international and non-governmental organizations to receive financial aid for meetings with the Abkhazian Council of the Elders in a neutral zone. 

He says that "there are not really many refugees wishing to return to Abkhazia but they face the dwelling problem". "The refugees have lost good houses, flats and cars in Abkhazia", the Leader of the Fund emphasized.

Georgian conflict managers greet the Fund's decision of starting a dialogue between the Councils of the Elders but they think that a hurried statement has been made on behalf of the NGO. In particular, conflict manager Nugzar Durmishidze is sure that the leaders of the Fund have hurried with the naming of the organization and also put the question of the refugees' return to Abkhazia too early.

"The refugees can certainly return to Abkhazia but for this it is necessary to know on which conditions they will do it: either receiving Abkhazian citizenship or without any claims. It is first necessary to come to terms, start people's diplomacy and only then make such statements", Durmishidze said to a reporter of "Caucasian Knot".

According to him, the refugees' return to Abkhazia without establishing a dialogue between the Georgian and Abkhazian parties is "fraught with danger". 

Conflict manager Archil Elbakidze, in his turn, remarks that the beginning of the dialogue between the Councils of the Elders may have a positive result only in case if the Fund has contacts with the Abkhazians, an experience of conflict managing and finance. "It is very important for the representatives of the Council of the Elders to enjoy respect in Abkhazia, very much depends on it", the expert thinks.

"Caucasian Knot" has already reported that there were over 293 thousand internally displaced persons in Georgia at the moment who have been compelled to leave Abkhazia and South Osetia as a result of armed confrontations and separation of these republics. According to Shota Malashkhia, Chairman of temporary Committee of Georgian Parliament for restoration of territorial integrity, the problem of "a roof over the head" is still acute for the refugees.

Since the end of July the process of eviction of the refugees from different administrative buildings where they have had temporary dwelling and sending them off to new places of residence in Western Georgia where they do not want to live because of unemployment has been going on in the capital of Georgia. The refugees have time and again held actions of protest demanding to provide them with dwelling in the capital for it is there that they could earn their living.

Early in August the international human rights organization Amnesty International criticized Georgian authorities for their inability to provide over 200 thousand persons displaced from Abkhazia and South Osetia who from time to time carried out actions of protest with decent living conditions. According to the information from Amnesty International, 42% of displaced persons are still living in kindergartens, hospitals, hotels and barracks. Many of them are unemployed and isolated from the rest parts of Georgian community. The Georgian Government, in its turn, assures that it will solve the dwelling problem for all the refugees by 2012.