Residents of Shukruti protesting against Georgian Manganese have ended their protest in Tbilisi after two weeks of unsuccessful negotiations.
The protesters had demanded an assessment by the National Forensics Bureau of their property, as well as to receive adequate compensation from the company for the destruction of their homes during mining operations under the village in Chiatura, western Georgia.
One of the protesters, Tamuna Kupatadze, told OC Media that they could not agree with the company’s terms.
‘We were not asking for anything special, only an assessment by the [National Forensics Bureau]’, Kupatadze said as protesters from Shukruti were packing up to leave Tbilisi.
Georgian Manganese owns the sole licence to operate mines in the Chiatura region, where residents have spoken out about how mining has destroyed houses and spoiled the land for agriculture. According to protesters, out of around 40 families protesting, 25 have received no compensation, six received the majority of the promised compensation, and the rest received a limited amount of compensation, mostly for land rather than their houses.
‘[We demand] full compensation for our homes and land, based on this assessment for which the company [Georgian Manganese] tormented us and did not fulfil our demands’, Kupatadze told OC Media.
Demonstrators from Shukruti, who have been protesting for almost six months to raise awareness of the damage caused by manganese mining under their village, moved their protest to Tbilisi on 12 September.
Police did not allow them to set up their tents in front of the parliament building, so they spent weeks camped out on the stairs of the building.
Seven men took part in a hunger strike for 43 days, while two women participated for 12 days. The strike ended after the Chiatura Management Company, which is linked to Georgian Manganese, agreed to hold talks following government intervention.
Rati Ionatamashvili, an MP from the ruling Georgian Dream party, met with the protestors and offered to mediate with the Chiatura Management Company. The involvement of government representatives in any mediation processes has been one of the main demands of Shuktruti residents since the protests relaunched in March.
While the Shukruti demonstrators are returning to Shukruti, Kupatadze has stated that the protest is continuing.
‘The protest will continue, even if it takes 10 years’, she said, adding that they will continue picketing mines until their problem is solved.
‘It has already been a year since we have been out protesting, and we are not planning to back down’.
