13:00, 10 June 2004

Georgian special operations forces disperse people protesting against oil pipeline construction

On June 9, special operations units of the Georgian Interior Ministry dispersed a protest action staged by residents of the Krtsanisi village, which is a few kilometers away from the capital of Georgia. The people protested against the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Jeikhan oil pipeline.

As reported by the Georgian Interior Ministry, the police had to apply physical force to eject the action participants from the construction site.

The police arrested two women suspected of organizing the action.

Approximately 60 protesters demanded that they be given title to the land plots on which the oil pipeline is being constructed. There are no legal norms regulating land ownership in Georgia. The residents of the village insist that the land on which the oil pipeline is being constructed has belonged to them long since and demand that the title to this lend be given to them.

Source: Novosti-Gruzia Information Agency