Bobokvati villagers restart protests

Residents of the Adjarian village of Bobokvati have held a rally demanding to transfer ownership rights to 28 hectares of land to them.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on June 19, Bobokvati villagers blocked the Batumi-Tbilisi railway with a demand to stop the auction for the sale of coastal land. The police detained four protesters and unblocked the railway. Local residents told the "Caucasian Knot" that they had owned the land since the time of the Ottoman Empire, but Georgian authorities in every possible way prevent its registration.

On September 12, Bobokvati villagers again held a rally on the Kobuleti-Batumi highway section with a demand to legalize the disputable 28 hectares of land.

One of the organizers of the protest, Tamaz Bakuridze, a former press secretary of the chairman of the Adjara Supreme Soviet, told reporters that the government has the right to look for an investor, but he must "first of all come to an agreement with local residents."

Another protester has stated that villagers gave authorities a deadline until September 10, but "the government did nothing." "The actions will be held until authorities solve our problems," he said.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 13, 2021 at 01:24 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.