Action Alert: BTC Protest in Borjomi, Georgia
Georgia´s
on our minds
Action against repression
of a peaceful BTC demo
 |
| Fact finding mission to Borjomi valley, May 2003 Highlands |
One of the most controversial aspects of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
pipeline concerns its routing through the Borjomi Valley. The pipeline
construction is underway with the BP-led consortium behind it awaiting
a vital funding decision from the International Finance Corporation and
the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development next month.
The disputed 20 kilometre section of the pipeline through Borjomi has
been a persistent focus for criticism. In a letter to BP from November
26 last year, Nino Chkhobadze, the Georgian Minister of the Environment
complained that, "BP representatives are asking the Georgian government
to violate its own environmental legislation. Although all possible alternatives
to the Borjomi valley were not studied in the BTC environmental and social
impact assessment, and despite BTC's own expert opinions on the risks
of taking this route, we are now told that it is impossible to consider
alternatives to the Borjomi valley route."
Equally local citizens and Georgian environmentalists have been voicing
concerns about the pipeline's likely impact through this sensitive region.
The region is well known for its unique biodiveristy and mineral water
industry, both of which will be directly threatened by any oil leakages.
The very presence of an oil pipeline here is likely to be catastrophic
in PR terms for the internationally renowned Borjomi mineral water company,
at present one of Georgia's leading companies and a key local employer.
Not long after the far from satisfactory 'multi-stakeholder' meeting in
Borjomi held by the IFC and the EBRD as part of their pre-funding consultation
process, members of the Tbilisi-based environmental NGO Lobo held a peaceful
rally in Borjomi on September 17, upholding their democratic right to
voice opposition to the BTC pipeline.
What followed was a disproportionate, at times brutal, police clampdown
which broke up the rally. Members of Lobo were 'escorted' out of Borjomi
and threatened with 'consequences' should they choose to return. Bankwatch
has written to the head of the Borjomi authority demanding an urgent and
thoroughgoing investigation into the police's heavy-handed actions.
There is much at stake with the arrival of the BTC pipeline in local communities
such as Borjomi in Georgia. With their recent attempts at transparency
via public meetings, the IFC and the EBRD have been at pains to provide
a 'civilised' and 'democratic' backdrop to the BTC project. And yet these
recent events illustrate a very different everyday reality, where valid,
lawful and necessary objections to an oil pipeline are simply not being
tolerated.
We urge you to back the democratic right to campaign in Georgia by writing
to and faxing the Borjomi Gamgebeli, Gedevan Popkhadze (fax number: +995
267 2 29 92, adress: Gamgebeli of Borjomi District, Rustaveli Av N1, Borjomi,
1200, Georgia). Please consult the Bankwatch letter and remember that
more impact can be achieved by wording the letter yourself.
Thank you for your support.
All the best,
the Bankwatch team
Sample letter
For the attention of:
Gedevan Popkhadze
Gamgebeli of Borjomi District
Rustaveli Av N1
Borjomi, 1200
Georgia
Fax number: +995 267 2 29 92
Dear Mr. Popkhadze,
I am writing to express my serious concerns regarding the events surrounding
the recent rally held by the environmental NGO The Union of Environmental
Protection and Animals Rights "Lobo" in the Borjomi district
on September 17.
Lobo members had gathered to peacefully protest against the routing of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline through the Borjomi gorge. They were then subsequently beaten by the police force who also confiscated campaign material. They were ultimately forced to leave the district and threatened about the consequences of returning.
The rally organisers believe that, given its present route through the Borjomi gorge, the pipeline will threaten the gorge's unique biodiversity and drinking water resources.
The BTC consortium and the government of Georgia are promoting the BTC project as an integral part of Georgia's ongoing democratisation. Following the implementation of the pipeline, it is being argued, Georgia will be welcomed and integrated into western markets and, consequently, into the global democratic family.
However, this recent behaviour from both the police and the local authorities in the Borjomi region raises a simple but vital question: does this pipeline project really support the development of democracy and with it such inalienable rights as freedom of speech? Or is it simply reviving the Soviet Era status quo, where the oppression of the people was justified by the so-called 'national interest'.
I am deeply concerned with the situation in Georgia, when people that have reservations about the BTC pipeline are threatened and deemed to be traitors. The gravity of the situation is underscored by the widely held belief that you, as the head of the local authority, sanctioned the police action at the recent rally.
I would like to believe that the BTC pipeline construction will not infringe on the democratic progress that has been achieved by Georgian society over the last decade. One can only hope that in the future no such similar incidents will take place, even where Georgian citizens raise issues that are not acceptable to the Georgian authorities.
As the head of the local authority I call on you to take all necessary steps to fully investigate the violent dispersal of the peaceful Lobo rally. It goes without saying that in doing so you should make every effort to enforce Georgian legislation and protect the basic rights of Georgian citizens, rather than support the illegal activities of the police.
Sincerely,
Links
Bankwatch
website on BTC pipeline project