Locals from the village of Shukruti, in Chiatura’s mining town of Georgia, who have demanded compensation for years from Georgian Manganese – the company that owns the Manganese mines of Chiatura – began to sew their lips shut in an extreme form hunger strike.
Shukruti has ten residents on hunger strike. Five men and three woman have stitched their mouths shut.
They are currently demanding the attention of the central government.
Since many years, residents of Shukruti village have complained that their houses are collapsing and roads are being damaged due to the work of Georgian Manganese, a manganese mining firm.
The company is not in agreement with the protesters‘ demand for compensation.
“In Chiatura residents of the sinking Shukruti village, near the Korokhnali mining of Georgian Manganese who have protested for 85 days, have begun to sew their lips in protest,” reported news agency ‘Mtis Ambebi” on May 11. “Protesters demand compensation from Georgian Manganese. Shukruti village houses are either partially or completely destroyed. Holes can be seen in the yards. Locals claim that ‘Georgian Manganese extracts manganese from under their village.
“The protesters who have used extreme protest measures are demanding a meet-up with government officials and attention by human rights organizations.”
The protesters attempted to set up tents in front of the Chiatura City Hall but were reportedly stopped by the police chief as well as the mayor. Their tent is currently set up in Shukruti near the Korokhnali Mine.
“Nobody is paying attention so we had to resort to this extreme form and have our mouths sealed up.” Locals claim that they want the central government involved in solving this problem.
Since 2019, the problems of the locals have gotten worse, and the protests began then. Residents blocked the road and suspended the manganese mines in September 2019.
After the September protests a commission with Georgian Manganese was formed, with the participation the city mayor and village governor, in order to investigate the damages and then begin compensating for them. However, locals claim that the work of the commission has not produced any real results.
Georgian Manganese’s position is that the damage reported to the company by the population was not caused by its activities but was caused by work done during the Soviet era and compensated during this period.
“Giorgi NEPARIDZE, one of the leaders in the Shukruti protests, says they stopped their protests in June 2020, after receiving a verbal guarantee that there would be an agreement between local residents and Georgian Manganese, ensuring that the company will compensate the villages. But no agreement was reached,” reported OC Media.
The same source claims that the protesters live in a tent built in 2019. The tent has no electricity and residents bring a wood-burning heater to keep warm in winter. Last week, another tent was built for the women who joined the protest.
The noise of the machinery is so loud that it’s difficult to even have a conversation. The article states that the protesters complain of headaches caused by the noise.
Here you can read the heartbreaking stories from locals.
By Ana Dumbadze
Sources: OC Media, Mtis Ambebi, Netgazeti
Image source: Mtis Ambebi
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