On November 6, 2023, Georgian-language Facebook users (1, 2, 3) published a post according to which in 2008 the then-president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, signed a document stating that the occupation line passes through the village of Kirbali. According to the posts, “Nazis (UNM) organized a provocation” on the spot, crossed the occupation line, and hung the Georgian flag, “in response, the border guards closed the church and killed one person and captured another.”
The claims regarding the occupation line are manipulative. In fact, Mikheil Saakashvili did not sign the document that would define in any way which villages the illegal occupation line would pass through. As for the document on the creation of a temporary administrative unit, Mikheil Saakashvili signed it not in 2008, but in 2007, before the Russia-Georgia war.
Posts published by Facebook users create the impression that in 2008, by signing a document, Mikheil Saakashvili confirmed that the occupation line passes through the village of Kirbal and the church of St. George of Lomisa. Actually, the government of Georgia has never signed such a document. The occupation line is illegal and the government, based on its position, could not sign an official document defining its location. Georgia does not recognize the so-called independence of the occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali; therefore, there was no discussion about where its “borders” would pass.
When talking about borderization, the members of the “Georgian Dream” party often accuse the “United National Movement (UNM)” that the occupation forces of Russia are guided by the borders established during the rule of the UNM. For example, the chairman of the party, Irakli Kobakhidze, talks about Mikheil Saakashvili’s decision to restore the South Ossetian Autonomous District and calls it a “criminal act”. After the murder of a Georgian citizen by the occupiers in Kirbali, another MP, George Volski, made the same statement – according to him, “the occupation was allowed and the occupation lines themselves were drawn by the Saakashvili government.”
What did Saakashvili sign in 2007?
On May 8, 2007, a resolution of the Parliament of Georgia was issued to create a temporary administrative-territorial unit on the territory of the former South Ossetian Autonomous District. On May 10, 2007, the decree of the President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, was issued “On the creation of the administration of the temporary administrative-territorial unit in the territory of the former South Ossetia Autonomous District, the manner and scope of its activities”. According to the document, the decree provided for the creation of a temporary administrative-territorial unit administration to ensure proper conditions for the peaceful resolution of the conflict. (The law of the Republic of Georgia on the abolition of the South Ossetian Autonomous District was issued by Zviad Gamsakhurdia on December 11, 1990).
According to the document, the temporary administration was supposed to negotiate with the Georgian authorities, and also ensure holding democratic elections. At this time, the former leader of the so-called South Ossetia was Eduard Kokoity, it was in 2007 that the movement “Kokoity Fandarast” was started. (Goodbye Kokoity), one of the goals of which was to restore the territorial integrity of Georgia. The duty of the temporary administration was also determined to protect the interests of the ethnic groups living in this territory and ensure law and order.
More specifically, among the functions were:
- Conducting negotiations with the Georgian authorities on behalf of the local political forces and society in order to determine the autonomous status of the former South Ossetia Autonomous District within the state of Georgia and grant broad political self-government;
- Preparation of appropriate conditions for holding democratic elections in the territory of the temporary administrative-territorial unit;
- Ensuring protection of law and order in the territory of the temporary administrative-territorial unit; Protection of the rights and freedoms of people and ethnic groups living in this territory, as well as their interests;
- Promotion of rehabilitation of local infrastructure, development, and implementation of socio-economic development programs of the temporary administrative-territorial unit;
- Ensuring the development and implementation of state programs in the fields of education, culture, sports, health care, social security, agriculture, use of natural resources and environmental protection in the territory; protection and development of Georgian and Ossetian languages, traditions and cultural heritage, development of special Georgian and Ossetian educational programs; ensuring the translation, publication and distribution of normative acts, other official documents and information in the Ossetian language, as well as promoting the development of Ossetian language media; conducting consultations to determine the name of the temporary administrative-territorial unit during the transition period;
- Deputy State Minister for Civil Integration and Minister of Internal Affairs, Justice, Finance, Economic Development, Education and Science, Labor, Health and Social Protection, Culture, Monument Protection and Sports, Agriculture, Environment Protection and Natural Resources, Refugees and Resettlement Ministries of Georgia Submitting the candidacies of the deputy for appointment in accordance with the law, with the participation and agreement of which all important decisions will be made in the territory of the temporary administrative-territorial unit.
The head of the administration should be a representative of the local political forces and society – later Dmitry Sanakoyev was appointed as the head of the temporary administration.
As the then-president, Mikheil Saakashvili, while debating the draft law, explained that through compromises, flexible negotiations, and unwavering consideration of the interests of all parties, the government of Georgia should be able, on the one hand, to establish the autonomous rights of the Ossetian population of Georgia and institutional strengthening (the president noted that this should be possible as a result of the negotiation process), and on the other hand, protecting the territorial integrity of Georgia, eliminating the intervention of external forces and restoring the territorial integrity of Georgia.
Kirbali is one of the villages located near the occupation line, whose residents have been repeatedly abducted by the Russian occupation forces. As the locals say, the Russian soldiers abduct citizens who went to the forest to collect firewood and chase cows. In October 2023, it was reported that the occupiers blocked the door of the monastery of Lomisa. The head of the Public Relations Service of the Patriarchate came to the site and said that “someone waved the Georgian flag, which caused the Russian military to take stricter measures.” On November 6, during an attempt of an illegall arrest in the village, the Russian occupation forces killed Georgian citizen Tamaz Ginturi. As can be seen in the later released video, Ginturi was in the area of the church and opened the locked door. Until now (9/11/2023), Levan Dotiashvili, who was with Ginturi, is still being held hostage by the occupiers.
About the Sources
All three Facebook users – Irma Khakhutaishvili, Vera-Tsitsino Kharabadze and Oboladze Gia – are supporters of the “Georgian Dream” party. At different times, they were involved in the discrediting or anti-EU campaigns identified by “Myth Detector” (1;2;3;4).
Facebook user Irma Khakhutaishvili systematically publishes posts with anti-Western, anti-Ukrainian and anti-opposition content. The posts disseminated by the user have been flagged as false information by fact checkers. Misleading information spread by the users has been verified by “Myth Detector” in the past as well.
Facebook user Vera-Tsitsino Kharabadze often publishes posts with anti-Western, anti-Ukrainian, and homophobic content. “Myth Detector” has labeled the user’s posts as false information (1;2) a number of times.
In addition, Vera-Tsitsino Kharabadze connects Tamaz Ginturi, who was killed in the village of Kirbali, to the provocation of the “United National Movement” party. The user has also published a post, according to which Tamaz Ginturi and Levan Dotiashvili were in the territory of the church “for the purpose of provocation”.
“Myth Detector” has also verified posts containing false information spread by the Georgian Dream supporter account, Oboladze Gia. Notably, the user was involved in the discrediting campaigns against the United National Movement and other individuals (1;2).
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