There are no refugees who left their placed of residence in Leningor district due to security threats based on their ethnic origin or any other diversity, stated the Head of Leningor district Administration Alan Djussoev, commenting on the statement of demography expert Avtandil Sulaberidze that "majority of asylum seekers abroad are refugees from currently occupied Akhalgori district, which the state was unable to protect". It is worth reminding that in 2009, Georgia was among the top ten states with the highest number of citizens seeking asylum abroad, and the first one in the list of state with the highest migration rate. This document was drafted by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
According to Djussoev, there are of course migration problems: "It is peculiar not only for Leningor district, but to the whole post-Soviet space". "My experience with the UNHCR allows me to say that these people hardly go outside their office room. They simply make money on western countries' grants. It also refers to Leningor district and commenting on the statement of Avtandil Sulaberidze I would say that there are no refugees from Leningor district who had left their place of residence because of any security threats linked to their racial, religious or ethnic origin. They could hardly be refugees if they receive their salaries and work in the place where they were evicted from. it cannot be like this. If people are displaced, they return home within the frames of some repatriation and refugee return programs. Here, these so-called refugees travel every day between the settlement built for them by the authorities of Georgia in Tserovani and Leningor. 7-10 mini-van taxis cross the boundary line every day. Neither South Ossetian authorities nor the Russian border-guards had ever put any obstacles to their movement. The only rule they should follow is that the cross-border movement stops at night and the person crossing the border should have his/her Georgia ID notary translated into Russian. These refugees work here at schools, cultivate their lands, and they take out what they earn here and support their relative in Georgia. This refers both civil servants and farmers. They have nice houses and property earned from cattle-breeding. Unfortunately, they sell their products at Tbilisi markets. We do understand that people should somehow survive and we do not prevent them from transporting their goods to Georgia", said Djussoev. He underlined that there were no refugees in the district, excluding those "who are accused by South Ossetian authorities for their involvement in ethnic cleansing or any other crimes committed on the territory of South Ossetia. The number of these people is around ten." "The rest of the population enjoys free movement. Moreover, many of them are South Ossetian civil servants with Georgian passports. We shut our eyes to it, and we make the population understand that no one is going to drive people out", explained the Head of District Administration. Djussoev pointed to the broadcast of the Georgian IMEDI TV noting that this was the way to influence the public opinion and convey the message on where the threat comes from.
