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Protest held at Georgia-Azerbaijan border

06 March 2017 15:12 (UTC +04:00)

The Azerbaijani population of Georgia’s Gardabani district held a protest near the border with Azerbaijan on Monday.

The protest, joined by more than 25 Georgian and Azerbaijani citizens, was joined by residents of villages located near the border as well as those of the Saidkhli and Mughanli villages of Azerbaijan’s Aghstafa district, APA’s Georgia bureau reported.

The protesters called for a solution to the artificial problems created by the Georgian side. Azerbaijani citizens Rafiq Mustafayev, Rovshan Yusubov, Jeyhun Namazov and Georgian citizen Kamran Aliyev spoke out against some 1,000 lira fine faced by drivers, as well as the “unnecessary” questioning of a number of Georgian and Azerbaijani citizens at the Vakhtangisi border checkpoint. It was noted that some 1,000 lire fine is imposed in case more than 10 liters of petrol were detected in the tank of cars. They complained that some villagers were not allowed the cross the border because they were unable to speak Russian or Georgian.

Another protester Jeyhun Namazov, a resident of Sadikhli village, told APA that door panels of his car were removed and nothing was found, but though they were covered again, his vehicle fell into disrepair. Resident of Kosali village of Gardabani region Karam Aliyev said they were not given detailed information about the procedure while crossing the border.

The protesters have informed the relevant department of the Georgian Finance Ministry about the problems and obstacles they face on the border.

The ministry official Khatia Moistrapishvili told that certain measures will be taken if the facts about fines imposed on and protocols drawn against Georgian and Azerbaijani citizens at Vakhtangisi border checkpoint are confirmed.