Georgian Interior Ministry deems civil patrolling initiative along border with S. Ossetia unfeasible
TBILISI. July 25 (Interfax) - The Georgian Interior Ministry said that the so-called civil patrolling along the border with South Ossetia has been unfeasible.
Interior Ministry officials on Tuesday met with initiators and organizers of the Strength in Unity public movement, who plan to undertake permanent civil patrolling in the territory adjacent to the border, which Tbilisi calls the "occupational line", the ministry told reporters.
The Interior Ministry said that they had elaborated on the risks and challenges, which are related to their initiative, to the organizers of the action.
The EU observer mission and Interior Ministry units, which ensure security of local residents, are intensively operating in this territory, the ministry said.
Such travelling along this line is dangerous, the Georgian Interior Ministry said. "Therefore, we consider it unfeasible to carry out the Strength in Unity public movement's initiative," it said.
Meanwhile, the ministry said that they have respected the freedom of expression, but at the same time the Interior Ministry retains its right to act in compliance with the requirements set in the law.
As earlier reported, civil patrolling started on Tuesday along the border of South Ossetia unrecognized by official Tbilisi.
Russian border guards in the Tskhival region have detained several dozens of local residents for breaching the South Ossetian border since the start of this year alone, Georgian nongovernmental organizations said. All of them were released, after they had paid a fine in the amount of 2,000 rubles.