(Tbilisi. December 31. Civil Georgia) – In January 2002 Council of Europe (CoE) commission will visit Georgia to evaluate progress of repatriation of deported Meskhetians.
Repatriation of Meskhetians before 2012 was one of the stipulations laid down by the Council of Europe when Georgia joined the organization in 1999.
It is anticipated that Georgian authorities will ask CoE for prolongation of the deadline for repatriation. Member of the governmental commission working on the issue of repatriation Eldar Shengelaia stated in early December, that at least 20 years are necessary to repatriate deported Meskhetians to Georgia.
Meskhetians were deported from Georgia in 1944, during Stalin’s regime. Majority of them lives in Stavropol region, Russia nowadays.
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