On July 15, 2015, the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) presented the research to the public: “Sakdrisi-Kachaghiani – Destruction in the Name of Law”. The research conducted by GYLA revealed a number of important issues, namely:
On December 12, 2014, the Ministry of the Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia and the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation have made total of 17 actions and 4 decisions regarding Sakdrisi-Kachaghiani oldest mine, in one day, in the extremely suspicious circumstances. As a result, on December 13, 2014, the ltd. “RMG Gold” has illegally exploded the Sakdrisi-Kachaghiani archaeological object.
On December 12, 2014, the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation and the Ministry of the Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia have conducted the administrative proceedings regarding revocation of the Sakdrisi-Kachaghiani Status of the Cultural Heritage in grave violation of the legislation.
On December 13, 2014, the ltd. “RMG Gold” did not have the permit from the Technical and Construction Supervision Agency (the legal entity of public law) to use the industrial explosives for exploding the area #1 of Sakdrisi. Therefore, the company has exploded Sakdrisi-Kachaghiani illegally.
The National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia did not manage to compose the group for the permanent monitoring of the de-construction process of the Sakdrisi-Kachaghiani that was working since January 9 to April 16, 2015, in such a way, the members of which would not have been in some way related to the ltd. “RMG Gold”.
The decision, made by various administrative bodies on December 29-31, 2014 in the accelerated manner - practically, in one day, raises numerous questions. The decision has resulted in prolongation of the license for use of the mineral resources by the ltd. “RMG Gold” in relation to the Sakdrisi-Kachaghiani. In this process, the expeditious actions of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resource Protection, the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation, the Roads Department, the National Environment Agency and the Government of Georgia, cause justified doubts that the ltd. “RMG Gold” had the preliminary guarantee that the license would be prolonged and the end of the 2014 has only marked the legal formalization of the decision.
The Sakdrisi-Kachaghiani case has clearly and undoubtedly demonstrated that it is possible to make the decisions in the dubious circumstances, in circumvention of the law, which are being justified in the name of the dubious investment interest and which endanger the protection and preservation of the Cultural Heritage, as well as handing it over to the future generations.
GYLA considers that the developments that evolved in 2013-2015 around Sakdrisi-Kachaghiani must become the object of the impartial investigation by the law-enforcements.
