Georgia's Guerilla Gardening Group

[Simon Fairlie]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: evrim <evrimg at gmail.com>
> Date: 17 February 2014 19:06:10 GMT
> To: reclaiming-spaces at listi.jpberlin.de
> Cc: datalapauri at gmail.com
> Subject: [reclaiming-spaces] updates from tbilisi
>
> dear friends,
>
> below you will find the text written by our comrades from tbilisi  
> guerrilla gardening group, which includes what has been happening  
> in tbilisi during last few months.
>
> i also ask you to add data from tbilisi to our e-mail group so he  
> can follow and share updates:
> datalapauri at gmail.com
>
> in solidarity,
> evrim
>
> =============================================================
>
> To Whom It May Concern,
>
> We are writing on behalf of thousands of people from Tbilisi, the  
> capital of Georgia, who are protesting to save their city's central  
> park from the construction of a multi-storey hotel. The municipal  
> government of Tbilisi has been abusing its power by issuing  
> building permits on exceptional basis in recreational zones, where  
> multi-storey building construction is prohibited by law. The  
> construction site is in the middle of a Recreational Zone, adjacent  
> to Landscape Zone and part of Vake Park that is recognized as a  
> monument of cultural heritage. Unfortunately, this symbol of  
> Tbilisi has been shrinking for almost a decade now. According to  
> the research conducted by the NGO Safe Space, it is almost half its  
> original size today.
>
> Tbilisi has been recognized as one of the least environmentally  
> friendly capitals in the world. While Berlin boasts 50 square  
> meters of green area per capita, Tbilisi has ten times less, with  
> the statistics as of 2001 being 5 square meters of green space per  
> capita; and it is dramatically less than that today. We would like  
> to draw your attention to this particular case, because it concerns  
> two important issues: on the one hand is environmental awareness  
> which has been rising in the population but not among local  
> authorities, and on the other is the responsibilities of the  
> democratic state towards its electorate. According to the Article  
> 37 of the Constitution of Georgia, "Everyone shall have the right  
> to live in a healthy environment and enjoy natural and cultural  
> surroundings. Everyone shall be obliged to care for natural and  
> cultural environment.” In recent years, governmental institutions  
> have favoured corporate interests over public welfare - especially  
> in relation to environmental issues.
>
> Your support is crucial at this point in the development of this  
> cause. There is a dynamic ongoing civic engagement through  
> protesting, written petitions. We even took this issue to the  
> court, but Tbilisi municipal government has not reacted adequately.  
> We would like to make an appeal to the international community to  
> support us - the citizens of Tbilisi - in our effort to save Vake  
> Park and defend our constitutional right. It is a place we all use  
> and enjoy. Please help us to keep it that way.
>
> Do not hesitate to contact us for further information on the issue  
> or for recent developments.
>
> More on the story can be found on the following websites (in English):
> http://f24.my/1js9jUS http://bit.ly/1bR2iVs
>
> The petition has been signed by over 7.000 people and can be found  
> on the following website:
> http://bit.ly/1cK2qdI
>
> Many thanks in advance!
>
> With Best Regards,
> Guerilla Gardening Tbilisi
> http://facebook.com/Tbilisitrees
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>

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