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chechens

Editorial | Georgia’s show of force in Pankisi was reckless and irresponsible

by OC Media

•5 min read

A pitched battle between protesters and riot police in Georgia’s Pankisi Valley has undone years of work to build trust with a community that has been historically marginalised. The government needs to prioritise a more participatory approach to regional development over business interests. On Sunday, environmental protesters in northeast Georgia’s Pankisi Valley clashed with riot police over the resumption of construction work on a hydropower plant (HPP) — the third in the valley.

Feature Stories

Imam of Pankisi: There is no ‘radicalisation’ here

by Volodymyr Soboliev

•7 min read

Salafi imam of Pankisi, Bekkhan Pareulidze, sat down with OC Media for an exclusive interview, in which he discussed the region’s religious divisions, the outflow of young Kists to Syria, and the role civil society has to play in the valley. Since the 1990s, Pankisi Valley, in the northeast of Georgia, has attracted international attention as a wild and dangerous place, due to it’s association with Chechen fighters, drug trafficking, and violence. Although nowadays Pankisi is a peaceful rur