Parliamentary Chairperson Nino Burjanadze met with opposition lawmakers on June 20 to discuss a draft law dealing with the repatriation of Meskhetians next year.

The government is proposing  to fulfill commitments made on joining the Council of Europe in 1999 to repatriate the Muslim population, deported from southern Georgia in 1944. Many Opposition lawmakers, however, voiced concerns and demanded a postponement.

“We demand this be postponed at least until our own internally displaced persons are returned to their homes [in Abkhazia and South Ossetia]. Only afterwards can we think about the possibility of receiving other refugees,” MP Zviad Dzidziguri of the Conservative Party told reporters before the meeting with the Parliamentary Chairperson.

The Conservative Party is at the forefront of opposition to the return of the Meskhetians.

“Turkey and Russia have been lobbying for this issue and the Georgian authorities yielded to this pressure unfortunately,” MP Kakha Kukava of the Conservative Party said.

Lawmakers from other opposition parties have shown more moderation in their stances.

MP Davit Gamkrelidze of the New Rights Party admitted that the proposed draft law was quite flexible, giving the authorities the tools to control the repatriation process. He, however, called for caution and siad the authorities should avoid any hasty decisions.

Gamkrelidze, speaking on June 20, however, said his party would not support the legislation. “Although the draft law leaves room for maneuver, we can not support [it] anyway," he said. "We think that this process is being carried out very hastily; we lack information about, first of all, how many Meskhetians will arrive, where these people will live and what social guarantees they will enjoy.”

The draft law does not oblige the Georgian authorities to provide any financial support to the returnees.

Lawmakers from the ruling National Movement party pointed out that the proposed draft law was very flexible. They appealed to the opposition not to use the issue for political gain, saying that it was already sensitive enough. Majority of the population seems to be against it.

Opposition group - the Republican Party - were in favour of the repatriation. They, however, criticized the authorities for failing to provide a proper public awareness campaign, so as to bring the population on board behind the proposal.