Commentary of the RSO Foreign Minister David Sanakoev
The media continues to discuss the article in the newspaper "Izvestia" on August 14, 2012, which has reported that in South Ossetia by order of the President of the Republic of South Ossetia Leonid Tibilov "will be taken down several Georgian villages, which are located to the north of the capital of the Republic."
The current and former Georgian politicians are very concerned about this article, as well as some representatives of the international organizations, including the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Mr. Vollebaek.
This obviously provocative article has also caused in South Ossetia, at leastastonishment, since, first, South Ossetian President Leonid Tibilov did not issue any decree or order for demolition of the villages to the north of Tskhinval; secondly, there had never been "the Georgian enclaves" in the Republic of South Ossetia. There had been the villages with a mixed Georgian-Ossetian population, where the Georgian nationalists in 1989-1992 carried out the ethnic cleansing, as a result of which the Ossetian population, which had composed 30 - 50 percent of the residents, was expelled, and their houses burned down or looted. When the Ossetians were expelled from these villages, located in the gorge of the river Great Liakhva, and during the entire period of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict in these villages, which became the military outpost against South Ossetia, were committed the most atrocious crimes against the Ossetian people, it recked the OSCE representatives and the Georgian human rights activists little.
The comment of ex-President Shevardnadze sounds super cynical: "if Tibilov is planning to carry out such a barbaricact," it would be a tragedy. But we should note that President Tibilov is not planning any "barbarism";how can we perceive the words of Mr. Shevardnadze, when as head of Georgia on May 13, 1992 in the bleeding Tskhinval he visited a family of a little girl killed by the Georgian shells the night before, and the next day at the meeting in the town of Gori he criticized his subordinates that the forces assaulting Tskhinval, had not enough ammunition. Moreover, when he was in power, the Georgian militants committed one of the worst atrocities against the Ossetian people and humanity –May 20, 1992 on the Zar road they shot the peaceful Ossetian refugees - women, children, old people, for which no one underwent punishment so far.
Touching the villages, located to the north of Tskhinval, over which has been kicked up a fuss: these villages, like other villages around Tskhinval in August 2008, were in the combat zone and were destroyed and burned. Full responsibility for this rests with Saakashvili and those who have committed aggression in August 2008. The competent independent international experts clearly recognized Georgia as an aggressor, and Mr. Shevardnadze repeatedly called the instigator of the war the current Georgian leadership. So the media campaign "in defence" of these villages is no more than another propaganda campaign.
The statements as if the South Ossetian authorities are "demolishing churches" and other monuments in these villages and nearby, are completely baseless. All historical and cultural monuments in a territory of South Ossetia are thenational heritage of its people and are under the state protection. Co-chairmen of the Geneva discussions on security in Transcaucasia visited those areas and were convinced of safety of the churches, located to the north of Tskhinval.
Responsibility for the fate of the Georgian people, living in those villages till the August aggression in 2008 and gone to Georgia before the war in August 2008 on orders from Tbilisi, fully rests with the Georgian government, which planned to turn South Ossetia into the "open field." South Ossetian authorities do not distinguish its citizens on ethnic signs and repeatedly expressed willingness to resolve all issues, including refugees, in accordance with the international law and the existing realities.
And the reality is that the Republic of South Ossetia is a recognized sovereign state, seeking to heal the wounds caused by the Georgian aggression and rehabilitate the affected areas for the benefit of people.
Tskhinval, September 5, 2012
