“Policy of Georgian authorities can result in a national catastrophe”: South Ossetian community

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A round-table discussion was held in the capital of South Ossetia, Tskhinvali. The discussion titled “Russian Vector of Georgian Policy in Sociopolitical Coordinates of Caucasus” was held at the office of the South Ossetian branch of the Caucasian Institute for Democracy. Members of youth movements, Georgian, Armenian and Russian communities in South Ossetia, NGOs and reporters participated in the meeting.

After the discussion, the participants passed a statement. REGNUM publishes the full text of it:

“For recent years, the Georgian-Russian relations have been characterized by increasing tensions, causing anxiety and serious concern with peoples of Caucasus.            

Georgian authorities are trying to switch attention of the population from problems of poverty, corruption, economic crisis, which are consequences of failure of their own policy, to artificially formed images of enemies in the person of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, representing the Russian Federation as the main source of all their problems.

Staking at force in its aspiration towards putting South Ossetia and Abkhazia under its jurisdiction, Tbilisi has been involved in an unprecedented militarization, concealing its provocations against South Ossetia and Abkhazia by propagandist statements announcing their peaceful intentions addressed to the West.

Rejecting the historic memory of good neighborhood and friendship, Georgian leaders resort to the language of threats, establish an unfavorable atmosphere and make null and void the years-long effort in the conflict settlement. The policy pursued by Georgian leadership can result in grave and unpredictable consequences for Georgia and the Caucasian region in general.

Saakashvili’s aggressive policy makes suffer the whole Georgian nation. People are suffering colossal losses, being deprived of an opportunity to trade with Russia. South Ossetian Georgians live in the atmosphere of permanent fear expecting another provocation from Georgia.

Participants of the round-table discussion address the UN and OSCE member-countries calling to condemn the dangerous Tbilisi policy aimed at exacerbating the situation and aggravating hostility in Caucasus and to take all measures in order to prevent from deterioration of the situation, to give up intriguing and start solving the problems of the Georgian people properly.”