The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia comments on the report of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Knut Vollebaek to the OSCE Permanent Council
On November 3, 2010, the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities paid a visit to South Ossetia. During his visit, Mr. Vollebaek met with officials of the Republic of South Ossetia, ethnic communities, also visited Leningor district.
The visit of the head of the OSCE institution was agreed despite the fact that since August 2008, the organization does not operate in South Ossetia; it was a manifestation of goodwill of South Ossetia and an open dialogue with international organizations. However, having read the report of Mr. Vollebaek to the OSCE Permanent Council on Nov. 18, 2010, on the results of the visit to the region, we regrettably note that many positions in the report are contrary to the reality and to the evaluations he voiced during his visit to South Ossetia.
Expressing his gratitude to the authorities of Russia and Georgia for facilitation of the visit to the region, Mr. Vollebaek said nothing about the authorities of South Ossetia, although the possibility to have a visit to South Ossetia, as a sovereign and recognized state, but not a member of the OSCE, was decided with the authorities of our state. .
Noting the presence of empty Georgian villages north and east of Tskhinval, Mr. Vollebaek mentioned nothing about the destruction seen in the city of Tskhinval, nothing about the rehabilitation works being implemented, and moreover, he mentioned nothing about the Georgian military aggression in 2008 against South Ossetia which affected the representatives of all nationalities living in the Republic.
Without taking into account other nationalities, in the report he expressed concern over the preservation of ethnic identity of the Georgians in South Ossetia, including in those in Leningor district. The report does not mention that in South Ossetia there are 8 Georgian schools, six of them are in Leningor district, and the fact that in these schools, children are able to study according to Georgian textbooks and curricula. The initiative of the authorities of South Ossetia with the readiness to return to their homes in Leningor district all persons who were displaced to Georgia and are sheltered in Tserovani, and do so under the supervision of the UNHCR, has not been reflected as well.
The opportunity for these people in Leningor district to come to their homes, farm their land was not mentioned in the report, as well as the Russian humanitarian actions (including health) implemented in Leningor district.
The report expressed concern about freedom of movement across the border (although it says that there are up to 800 crossings per day), but it did not specify that the the movement and transportation of goods, including humanitarian are not complicated by the South Ossetian, but the Georgian authorities (what Mr. Vollebaek personally experienced). The report did not mention that that residents of Leningor have to spend the third winter without natural gas only because the Georgian authorities for political reasons, in order to aggravate the humanitarian situation and prevent the people from return to Leningor do not let the gas transit from Russia via its territory to Leningor.
Despite the information proving the violations of rights of Ossetians in Georgia provided to Mr. Vollebaek in Tskhinval, the absence in the report of any wording on both the Ossetians ousted from Georgia and the problems of Ossetians currently residing in Georgia is another sign of the selective approach to the problem of national minorities. Mr. Vollebaek himself stated that he received "many complaints from Ossetians in Kakheti area".
There was no notion in the formal report on the oral statement Mr. Vollebaek made during his stay in South Ossetia that he had compiled a lot of questions that to be raised to the Georgian authorities.
At the same time, the report reiterates the repeatedly voiced by representatives of various international organizations idea of "the need for a greater international presence."
The general impression is that Mr. Vollebaek had a deliberately biased position, which was not influenced by the realities seen on the ground.
