On August, 26, 2011 a round table «The third anniversary of the international recognition: political and legal grounds for independence of the Republic of South Ossetia» with participation of representatives of the Ossetian diasporas of France, Belgium and Holland, organized by the International association of the Ossetian societies "Renaissance" will be held in Paris. The action is timed to the state holiday of South Ossetia - Independence Recognition Day.
Three years ago the Russian Federation recognized the independence of South Ossetia by a will of its people. During the national referenda citizens of South Ossetia have made their choice in favour of political self-determination. These referenda, along with other political and legal grounds, became the basis of the South-Ossetian independence. Despite their perfection, the international community is a little familiar with the political and legal grounds for independence of South Ossetia; moreover, they are purposefully ignored by the part of the international community. The main objective of the round table is attraction of attention of the international community to the political and legal grounds for independence of South Ossetia. Its participants will discuss the international situation in which South Ossetia found itself on the eve of collapse of the USSR, they will try to state a legal estimation of Gamsakhurdia`s policy towards the "nonindigenous" population of Georgia. In a format of the round table the participants will discuss the questions, concerning ethnic cleansings among the Ossetian population in 1990-1992, the legal aspects of the Soviet of People's Deputies activity in South-Ossetian autonomous region and the Supreme Soviet of the RSO, the reasons of adopting the Independence Act of South Ossetia, a peace-making role of Russia in supporting peace in the Transcaucasian region, a historical role of Dagomys agreements in 1992. The leadership of South Ossetia, since the end of the eighties of the last century till the moment of adopting the Independence Act by the Parliament of the Republic of South Ossetia in May, 1992, always strictly kept to the standards of legislation of the Soviet Union, the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, and after collapse of the Soviet Union - the standards of the international law. Except the political and legal grounds for independence declaration South Ossetia had also the grounds of moral nature. The tragical reflection of these grounds are the evens at the beginning of the nineties of the last century when more than hundred thousand Ossetians have been compelled to escape from the Georgian regions which were beyond the administrative borders of South Ossetia. These people had no any relation to the political processes in South Ossetia, except for their national identity. Maybe, the considerable part of them did not support aspiration of the people of South Ossetia to independence. However, they didn`t manage to avoid the ethnic cleansings. 115 out of 164 thousand people or 70 % of the Ossetians have been expelled from Georgia. Thousands Ossetians have been compelled to leave Tbilisi. Tens Ossetian villages in Kakheti and the Borzhomsky gorge (Trialetsky Ossetia) have been burnt and plundered. The world famous mineral water "Borzhomi" has "smack" of blood for each Ossetian. The international community did not recognize responsibility of Georgia for the lost 20 years of life of people who considered that their Native land was there, where their houses were. Paraphrasing Dostoevsky I`d like to ask: whether the happiness of the Western world is worth of disappearance of small nation? People in South Ossetia are looking forward to hear the answer for this question. It is sad, but both political and legal grounds for independence of South Ossetia, and the situation with ethnic cleansings of the Ossetian population in Georgia still remain beyond attention of the international community. So, at the beginning of 2008 the American State Secretary Condoleezza Rice, having noted the ethnic cleansings as one of the grounds for independence of the Kosovo Albanians, at the same time noticed that «Kosovo cannot be considered as the precedent for any other situation in the today's world». Does it mean that ethnic cleansings of one nation are more fundamental, rather than display of genocide towards the other people? Similar selective ignoring of the processes round South Ossetia causes certain disappointment in the western democratic values among the Ossetian society. Presentation of special release of the Informational bulletin «RENAISSANCE» -«Political and legal grounds for independence of the Republic of South Ossetia» in French- will take place at the round table; it describes in detail these grounds with reference to normative legal acts of the USSR, the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic and the South-Ossetian Autonomous region. Release of this bulletin will be dispatched in the European authorities, the international organizations, educational institutions, and libraries. We hope that this information will help the European community to become familiar with the political and legal grounds for independence of South Ossetia.
The Chairman of the International association of the Ossetian societies "Renaissance" Oleg Kudukhov
http://www.osetia.su/knigi/EtChis/1.htm
http://www.osetia.su/knigi/EtChis/2.htm
http://www.osetia.su/knigi/EtChis/3.htm
http://www.osetia.su/knigi/EtChis/4.htm
