May 20 in South Ossetia, will be commemorated the Day of Memory and Grief. Exactly 21 years ago, the Georgian neo-fascists on the bypass road Tskhinval-Zar-Dzau from ambush brutally shot dead 33 people, mostly women, old people and children – the civilians who had left their homes Tskhinval, being shelled constantly at that time. The youngest of the victims was 11 years old.
On Monday a mourning ceremony will be held on the site of the tragedy at the memorial "Grieving Mother" in the village of Zar in Tskhinval district of South Ossetia.
As the news agency "Res" was informed at the press service of the Ministry of Culture of South Ossetia, the ceremony would be attended by members of the government, the parliament, and the public of the Republic.
"The meeting will be addressed by the villagers of Zar, representatives of the Republican leadership, the church, and the families of the victims. In memory of the victims will be observed the nationwide minute of Memory "- was told at the press service.
People, wishing to attend the event, will be able to get on the buses waiting for them at Theater Square at 10:00.
The memorial service for the innocent victims will be conducted in the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin in the capital of South Ossetia.
It should be noted that May 20, 1992, 12:03 has become another bloody chapter in the history of the Ossetian people. Since then, South Ossetia has been holding annually the ceremonies in remembrance of the victims of this tragedy. In recent years, May 20 in South Ossetia is commemorated not only as the date of the Zar tragedy, but as a memorial day for all the victims of genocide.
The monument to the victims of the Zar tragedy was opened September 17, 2007.
The author of the memorial is an artist Sarmat Zasseev, assisted by the well-known artists of South Ossetia Tamerlane Tskhovrebov, Nicolay Ikoev and Akhsartag Alborov. The sculpture depicts a mother hiding her child, and holding her hand to God for protection and patronage. At the bottom of the pedestal is the list of the victims of the Zar tragedy.
