The pain and suffering of relatives and friends of the victims of the Zar tragedy are further aggravated by the realization that the criminals are still not punished.
South Ossetia is commemorating the next, 27th anniversary of the execution of refugees on the Zar road, which became one of the bloodiest episodes of the genocide of the Ossetian people in 1989-92. The terrible crime against humanity committed by the Georgian fascists will forever remain in the memory of the Ossetian people, like other atrocities of the Tbilisi regimes, under various flags and colors, replacing each other for more than two decades.
May 20, 1992 in South Ossetia turned out to be a hot spring day. Tskhinval was under siege, subjected to constant shelling. Small and poorly armed defenders of the capital of the Republic were repelling one by one attempts to storm the city by the Georgian army.
Fierce fighting on the outskirts of Tskhinval began on May 9, when Georgian troops armed with armored vehicles and large-caliber artillery launched a large-scale offensive, setting itself the task of seizing the RSO capital.
On May 12, Georgian armed forces, supported by armored vehicles, broke into the village of Pris. More than 500 residents left the village, 20 people were injured, 8 were killed, two of them were crushed by the BMP. For three days, from 10 to 12 May, 120 people were delivered to the republican hospital, 15 of whom died from wounds.
On May 14, began a mass evacuation of children and women from Tskhinval, Tskhinval and Znaur districts of South Ossetia began.
Fleeing from the brutal shelling, people were leaving on the only road to the regional center Dzau, and from there to North Ossetia.
On that day, another convoy of passenger buses and passenger cars with women, old people and children, was slowly moving up the Zar road. At 11: 30-11.40, at the next bend of the road, an ambush of fire hit the cars from the ambush. At first, the passengers did not understand what was happening, the shooting lasted for a few minutes, and during that time very few people managed to get out of the cars that had turned into deadly traps.
Over the years, this monstrous crime went unpunished. The Georgian authorities, who regularly put forward "peaceful" initiatives, did not give the Zar tragedy neither political, nor legal assessment.
In South Ossetia, prosecutors opened a criminal case on the act of genocide committed on the Zar road. Attempts were made to identify the perpetrators of this crime. South Ossetian special services took part in the detection of criminals. The criminal case was suspended, then resumed.
The first group of participants in the shooting was established in 1994 on the basis of testimony.
These were Philip Chukhuladze, Vakhtang Mikeladze and Revaz Kakhnishvili. According to the testimony of witnesses, the soldiers of the Akhaltsikhe battalion who had advanced to the Zar road on the BPM also took part in the killing of the refugees.
A more complete list of participants in the shooting, numbering about 20 names, appeared in subsequent years.
Among those against whom decisions were made to prosecute as accused are Zangaladze Soso Iosifovich (born January 5, 1965), Nebieridze Nukri Kartloyevich (born February 27, 1958), Eradze Avtondil Valerianovich (August 3, 1965 R.), Kesanashvili Revaz Feliksovich
(born September 7, 1963), Kakhniashvili Georgy Alexandrovich (born November 1, 1961), Zangladze Soso Rezoevich (born 03.03.1957), Turashvili Georgy Nikolaevich (born 04/07/1955) and others.
In 2017, the defendants of the Zar execution were put on the international wanted list. However, no reaction from the international judicial instances followed and is unlikely to follow, given the current position of the West regarding South Ossetia.
The existing variations of The Hague international courts, operating since 1993, in essence, carry out the same line on the legitimization of the expansion of the United States and its allies, using a one-sided approach.
At the same time, the actions of the Georgian army and armed formations subordinate to the Georgian authorities fall under the provisions of the Geneva Convention and other international documents aimed at countering war crimes, inhuman treatment of prisoners and civilians during armed conflicts.
Despite the policy of double standards on the part of Western countries and international structures, South Ossetia needs to strive at all levels to condemn acts of genocide by Georgia, using all resources for this fact.
Punishing those involved in the massacre of refugees on the Zar road and other crimes against the Ossetian people should be one of the main tasks of the South Ossetian state.
But today, the pain and suffering of relatives and friends of the victims of the Zar tragedy are further aggravated by the realization that the criminals are not punished. At the place of the tragedy in 2007, an obelisk “Grieving Mother” was installed - an image of a woman protecting her child at the behest of maternal instinct pierces the heart, evoking a feeling of deepest compassion.
Every year, residents of the Republic gather at this place. Every year, relatives of the victims, the leadership of the Republic, young people and adults come here - all people who are not indifferent to this tragedy. Every year there are large-scale mourning meetings.
People remember. People of South Ossetia remember one of the bloodiest tragedies. People remember and convey this memory to their children and grandchildren. People convey the memory of the genocide of the 1920s, the Zar tragedy, the Ered tragedy, the bloody August 2008.
People have been passing on the memory from one generation to another, trying to warn and protect their children and grandchildren from possible future tragedies. From the tragedies that happened at the whim of the southern neighbor - Georgia, which was periodically covered by the wave of hysterical fascism.
May 20 in South Ossetia annually commemorates the Day of Remembrance and Grief. At the obelisk "Grieving Mother" on Monday will be held the action "Memory of the People", timed to coincide with the anniversary of the Zar tragedy, recognized as one of the worst crimes in South Ossetia. At 10.30, buses with participants of the action will leave Teatralnaya Square, at 11.15 a ceremonial event will begin, laying wreaths at the obelisk, a rally will be opened at 11.39, and a national minute of grief will be announced at 12.03.
