In South Ossetia, a ceremony of laying flowers and wreaths was held at the monument on the outskirts of the capital, symbolizing the fortitude and bravery of the sons of Ossetia. The laying on is timed to coincide with the public holiday celebrated on Monday - the Day of Courage and National Unity.
Here on November 23, 1989, thirty-one years ago, the ordinary Tskhinval guys, holding hands, formed a "human chain", blocking the path of armed Georgian nationalists who intended to enter the city and hold a so-called "peaceful meeting".
Representatives of the Republic’s leadership, headed by President Anatoly Bibilov, Russian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to South Ossetia Marat Kulakhmetov, military personnel and participants in the events of November 23, 1989, came to recall the feat of the courageous sons of Ossetia.
According to Anatoly Bibilov, November 23 is a holiday of the Ossetian people, their pride and unity.
“When on November 23, 1989, Georgian neo-fascists tried to enter the capital of the Republic, they wanted to indicate that this was the territory of Georgia, and the people of South Ossetia would not be asked about their future. They said that the rally would be peaceful, but their goal was to show their power in South Ossetia. And it was here, in this area, that ordinary guys stood up against the aggressors and did not let them into the city,” the President said.
Anatoly Bibilov noted that the courage of those guys was and is an example for future generations, and their actions fills the hearts of the inhabitants of the Republic with pride.
“It was in this unity that we felt each other's shoulder, and in this unity was the strength of confrontation. From that day on, began the struggle for the independence of the Republic of South Ossetia. There were those guys who later were fighting for their homeland, and brought that independence from Georgia, which we have been striving for almost a century,” the head of state said.
One of the participants in the November events, Anatoly Gagloev, recalled the first hours of the confrontation.
“Today I am 62 years old, then I was 31. I remember well who was among the first guys who formed a “human chain” in front of the enemy. We didn't even know each other, I just asked everyone: Are you Ossetian? Then give me your hand. Among us was Akhsar Bestaev, who said that the Georgians were armed, and we did not even have a flag, and he took it from the courthouse, located nearby,” said Anatoly Gagloev.
On November 10, 1989, the Regional Council of People's Deputies of South Ossetia made a decision to transform the autonomous region into an autonomous republic and sent an appeal to Tbilisi for approval of this decision, following the example of other autonomous regions of the USSR. In Georgia, the appeal of the South Ossetian deputies was received with hostility and they decided to forever discourage the Ossetians from seeking political rights.
On November 23, 1989, a huge motorcade with several tens of thousands of Georgian extremists moved to South Ossetia to carry out a mass intimidation campaign. Several unarmed young Ossetian guys stood in front of them as a "human chain", blocking the way for the aggressor to prevent him from entering the city. After a short time, inspired by patriotism, hundreds of South Ossetian residents joined the guys.
This day went down in the history of the Ossetian people as a symbol of the courage of the defenders of the Fatherland and the national unity of the people of the Republic.
