The action dedicated to the 32nd anniversary of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan took place on Monday in Tskhinval in front of the monument to the soldiers-internationalists in the Bam micro district. The participants of the event laid flowers and wreaths at the memorial, honoring the memory of the Afghan warriors who did not return from the war.
According to the Chairman of the Union of Afghan Veterans, Murat Guchmazov, as in all the republics of the former Soviet Union, South Ossetia annually celebrates the Day of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan.
“Today we are celebrating the end of the bloodiest and longest war of the late 1980s. About 620 thousand soldiers and officers passed through it, 15 thousand of them did not return, including local guys,” Guchmazov said. - 200 young people left South Ossetia for Afghanistan in those years, seven of whom did not return. We will never consign their names to oblivion. "
Murat Guchmazov said that the territory of the monument would be landscaped in 2021 with the assistance of the republican authorities.
“We are making efforts to gradually turn this territory into a memorial complex. President of the Republic Anatoly Bibilov has promised that it will be improved this year,” he said.
The head of state, in turn, noted the heroism and courage of the Afghans, whom love for the Soviet Union, responsibility to the Fatherland encouraged to fulfill their civic duty in the Republic of Afghanistan.
You are the people from whom you have taken and will continue to take an example. You served with honor and dignity in Afghanistan, and almost all of you were awarded high awards of the Soviet Union, " the President stressed.
He has added that after the arrival of Soviet troops, schools, roads, bridges were built in Afghanistan, and the American troops that are there today have not built a single square meter of social facilities.
“After the departure of our veterans of the Great Patriotic War, you move to the front line, as the successors of their memory, their heroic deeds. You are the successors of the traditions that speak of how important it is to preserve your honor, to be a patriot and a hero, a courageous person, defending your homeland,” the head of state said.
According to him, it was the Afghans who stood in the front ranks in the defense of South Ossetia in the difficult years for the republic.
“You knew what was, how to handle weapons, and gave hope to all the other guys that victory would be ours, that happened,” the President said.
Russian Ambassador to South Ossetia Marat Kulakhmetov has also noted the courage of the Afghans, stressing that military work is a serious and responsible job, especially in the context of a combat mission.
“We all look up to you, regardless of our positions and titles. You have always been an example for us - guys from the 80s. Low bow to all of you, blessed memory of those fighters who laid down their heads defending justice and peace on the land of Afghanistan. We will always remember them, because there is no future without memory,” the Russian Ambassador said.
At the end of the rally, students of the Tskhinval school No. 9, who took patronage over the monument to the Afghans, presented thematic works to those present.
