Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Ossetia issued on Thursday a press release in connection with the 29th anniversary of the Zar tragedy, in which it has recalled the heinous crime against the Ossetian people that happened 29 years ago, on May 20, 1992.
"On the Zar bypass road through the forest, which during the siege and war became the only" Road of Life "for the besieged Tskhinval, Georgian extremists ambushed and point-blank shot a convoy of vehicles carrying unarmed civilians from Tskhinval. 33 people were killed, including women, old people and children, 16 people were injured. The oldest of the victims was 73 years old, the youngest-11 years old.
On this day, Georgian fascism fully manifested its ugly, inhuman essence. The genocide of Ossetians at the Zar height remains unpunished to this day. And although the then leader of Georgia Eduard Shevardnadze officially admitted that the Zar tragedy was on the conscience of the Georgian armed formations, no attempts were made by the Georgian law enforcement agencies to find and punish the organizers and perpetrators of this atrocity, "the press release says.
Moreover, the Foreign Ministry has noted, the position of a number of European countries and the United States is surprising, which perceive Georgia "as a victim of the aggression and some "fighters for territorial integrity."and continue to support it on the path of integration into the North Atlantic Alliance."
"Georgia's increased push to join NATO brings to mind the military aggression in August 2008, which was made possible precisely thanks to the comprehensive political and military support of the Alliance's member countries," the Foreign Ministry said.
The press release says that the attempts of the Georgian leaders to break the fortitude and determination of the people of South Ossetia in the struggle for their independence have crashed against the heroism of our staunch and courageous people.
“Having passed through years of hardships and incredible trials, South Ossetia achieved its goal, in the name of which thousands of sons and daughters sacrificed their lives - recognition of state independence Ossetia has survived and won, passed through incredible trials with honor, and at the cost of colossal self - sacrifice proved to the whole world its inalienable right to freedom and a decent future," the Foreign Ministry said.
Today people of South Ossetia are remembering not only those killed on the Zar road, but also everyone who fell at the hands of the Georgian fascists.
“This bloody tragedy was not an accident or an isolated episode of uneasy Georgian-Ossetian relations, it is one of many evidences of the genocidal policy that the Georgian leadership was pursuing against the Ossetian people for a whole century. The facts of mass killings of Ossetians, starting from the genocide of 1920 and up to August 2008, are still not given a proper legal assessment by the international community. The criminal regime of Georgia has not acknowledged its responsibility for the Zar tragedy, nor for what happened in the village of Ered in 1991. The entire civilized world has recognized both the Zar tragedy and the Ered tragedy as crimes against humanity," the Foreign Ministry said.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia is once again calling on the world community for the memory of those who perished on the Zar road, killed in Ered, hundreds of those perished in while defending Tskhinval and the Republic, in the name of peace in the Caucasus, for the entire architecture of international security and strategic stability in Europe, for the sake of all living give an objective assessment of the criminal actions of Georgia, and bring the Georgian government to responsibility under international law .
