In South Ossetia, 130 families are waiting for information about their loved ones who have gone missing, the ombudsman for human rights under the President of the Republic, Inal Tasoev, told the “Res,” news agency on Monday.
“Most of the citizens we are looking for disappeared during the Georgian aggression in the 90s, in August 2008 - 8 people, a total of 130 residents of South Ossetia,” the Ombudsman said.
According to him, in 2016 and 2021, the remains of two citizens were found - Mairbeg Tedeev and Anatoly Khodov, both were reported missing since August 2008.
“The issue of the missing is not resolved in one day or a week, searches can continue for many years, which, unfortunately, we are seeing. But the work to clarify their fate is being carried out by the leadership of our Republic,” Tasoev said.
He has noted that South Ossetia has been participating in the work of the Trilateral Coordination Mechanism for the Search for Missing Persons, which was created in 2010.
“Apart from us, Russia and Georgia are participating in its work. The mechanism has veeb operating under the chairmanship of the Red Cross mission, - said the agency's interlocutor.
Over the years, together with the ICRC and the republican public organization "Memory and Hope", the lists of the missing have been sorted out, the lifetime data of the missing have been collected, the DNA base of their relatives.
Today, a search is underway for possible burial sites of these people.
This year, field work was carried out jointly with the Prosecutor General's Office and the Red Cross mission. Human remains were found in several places, however, unfortunately, they did not date from the time period in which our citizens disappeared. But the work in this direction will continue. "
The Ombudsman has noted that it is difficult to look for people who disappeared in the 90s.
“30 years have passed, many details of the events are erased, many of their eyewitnesses, unfortunately, have died or are on the territory of Georgia, where we have no access,” he said.
Inal Tasoev has stressed that over the 10 years of the mechanism's operation, Georgia has not been able to demonstrate political will to resolve this important humanitarian issue.
“Numerous meetings of international mediators with the top leadership of Georgia also lead nowhere, only empty promises on their part are heard.
But in any case, we will continue our work to clarify the fate of our missing citizens, because 130 families are waiting for the remains of their loved ones to be found and buried in the traditional way,” concluded the Ombudsman.
