Residents of the village of Tsinagar, the leadership of South Ossetia and members of the public gathered on Thursday for a memorial meeting dedicated to the 31st anniversary of the Tsinagar tragedy.
April 28, 1991 seven unarmed residents of the village of Tsinagar in Leningor district - Otar Margiev, Givi Bibilov, Slavik Chertkoev, Zaur Khubulov, Otar Khubulov, Tengiz Dudayev and Taimuraz Khubulov, defending their pastures from cattle rustling, were killed by the Georgian aggressors. Among them was another resident of the village, Vasily Gigolaev, who miraculously escaped after multiple wounds.
Head of State Anatoly Bibilov arrived to honor the memory of the victims and lay flowers at the monument to the fallen defenders of the Fatherland. The President called on fellow citizens to remember and honor the heroes who gave their lives to save the long-suffering Ossetian people.
“For 31 years now, together with the residents of the district, we have been gathering here to pay tribute to the memory of the victims of the Tsinagar tragedy, the victims of the Georgian fascism. Unfortunately, the history of South Ossetia is full of tragic events: Tsinagar, Zar, Ered. All these atrocities continued until 2008 and claimed many lives of our citizens. Involuntarily you wonder: for what? Because we are Ossetians? Because we want to speak our native Ossetian language? Or because we want to live freely in our native land?” - he said.
Anatoly Bibilov has stressed the malicious militaristic motives of Georgia aimed at the complete eradication of the population of South Ossetia. This, according to him, is also indicated by the name of the operation "open field".
“Fascism does not recognize other nations. They wanted to eradicate us, wipe us off the face of the earth, the Ossetian people - the descendants of the valiant Scythians, Sarmatians, Alans, and together with us our ancient culture. But the courageous sons of South Ossetia stood up against the enemy. They gave their lives for a calm and prosperous future of our long-suffering people, and are a worthy example of courage and love for the Motherland,” he said.
The head of state has also added that, despite the repeated change of leadership in Georgia, humanity has never awakened in any Georgian politician, and there has not been the courage to apologize for what they have done and recognize the Ossetian genocide.
“The names of our heroes are unforgettable. It is our duty that the younger generation know, remember and honor their blessed memory. And we must create for the benefit of the prosperity of South Ossetia,” he said.
