The International Day of the Missing is a very important and relevant day for South Ossetia, because during the years of Georgian aggression, starting from the 90s and ending in 2008, about 130 people are listed as missing in the Republic, the Presidential Commissioner for Human Rights of the Republic of South Ossetia Inal Tasoev said at the breefing.
“Today is also important because we can express our solidarity with relatives and friends of the missing, let them know that we share their pain, anxiety,” he said.
According to the Ombudsman, a lot of work has been done by the Tripartite Coordinating Mechanism for the Search for the Missing Persons since 2010.
“Our activities are carried out within the framework of the Tripartite Coordination Mechanism for the Search for the Missing Persons chaired by the International Committee of the Red Cross. It was established in 2010 and includes South Ossetia, Georgia and Russia.
Over the past years, DNA analyzes, intravital, post-mortem data of the missing have been collected. The problem lies in the lack of information about possible burial places. If we talk about the missing in 2008, we have a lot of testimonies, video evidence that these citizens were in the hands of Georgian law enforcement agencies.
However, the political leadership of Georgia is not ready today to show political will and give us any information about what happened to these people.
As for the missing in the 90s, 30 years have already passed and we have little information. Some of the eyewitnesses died, someone left for the territory of Georgia, where we do not have access,” he said.
According to Tasoev, in 2008, 8 people were listed as missing, of which the remains of two have already been found.
