Ethnic cleansing of Georgians in South Ossetia

Ethnic cleansing of Georgians in South Ossetia was the removal of Georgian people, which was conducted in South Ossetia and other territories occupied by Russian and South Ossetian forces,[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] which happened during and after the 2008 South Ossetia war.[8]

The Human Rights Watch concluded that the "South Ossetian forces sought to ethnically cleanse" the Georgian-populated areas.[9] In 2009, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe resolutions condemned "the ethnic cleansing and other human rights violations in South Ossetia, as well as the failure of Russia and the de facto authorities to bring these practices to a halt and their perpetrators to justice".[10] According to the September 2009 report of the European Union-sponsored Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Conflict in Georgia, "several elements suggest the conclusion that ethnic cleansing was carried out against ethnic Georgians in South Ossetia both during and after the August 2008 conflict."[11]

Contents

1991–1992 South Ossetia War

Between 1989 and 1992, fighting flared in the South Ossetian A.O. and in Georgia proper between ethnic Ossetian paramilitary troops and Georgian Interior Ministry (MVD) units and paramilitaries. South Ossetia declared its independence from Georgia. In turn, Georgia abolished South Ossetian autonomous status, which existed since early Soviet years. The Georgian government, led by the president Zviad Gamsakhurdia, responded by sending in army and paramilitary units, in an attempt to restore its control of the region.

On the night of 5 January 1991, 6,000 armed Georgians entered Tskhinvali, causing destruction in the city and killing civilians.[12][13] After fierce street fighting, the Georgian forces were repelled and driven out of Tshkinvali by South Ossetian troops.[14]

As a result of the war, approximately 100,000 ethnic Ossetians fled from the South Ossetian A.O. and Georgia proper, and 23,000 ethnic Georgians fled from the South Ossetian A.O. into ethnically Georgian areas. One hundred villages were reportedly destroyed in South Ossetia by both sides. Additionally, the North Ossetia-Georgian border went largely uncontrolled, providing an almost unhindered access point for weapons, fighters, and ammunition in both directions.[15]

A deputy to the North Ossetian Supreme Soviet explained, "When the war began in South Ossetia, back than an autonomous region of Georgia there were thousands of refugees....Naturally, those Ossetian refugees from South Ossetia and from Georgia who fled here wanted to kick out Georgians living here. There are 15,000 Georgians living here, just in Vladikavkaz...We stopped this, no one fled".[15]

Comments on the 2008 ethnic cleansing of Georgians in South Ossetia

According to the Human Rights Watch's January 2009 report on the war in Georgia: "[HRW's] observations on the ground and dozens of interviews conducted led us to conclude that the South Ossetian forces sought to ethnically cleanse this set of Georgian villages: that is, the destruction of the homes in these villages was deliberate, systematic, and carried out on the basis of the ethnic and imputed political affiliations of the residents of these villages, with the express purpose of forcing those who remained to leave and ensuring that no former residents would return... [In undisputed Georgian territory] Beginning with the Russian occupation of Georgia and through the end of September, Ossetian forces, often in the presence of Russian forces, conducted a campaign of deliberate violence against civilians, burning and looting their homes on a wide scale, and committing execution-style killings, rape, abductions, and countless beatings."[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ August 28, 2008 Article: Georgia warns of ethnic cleansing in South Ossetia. AP via highbeam
  2. ^ "South Ossetia one year on: Georgians wait in fear for Russians to return" telegraph.co.uk 01 August 2009 Link retrieved 16 August 2009
  3. ^ Patashuri, Mikheil (Counsellor, Embassy of Georgia, Amman) (2008-08-13). "A few more facts". Jordan Times. http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=19151. Retrieved 2009-09-05. 
  4. ^ "Report by the Government of Georgia on the aggression by the Russian Federation against Georgia " georgiandaily.com 7 August 2009 Link retrieved 16 August 2009
  5. ^ "Saakashvili Calls for Unity on War Anniversary" civil.ge 7 August 2009 Link retrieved 16 August 2009
  6. ^ "Another War: Who Is It Good For? " georgiandaily.com 7 August 2009 Link retrieved 16 August 2009
  7. ^ Sengupta, Kim; Walker, Shaun (2008-08-20). "Georgians tell of ethnic cleansing". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/article902908.ece. Retrieved 8 April 2011. 
  8. ^ a b http://www.nhc.no/php/index.php?module=article&view=784 Georgia-Russia conflict: Ethnic Cleansing Continues in South Ossetian Conflict Zone in Georgia 24/10-2008
  9. ^ a b The Human Rights Watch (January 23, 2009), Up in Flames: Humanitarian Law Violations and Civilian Victims in the Conflict over South Ossetia, pp. 3, 10, 125, 131. ISBN 1-56432-428-1
  10. ^ Resolution 1647 (2009) and Resolution 1683 (2009). PACE. Retrieved on October 18, 2009
  11. ^ IIFFMCG report, vol. II, ch. 7, pp. 389-394. IIFFMCG website. Retrieved on September 30, 2009
  12. ^ Markedonov, Sergei (2008). "VERSTKA english**". Russia in Global Affaris 6 (4). Archived from the original on 2009-09-04. http://www.globalaffairs.ru/docs/2008_english4.pdf. Retrieved 2009-09-06. 
  13. ^ Cvetkovski, Nikola. "The Georgian - South Ossetian Conflict. Chapter 8. Timeline.". Danish Association for Research on the Caucasus. Archived from the original on 2009-09-08. http://www.caucasus.dk/chapter8.htm#Appendix%201:%20Chronicle%20of%20Events%20of%20the%20Conflict,%201989-1992. Retrieved 2009-08-15. 
  14. ^ Zürcher, Cristopher; Pavel Baev, Jan Koehler (2005). "Civil Wars in the Caucasus". Understanding civil war: evidence and analysis, Volume 2. The World Bank. ISBN 9780821360491. http://books.google.com/?id=yNTQ-BDLPxIC&q=south+ossetia#v=snippet&q=south%20ossetia. 
  15. ^ a b RUSSIA THE INGUSH-OSSETIAN CONFLICT IN THE PRIGORODNYI REGION hrw.org May 1996 Link accessed 18-08-2009
  16. ^ August 16, 2008 Looting and 'ethnic cleansing' in South Ossetia as soldiers look on. Sabrina Tavernise and Matt Siegel
  17. ^ http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/01/22/russiageorgia-all-parties-augustsouth-ossetia-conflict-violated-laws-war