Saakashvili Sends Reconciliatory Signals to South Ossetia

Tbilisi offers Tskhinvali: • Restoration of railway link • Distribution of pensions • Agricultural fertilizers • Free emergency ambulance service • News broadcasts in Ossetian language

On May 31st, President Saakashvili proposed a number of social benefits for the populations, both Georgian and ethnic Ossetians, living in Georgia’s breakaway region of South Ossetian, aiming at reconciliation with the region, which, de facto, seceded from Georgia as a result of an armed conflict in the early 90’s.

The President said that the Georgian side has already pulled out its extra troops from the conflict zone after an assurance that no force would be used against Georgian police checkpoints outside a Georgian village in the region, just a few kilometers away from Tskhinvali, the capital of breakaway South Ossetia.  The additional troops were withdrawn almost immediately after they were deployed, exerting their presence for a few hours only.

In a speech, broadcasted live on Georgian television late Monday evening, President Mikheil Saakashvili outlined the proposal of his Georgian government that aimed to “ease social conditions” for the populations living in South Ossetia.

He proposed to restore the railway link between Tskhinvali and the rest of Georgia, the distribution of pensions from Georgia’s state budget to the populations living in the breakaway region, the launching of news broadcasts in the Ossetian language on Georgia’s state-run television, the provision of a free emergency ambulance service for the Tskhinvali population, and the distribution of agricultural fertilizers.

“We have particular proposals. We can restore the railway connection with Tskhinvali within one week. This will be of vital importance, not only for the local population, but also for the rest of Georgia,” President Saakashvili said.

He said that, according to these proposals, starting in June, the populations living in the breakaway region would receive pensions from Georgia’s budget. “People living in South Ossetia are Georgian citizens and we should take care of them. I have already ordered to start distributing pensions among Ossetians, as well as to the Georgian population in the region, in June,” the President added.

He also proposed to launch a free emergency ambulance service “in Tskhinvali as well as villages populated by ethnic Georgians….We can afford this,” the Georgian President said.

“We should also provide the local [Ossetian and Georgian populations] with free agricultural fertilizers, like in other parts of Georgia,” Mikheil Saakashvili said.

He also said that in a few days, the local television station in Gori, the main town in the Shida Kartli region, which lies near the conflict zone, will begin broadcasting news programs in the Ossetian language for that population of South Ossetia.

“Later we will launch an Ossetian news service at Georgia’s First TV Channel as well; hence our compatriots in Ossetia will be able to get information about developments in Georgia in their native language,” Mikheil Saakashvili added.

He underlined the fact that both Georgian and Ossetian populations were “harmed” by the bloody armed conflict in 1992. “I remember very well the tragedy in Kekhvi, when dozens of Ossetian civilians were brutally killed. I have ordered the General Prosecutor [Irakli Okruashvili] to investigate this tragedy. Everyone behind this incident must be punished,” Mikheil Saakashvili said.

He said that Tbilisi will restore its control over South Ossetia through peaceful means only. “The political status of the region should be the subject of negotiations,” Saakashvili said.

The President also made comments in regards to the May 31st deployment of additional units of Georgia’s internal troops into the conflict zone. This move was cause for concern among the self-styled authorities in South Ossetia as well as in Russia, which has peacekeeping troops in the region.

The South Ossetian side described this deployment of Georgian troops as “a pure provocation.” Russia also condemned the move. In a statement issued on May 31st, the Russian Foreign Ministry said “these kinds of actions from the Georgian side harm Russo-Georgian relations,” as well as the “resolution of conflicts in Georgia.”

However, the Georgian authorities blame the Russian commander of the peacekeeping troops in the conflict zone for triggering Georgia’s decision to send extra troops to the region.

A 300-strong, heavily armed unit of internal troops was dispatched to reinforce a checkpoint in the village of Tkviavi, which lies less than 10 km away from Tskhinvali, and is located in an area under the Georgian central government’s control.  After nearly five hours in the Tkviavi, these troops were ordered to pull out of the region again.

President Saakashvili said that the decision was made after the commander of the Russian peacekeeping troops in the conflict zone threatened to dismantle a Georgian police checkpoint.

“This checkpoint was set up to help fight smuggling. Smuggling flourishes in South Ossetia and in the adjacent areas of the region. The local authorities, as well as many representatives of the Georgian law enforcement agencies, earn a lot of money from smuggling,” Mikheil Saakashvili said.

The Georgian President said that he talked to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, via phone on May 31st and informed him of the recent developments in the conflict zone.

“We have established very warm relations with Russia recently. The commander of the peacekeeping forces, Sviatoslav Nabdzorov, is the only one to blame for the recent problems in Ossetia,” President Saakashvili said at a news briefing on May 31st.

Despite its withdrawal from the conflict zone, the Georgian side intends to maintain its military presence in the region by sending more peacekeepers to the breakaway region.

President Saakashvili said that the Georgian side will boost the number of its peacekeepers in South Ossetia up to 500.  Currently only 100 peacekeepers are deployed in the region.  This is in accordance with an earlier agreement that allows for the Georgian, Ossetian and Russian sides to maintain a force of 500 peacekeepers each in the conflict zone.