Translated material
Give way
Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia were attacked by Georgian civilians
Yesterday in South Ossetia, Russian peacekeepers were subjected to a massive attack by local residents - Georgians. They threatened the peacekeepers with shovels and hoes, and threw containers of paint at them. The peacekeepers made the wise decision to retreat so as not to make the situation hopeless.The incident occurred near the village of Avnevi. It all started when in mid-June the Georgian and Ossetian sides, without agreement at the level of the Joint Control Commission (JCC), as is customary in such cases, began to build bypass roads in order to get to populated areas without passing by the “probable enemy.” The peacekeepers stopped this amateur activity by setting up a temporary post reinforced with armored vehicles. The command asked the co-chairs of the JCC to understand what was happening. Without waiting for the JCC meeting, on Thursday residents of Georgian villages drove a tractor and KamAZ trucks with rubble to the post, after which they began to push out the peacekeepers.
“Let the Russian troops leave, and we will come to an agreement with the Ossetians. This is the road of life for us,” the protesters shouted. About 400 people gathered, there were many women. Buckets of paint were thrown at the peacekeepers' armored vehicles. Representatives of the Georgian security forces tried to calm the villagers, but they continued to compete in bucket throwing, repainting the equipment and the peacekeepers themselves in red, white and green.
The Ossetian side, observing what was happening from a considerable distance, out of habit decided to dramatize the situation and reported that the peacekeepers were doused with gasoline and threatened to be set on fire. In an interview with Vremya Novostey, the commander of the peacekeeping forces, Marat Kulakhmetov, said that “there were various threats, but there was no gasoline.” The Russian general tried his best to calm the villagers. He said that roads are needed in the conflict zone, but one must be able to negotiate about it: “Politicians should talk, but, unfortunately, the parties do not want to talk.” As a result, the peacekeepers, amid cheers from the Georgians, removed their post and returned to their places of permanent deployment. Ambassador of the Russian Foreign Ministry, co-chairman of the JCC Yuri Popov proposed that the parties hold negotiations on July 12-13 “to discuss pressing pressing issues.”
Guram Vakhtangishvili, a member of the Georgian Parliament from the Georgian population of South Ossetia, explained to Vremya Novostey why this road is so important for Tbilisi: “We are talking about six, maximum seven kilometers, which will connect the villages of Avnevi and Nuli, located in the conflict zone, with the village of Nikozi. Now Avnevi and Nuli are actually under Ossetian blockade. And this is about two thousand civilians. Peacemakers must understand this. Their task is to lift the blockade, and not, on the contrary, to picket the roads.” On Friday, the Georgian parliament will consider the actions of Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia. Deputy Speaker Mikhail Machavariani stated in advance that “the peacekeepers went beyond the scope of their mandate.”
Now the Georgian battalion of mixed forces has taken control of the construction site. Its commander, Mamuka Kurashvili, stated that “the road will be built, no one and nothing will interfere with it.” It is possible that the Ossetians will also resume construction of a bypass road for their settlements, and this could lead to a new round of confrontation. “Everyone needs roads - both Georgians and Ossetians. We also built our own five kilometers, but we were forbidden,” Mikhail Mindzaev, Minister of Internal Affairs of the unrecognized republic of South Ossetia, told Vremya Novostey. According to him, during the incident in Avnevi, Georgia was ready to use armored vehicles against Russian peacekeepers. “In the event of such aggressive actions towards us or the peacekeepers, we would destroy them,” Mr. Mindzaev said. “If they cross our border or attack the peacekeepers, we will definitely destroy them.”