Tskhinvali Accuses Tbilisi of Misinformation, Inciting ‘Anti-Ossetian Stance’

Authorities in breakaway South Ossetia expressed concern on June 15 regarding, as they put it, the “disinformation” reported by the Georgian Interior Ministry about the alleged ‘kidnappers’ of four Georgians, who have been missing in the conflict zone since June 6.

The Georgian Interior Ministry accused two Ossetians – Rudik Bestaev and Atsamas Kochiev – on June 13 of abducting these four Georgians. According to the Georgian Interior Ministry, Atsamas Kochiev is son of Anatoly Kochiev. The latter was among four Ossetians who died in a clash with Georgian police near the village of Tamarasheni on May 29. One Georgian policeman was also killed in the clash. According to the Interior Ministry, these two men suspected in the abduction are allegedly members of the criminal gang known as the ‘textile district,’ which is based in the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali.

“The Georgian side has alleged, without having any evidence, that the disappearance of these four Georgians is linked with the tragedy which occurred on May 29. For this reason, the law enforcement agencies of South Ossetia organized a meeting between the relatives of those Georgians which went missing and the son of one of the Ossetians brutally killed on May 29 – Atsamas Kochiev [who is suspected by the Georgian side of kidnapping Georgians]. During this meeting the Georgian side [relatives of the missing Georgians] admitted that Atsamas Kochiev has nothing to do with this case,” the statement issued by the South Ossetian Press and Information Committee on June 15 reads.

Vazha Khachapuridze, who is the representative of the President of breakaway South Ossetia, told Tbilisi-based Imedi television on June 15 that a similar meeting between relatives of the missing Georgians and the South Ossetian leadership is scheduled for June 16 as well.

The South Ossetian authorities expressed fear in the statement issued on June 15 that disinformation offered by the Georgian side may aim at inciting an “anti-Ossetian stance” among the Georgian population in an attempt to “send troops to South Ossetia and to launch military actions.”

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