S.Ossetia Road Construction Resumes After Local Protest

Georgia has resumed construction of a road in the South Ossetian conflict zone after the local Georgian population ?forced Russian peacekeepers out? of the construction zone, a Georgian television station reported on June 28.

Russian peacekeeping troops had prevented the Georgian side on June 27 from resuming construction of a new road in the region.

The proposed road – linking the two Georgian villages of Nikozi to the south of Tskhinvali and Avnevi to the west of the city ? is at the center of renewed tension. The South Ossetian side claims it would give the Georgians a military advantage in the event of hostilities.

Construction was halted on June 15 after South Ossetian forces were deployed in the vicinity of the road.

The commander of the peacekeeping forces, Marat Kulakhmetov, said on June 27 that a joint political decision should first be reached between the Georgian and South Ossetian sides before such a road is built.

At least a dozen Russian peacekeeper armored vehicles were deployed at the site to prevent Georgian construction teams from resuming work, Georgian media sources reported.

By noon on June 28 several hundred local residents (reports varied from 500 to 1,000), waving Georgian flags, approached the Russian peacekeepers demanding their withdrawal from the area.

Footage, broadcast on Georgian television stations, showed a group of protesters scuffling with Russian peacekeepers, trying to push them out of the construction site. The footage also showed a protester pouring paint on peacekeepers and their armored vehicles. This footage, especially the one showing a Russian serviceman?s face in red paint, was repeated several times by Rustavi 2 TV and the Georgian Public Broadcaster.

The South Ossetian side reported that protesters were throwing gasoline on peacekeepers.

The Russian peacekeepers showed restraint.

Footage showed a bulldozer with a Georgian flag on it making its way to the construction site. ?Russian peacekeepers have been forced out and construction has resumed,? a Rustavi 2 TV news anchor announced victoriously.

Speaking with reporters at the scene, Col. Mamuka Kurashvili, the commander of Georgian peacekeepers in the conflict zone, said that he had deployed armored vehicles to the area to ensure the continuation of construction of the road.

Throughout the incident, Col. Kurashvili was in regular contact with the deputy chairman of the Georgian parliamentary committee for defense and security, Nika Rurua.

During an interview with the Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) on June 28, Rurua’s cell phone rang. ?This is our peacekeeping commander calling,? he told the interviewer and answered the phone.

?So you say that Russian peacekeepers are out of the site?.. Very good; thank you Mamuka,? Rurua said. He then continued the interview.

Rurua also said that the Georgian parliament might demand the immediate withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers from the conflict zone, if they continued, what he said were, provocative actions.

Meanwhile, the South Ossetian side reported that the Ossetian village of Kverneti came under mortar fire from the Georgian village of Tamarasheni, destroying two houses. The Georgian side, however, said Tamarasheni had been attacked.

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