Tskhinvali Sets Condition for Georgian IDP Return

Georgians, who have fled South Ossetia, can return but only after giving up Georgian citizenship and taking the citizenship of South Ossetia, the breakaway region’s leader, Eduard Kokoity, said on September 19.

“We will accept to the republic all refugees, who have the citizenship of South Ossetia, regardless of their ethnicity,” Kokoity said in remarks posted on the South Ossetian Press and Information website. “As far as ethnic Georgians, who lived on the territories occupied by Georgia [referring to Georgian villages inside the breakaway region], are concerned – please [return], we are giving them such an opportunity, but they must give up Georgian citizenship and take the citizenship of the Republic of South Ossetia.”

At least 22,000 people were forced to leave their homes from villages inside South Ossetia, which were administered by the Georgian authorities before hostilities erupted.

The return of displaced persons will be on the agenda of the international talks scheduled to start in Geneva on October 15. The September 8 agreement reached between the Russian and French presidents says that “the return of refugees based on the internationally recognized principles and practice of post-conflict settlement” will be discussed during the talks.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on August 17 that although IDP return was guaranteed under international law, “as a rule, it is a long process.”

“For example, many people who became refugees as a result of the conflict in former Yugoslavia have not yet returned to their homes, just like the Palestinian refugees,” it said.

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)