S.Ossetia Protests Appointment of Georgia’s New Chief Peacekeeper

Authorities in breakaway South Ossetia are concerned with the Georgian side?s decision to appoint Paata Bedianishvili as the commander of the Georgian peacekeeping troops stationed in the conflict zone, Boris Chochiev, South Ossetian Special Affairs Minister said in a letter, sent on September 12 to the Georgian State Minister for Conflict Resolution Issues Giorgi Khaindrava.

The South Ossetian side claims that Paata Bedianishvili is ?notorious? for his role and ?active participation? in the armed clashes which occurred between Georgian troops and South Ossetian militias last August.
 
The office of the Georgian State Minister for Conflict Resolution Issues confirmed that Paata Bedianishvili was appointed Commander of the Georgian peacekeepers, which is part of a join peacekeeping force also involving servicemen from the Russian and Ossetian sides, on September 10.  

?Activities similar to those [carried out by] Bedianishvili disrupted the fragile process of confidence building between the Georgian and Ossetian peoples [last August]. The South Ossetian authorities think that an officer with good a reputation should be appointed to this position,? Chochiev said.

?Paata Bedianishvili was one of the organizers and activists of the armed clashes with the Georgian troops, which occurred in the conflict zone last August,? the Press and Information Committee of breakaway South Ossetia quotes Chochiev?s letter.
 
The letter also says that the South Ossetian law enforcement agencies have brought criminal charges against Bedianishvili, ?that enables the South Ossetian side to not admit him into the territory of the Republic.?

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