Four victims of Babushera tragedy buried with military honor

The bodies of four soldiers finally returned home 21 years after the tragedy; Photo by MIA
Agenda.ge, 09 Dec 2014 - 16:46, Tbilisi,Georgia

Four soldiers who died in a plane crash while on a military mission 21 years ago have been buried with full military honours at the Digomi Brothers’ Cemetery today.

Many Governmental officials including the country’s Prime Minister, Internal Affairs Minister, Defence Minister and Minister of Refugees, attended todays honoring ceremony of brothers Temuri and Zurab Zaldastanishvili and their twin uncles Vasiko and Nukri Tsiklauri.

The four deceased were all part of one family and were identified after remains unearthed at Babushera’s mass grave in Abkhazia were tested. Their identification enabled a Georgian woman who has dressed in black for the past 21 years to finally give her loved ones a proper burial.

Georgia honoured its soldiers who finally returned home 21 years after the tragedy; Photo by MIA's press office

The honouring ceremony was attended by the Government and military officials, including Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili. Photo by PM's press-office

Bela Zaldastanishvili lost her two sons, Zurab (23) and Temuri (25) in the crash as well as her twin brothers Nukri (30) and Vasiko (30).

Prime Minister Garibashvili delivered a speech at the ceremony and noted the significant loss of the family and honoured the men who had died while serving the country’s territorial integrity.

"I bow my head before the memory of these people. I want to especially mention Bela Zaldastanishvili, who carried and still carries a great pain with dignity,” Garibashvili said.

The PM also stressed the current Government’s efforts, particularly following the 2008 war after which Georgia-Abkhazian relations became particularly tense, had enabled the Georgian side to transport the remains of 30 plane crash victims from Abkhazia back to Georgia through direct dialogue.

PM Garibashvili expressed condolences to Bela Zaldastanishvili, mother and sister of the deceased men. Photo by PM's press-office

Garibashvili also thanked all institutions and organisations involved in this process, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, former and current Ministers of Refugees of Georgia and the Samkharauli Expertise Bureau.

Earlier today a civil funeral was held at Tbilisi’s Holy Trinity Cathedral, which was attended by Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili.

The Georgian President addressed the gathered public and honoured the fallen heroes, whose deeds would never be forgotten.

"Today we once again honour those people who have sacrificed their lives for the unity and strength of our country. We all remember the heroism of these people. They have left a big hole in their family and their loss caused great pain,” he said.

"It is good that we can take concrete steps to heal these wounds. I want to thank everyone who contributed to the transportation [of the bodies] and those who participate in healing the wounds of our common tragedy.”

Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili at the civil funeral of the four victims. Photo by President Administration

The four men were among 132 people travelling on a plane from Tbilisi to Sokhumi, the capital city of Abkhazia, on September 22, 1993 when it was shot down while attempting to land at Babushera Airport. The aircraft crashed on the runway, killing 108 of the 132 people on board.

See a multimedia story about the victims and survivors of the tragedy here.

The tragic crash came four days before the 13-month war in Abkhazia ended.

The flight was carrying soldiers and doctors who were on a humanitarian mission. Those on board were planning to help civilians in Sokhumi and take the wounded back to Tbilisi.

The families of those killed in the plane crash could not retrieve the bodies of their loved ones because of the unrest in the area. The scale of the damage meant it was impossible to identify the bodies following the crash without DNA testing.

After the plane crash the war continued in Sokhumi but it was urgent to bury the bodies. Subsequently, those who died were hastily buried in a mass grave without being formally identified.

The four heroes have been buried with full military honour today. Photo by President Administration

Exactly 21 years on from the Babushera tragedy, the bodies of all Georgians who died in the crash were finally returned home.

Authorities began to excavate the graves at Babushera Cemetery in May 2014 following lengthy negotiations between Georgia and Abkhazia.