Killing of Georgian citizen “reminder” of Russian occupation’s impact on Georgian people - US Mission to OSCE
The US Mission to OSCE reiterated the country’s “strong support” for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders. Photo:US Embassy Tbilisi
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The United States Mission to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe on Thursday said the killing of Georgian citizen Tamaz Ginturi by Russian-controlled occupation forces earlier this month was a “reminder on how Russia’s continued occupation of Georgia’s territory impacts the people of Georgia”.
Detailing the November 6 incident in central Georgia, in an occupied territory adjacent to the occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region, the Mission said Ginturi was visiting a cemetery and a church near the village of Kirbali when Russian-controlled forces opened fire on his car.
He was shot dead by Russia’s occupation forces for driving in his own country. We condemn this killing”, the statement said and added “regrettably, Russia persists in fortifying the administrative boundary lines delineating its occupation of 20 percent of Georgia’s territory”.
The Mission highlighted Russia had the obligation under international law to respect Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and withdraw its troops from the country as part of the 2008 ceasefire agreement brokered by the European Union following the Russia-Georgia war the same year.
We once again call on Russia to fulfill its obligation under the 2008 EU-mediated ceasefire agreement to withdraw its forces to the pre-conflict positions. We also call for complete and unrestricted access for humanitarian organizations to the regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia in Georgia”, the Mission said.
It also hailed the efforts of the Co-Chairs of Geneva International Discussions, which addresses security and humanitarian consequences of the 2008 Russia-Georgia conflict, and is headed by representatives of the OSCE, European Union and the United Nations.
The Mission also welcomed the work of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism - a domestic platform to address humanitarian and security issues with the engagement of the Georgian Government and representatives of the de facto authorities in Tskhinvali - and reaffirmed its insistence on the “immediate resumption” of the operating of the other IPRM mechanism, for occupied Abkhazia, “without preconditions”.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday said “any talks” on demarcation or delimitation of “borders” between the Government and de facto authorities of the country’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) regions were “absolutely ruled out”.
Levan Dotiashvili, a Georgian citizen who was released on Thursday after being illegally detained by the Russian-controlled occupation forces in central Georgia following an incident that led to the killing of Tamaz Ginturi, another national of the country, on Friday recounted details of the incident.
A Georgian citizen Levan Dotiashvili illegally detained by the Russian-controlled occupation forces in central Georgia was released on Thursday, following an incident which saw the killing of the country’s national Tamaz Ginturi during an attempt of illegal arrest by occupation forces on Monday.
A Georgian citizen has died following an attempt of illegal arrest by Russian-controlled occupation forces near a village adjacent to the occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region in central Georgia, with another Georgian national detained, the State Security Service said on Monday.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Thursday expressed his gratitude towards the European Parliament for adopting a resolution earlier today, “strongly condemning” the murder of the Georgian citizen Tamaz Ginturi by Russian occupation forces on November 6.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry on Thursday welcomed the adoption of a resolution by the European Parliament that “strongly” condemned the abduction and killing of Tamaz Ginturi, a Georgian citizen, by the Russian occupying forces earlier this month.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Thursday said the Georgian population living in the country’s occupied territories were “victims of severe human rights violations” at the 30th Ministerial Council of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister Lasha Darsalia on Tuesday said the 59th round of the Geneva International Discussions - the platform that addresses security and humanitarian consequences of the 2008 Russia-Georgia conflict - would focus on the “aggravation” of the security and humanitarian situation in the country’s Russian-occupied territories.
The current situation in Georgia’s Russian-occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) was discussed on Wednesday in a meeting between Grigol Liluashvili, the Head of the State Security Service of Georgia and Ambassador Viorel Moșanu, the Special Representative of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe Chairman-in-Office for the South Caucasus.