Georgia and South Ossetia pay tribute to victims of "five-day war"

In Tbilisi, the leaders of the opposition "United National Movement" (UNM) and "European Georgia" Parties have laid wreaths to the graves of Georgian soldiers and officers killed in combat actions of August 2008. In the city of Tskhinvali, flowers were laid to the monument "Symbol of Sorrow", and on the steps of the parliament, people laid out photos of the victims to the conflict and lit candles. Mourning actions were also held in three South Ossetian villages.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports that border villages in the Shida Kartli Region (Eastern Georgia) were visited by Ketevan Tsikhelashvili, Minister for Reconciliation and Civil Equality, and Zurab Alavidze, Minister for Regional Development and Infrastructure.

"The policy of recognition (of Abkhazia and South Ossetia) by Russia has failed, since the international community supports the territorial integrity of Georgia," Ketevan Tsikhelashvili stated on the air of the "Imedi TV" Channel.

According to Mamuka Areshidze, the chief of the Centre for Caucasian Studies, Georgia has condemned the closure of the border by South Ossetia for the period from August 6 to 9. On the Georgian side, residents of the Shida Kartli Region were not aware of the border closure and suffered from that.

An action was held at the "Museum of Burnt Souls" at the entrance to the road, by which civilians left Tskhinvali during the conflict. The museum collected cars burned in fights.

Another action "Painful Memory" is held annually on August 8 at the staircase of the parliament building, which was burned in 2008.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.