The ethnic games in the breakaway South Ossetia

The so-called President of Georgia’s eastern breakawayregion of South Ossetia, Anatoly Bibilov, has responded to the issue of conducting the learning process in Georgian at currently occupied Akhalgori region schools. He wants to change ethnic picture in the area.

“We are not against the Georgian language, but our children are enrolled at universities of South Ossetia or Russia. Therefore we should care to avoid linguistic barriers,” he said.

“Those living in the Leningori (Akhalgori) district are our people, no matter to what nationality they belong to,” the de-facto President stressed.

He has also referred to the issue of granting citizenship, adding that permanent residents of Akhalgori should have a South Ossetian passport.

In 2002, the number of Akhalgori residents was 7703, that is 85 percent Georgians and the remaining 15 percent ethnic Ossetians.

There are no exact figures as to how many people now live in the area as the result of the Russia-Georgia 2008 war. However, through the statement, Bibilov also admits that there are more Georgians in the Akhalgori region.

Georgia’s Public Defender says there could be about 1,500-2,000 people in Akhalgori now, as many of them who previously lived there are now IDPs in Georgia.

What Bibilov says is a gross violation of human rights.

In effect he is claiming that Georgians will be deprived of receiving an education in their mother tongue.

The Georgian Government must use all available formats to stop the process.

Day by day, the occupant Russians and the regions’puppet leaderships are doing their utmost to assimilate the occupied territories fully into the Russian Federation.