Georgia condemns elections in occupied South Ossetia

Georgia said on Sunday that the so-called parliamentary elections held in the occupied territories are illegal and cannot have any legal effect. “The ongoing so-called parliamentary elections in occupied South Ossetia blatantly violates the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia within its internationally recognized borders,” Georgia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The statement stressed that elections are in contradiction with the fundamental norms and principles of international law, describing them as another ‘futile’ attempt by Russia and its occupation regime in South Ossetia. Through these elections, Russia aims to legitimize the ethnic cleansing of Georgians in South Ossetia, the illegal occupation and forceful change of sovereign borders of Georgia, according to the statement. “The so-called parliamentary elections are taking place in the context, when internally displaced persons and refuges, forcibly expelled from the occupied territories, continue to be deprived of the possibility to return to their homes,” the statement said. “The people on the ground are forced to live under violations of basic human rights and freedoms,” it added. The statement also stressed that Russia’s military build-up, control and de-facto annexation of the occupied territories is in full disregard of the EU-mediated Aug.12, 2008 Ceasefire Agreement. The statement appealed to the international community to give a due assessment to the ongoing so-called parliamentary elections in the South Ossetia. It also called upon the Russia to fulfill undertaken international obligations and withdraw its military forces from Georgia’s territory. Tbilisi fought a five-day war with Russia in 2008 over Georgia’s breakaway regions of the South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Georgia lost its control of both areas. Russia later recognized both South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states.