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Monday,
August 20,
2007, #158 (1425)
By Ana Datiashvili A political campaign to depose de facto South Ossetian president Eduard Kokoity rallied just half a kilometer north of the secessionist capital of Tskhinvali this weekend. The campaign, "Kokoity Fandarast," meaning "Farewell, Kokoity" in Ossetian, is the work of Vladimir Sanakoyev's South Ossetian People for Peace movement. Sanakoyev is linked to the Tbilisi-backed temporary administrative unit for South Ossetia, based in the Georgian-controlled village of Kurta and headed by his second cousin, Dmitry Sanakoyev. Campaign activists-mostly young and including some ethnic Ossetians-gathered in Georgian-controlled Tamarasheni, a village often caught in the crossfire when violence flares in the region. "We say that from today, we begin rallies to make Kokoity understand that he must leave," Sanakoyev announced at the August 17 gathering. It would have been hard to miss the message. Campaigners, clad in yellow t-shirts, climbed nearby Tsveriako hill overlooking Tskhinvali. At the top, they came close to a Russian peacekeeper checkpoint as they planted flags bearing the campaign's symbol-the traffic warning sign of a triangle inset with an exclamation mark. Peacekeepers told campaigners and media to get off the hill. Footage aired on Rustavi 2 showed peacekeepers pulling out the flags later that night. "[The Russian peacekeepers] are supporting Kokoity's regime, which is unacceptable for us. Their regime in Samachablo [a Georgian term for the Tskhinvali region] is dictatorial and the Georgian nation, which is democratic, can't bear this," said Zviad Balakhadze, one of the activists. Sanakoyev, speaking with the Messenger, said the activists had every right to march on the hill. The Russian peacekeepers were nothing but spoilsports, he added. "They couldn't stand the noise and couldn't stand our happy faces. That's why they were mad and rude to journalists and activists," Sanakoyev claimed. If the de facto administration in Tskhinvali couldn't spot the flags, they may have heard the music. A music video for the campaign's eponymous theme song was screened that evening; the video includes footage of ethnic Ossetian and Georgian singers and rappers, as well as Ossetian traditional dancing. "I hope our song will be heard in Tskhinvali," Sanakoyev said that night. According to the campaign leader, the entire village of Tamarasheni was singing "Kokoity Fandarast" the next day. The campaign is already getting to the separatist leader, Sanakoyev claims. "Kokoity is suffering from psychosis. He realizes the threat he faces and is persecuting our organization members' relatives in Tskhinvali." Sanakoyev said. The secessionist leader has made scarce public comments about the campaign, but his administration has previously denounced Vladimir and Dmitry Sanakoyev as traitors to the Ossetians. The campaign, seen
as part of a broader push to oust the de facto authorities from breakaway
South Ossetia, was founded less than a month ago. Branches have been
established across Georgia as it bids for public support. |
Anti-Kokoity
campaign takes its message deep into the conflict zone
