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South Ossetia Responds Dryly
South Ossetian authorities turned off a pipeline carrying water to central Georgia yesterday. It was a response to the blocking by Georgian residents of a waterline leading to Tskhinvali. Tbilisi insists that the situation can be settled, but Tskhinvali authorities should negotiate with “alternative president” of South Ossetia Dmitry Sanakoev. The Ossetians think the crisis is an attempt to legitimize Tbilisi's protege.
The water crisis started a week ago. There is an unprecedented heat wave in Georgia and South Ossetia, with temperatures reaching 42 degree C. Rivers and reservoirs ran low, which led to a political conflict. Tskhinvali receives it water from the Dzhava-Tskhinvali pipeline, which passes through Georgian villages in South Ossetia. The Georgian populace uses water from the pipeline for irrigation. Tskhinvali closed its eyes to the Georgians' actions, since there was enough water for all. But now, with the heat wave, no water makes it through the pipeline to Tskhinvali at all. South Ossetian authorities made a proposal to Tbilisi a week ago to rebuild the pipeline jointly on the territory of the Georgian villages. Tbilisi authorities advised South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity to take the request to “alternative president” Sanakoev.
Tskhinvali considers Sanakoev a marionette of Tbilisi and refuses to have contact with him. Work crews from Tskhinvali tried to enter the villages, but were chased away by armed guards. A week ago, Tskhinvali issued an ultimatum, and yesterday they carried it through. The South Ossetians first turned off the water in the Vanati-Gori pipeline, and then turned off the drinking water, according to head of the South Ossetian press department Irina Gagloeva. Kokoity gave a different explanation at a press conference in Moscow with Abkhazian President Sergey Bagapsh. “The Georgian side turned the drinking water for the resident of Gori District themselves and said that South Ossetia did it,” he said.
Kommersant sources in the South Ossetian administration say that they assume that Georgia is already repairing the pipelines, and will give “alternative president” Sanakoev credit for the work.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of June 05, 2007
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