U.S. Rejects Independence Referendum in Georgia's South Ossetia
09 November 2006
Voters in separatist region also electing new president on November 12
Washington -- The United States joins the international community in rejecting a referendum and self-proclaimed presidential election scheduled for November 12 in Georgia’s separatist region of South Ossetia, U.S. diplomats say.
“The U.S. will not recognize the ‘independence referendum’ and concurrent so-called ‘presidential’ elections,” Ambassador Julie Finley, U.S. envoy to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said November 9.
“As the international community has made clear, South Ossetia is a part of Georgia,” Finley told the OSCE’s Permanent Council in Vienna, Austria.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack also issued a press statement November 8 rejecting the scheduled referendum and election. “These actions will only serve to exacerbate tensions and divert attention from the need to peacefully resolve the conflict,” he said.
South Ossetia, with a population of 70,000, has close ties to the neighboring region of North Ossetia in Russia and once had the status of an autonomous region within Georgia. In September 1990, South Ossetia declared itself an independent Soviet republic. The Republic of Georgia opposed the independence declaration and moved to abolish South Ossetia’s autonomous status. Open warfare began in January 1991; Georgia declared independence from the Soviet Union in April 1991.
In June 1992, Georgian, Russian and South Ossetian representatives agreed to a cease-fire. Tensions escalated again in 2004, and Georgians and South Ossetians have fought as recently as September. (See related article.)
The international community has not recognized South Ossetia’s self-declared independence. South Ossetia is one of several so-called “frozen conflicts” involving separatist ethnic groups in former Soviet republics.
South Ossetians will vote on a November 12 referendum asking: “Do you agree that South Ossetia should keep its present status of an independent state and that it should be recognized by the international community?” Reuters news service also reports they will be asked to choose among four candidates registered to run for president.
“There can be only peaceful solutions to this separatist problem,” Finley told the OSCE. “We call on Tskhinvali and Tbilisi to engage in direct talks, with the broad support of the international community,” she added, referring to South Ossetia’s main city and Georgia’s capital.
The United States and international community encourage the two parties to agree on a “status of South Ossetia within Georgia’s internationally recognized borders, while affording South Ossetia significant autonomy within a unified Georgia,” Finley said. “The upcoming South Ossetian referendum and elections move in the opposite directions, exacerbating tensions and diverting attention from the need to build confidence and collaborate in resolving the conflict.”
The full text of Finley’s statement is available on the Web site of the U.S. Mission to the OSCE. The full text of McCormack’s statement is available on the State Department Web site, as is a State Department’s fact sheet on the South Ossetian conflict.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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