Larissa Khabitsova : “Russia defended the weaker side – so its actions were justified”

Interview with Larissa Khabitsova, President of the Parliament of the Republic of North-Ossetia-Alania, who participated in the debate on local consequences of the conflict in South Caucasus on 2 December 2008, during the Congress Autumn Session

Question: You began your statement with an apt remark that the dialogue between Georgia and Russia today is a conversation between two deaf people. Each one stands his ground, accusing the other side of everything. What is the point in this conversation? Have you seen during this Congress  session any hint at a possible future understanding?

Larissa Khabitsova: What is important in this debate is to hear the opinion of impartial judges – European observers, who have come to the spot to see everything with their own eyes, and to understand what really happened. These opinions are much more important than those of the Russian or Georgian sides. Each side will insist on their being right anyway, whereas the opinion of Thomas Hammarberg, who is watching over the human rights situation at the level of the entire Council of Europe, is a totally different matter. It is hard to suspect him of any partiality. Today, certain facts have already become engrained in the minds of Europeans. One undisputable fact is that it was a war on the territory of South Ossetia. Another fact is that Georgia was the first to attack, playing the role of an aggressor. The Georgians themselves, including Georgian politicians such as Nino Burdjanadze, have recognised this fact. Today, the world has learned what happened: how Tskhinvali was bombed, and that the objective of this operation, code-named “Clean Field”, was to obliterate the local population… There is nothing else to prove, and the question of who started this war must be raised before a court.

Q.: Do you think the debates within the Council of Europe, and in particular within the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, can influence the understanding of the situation?

L.K.: I think so. I can already see changes in attitudes, especially when arguments are presented in the language of facts. In general, I believe that discussions within the Council of Europe must be an example of diplomatic and political culture. Emotions are not appropriate here. I and my compatriots, Ossetians, will never accept, for example, for Russia to be called “aggressor” and “occupier”. We will be for ever grateful to Russia for saving our small nation from obliteration. Russia defended the weaker side – so its actions were justified.

Q.: How did the situation in North Ossetia change after the August events? This part of the Russian territory took the brunt of the war’s consequences – refugees, economic and social problems. Are the recent terrorist acts in Vladikavkaz – the bomb explosion in the bus, the assassination of the city mayor – among these consequences?

L.K.: Of course, any war always destabilises the situation not only in the combat zone but also in the areas around it. The Caucasus mountain ridge is the only thing that separates us from South Ossetia. At the same time, these events have been a test not only for North Ossetia but for Russia as a whole. Without the support which we received immediately, we would not have been able to cope with the hardships. We were receiving aid from all parts of Russia; sheltering refugees alone was a major challenge, and we managed to handle it only because we were not alone.

Q.: There were many Georgians living in North Ossetia before the conflict, and some more came from South Ossetia after the conflict, among the mixed Georgian-Ossetian families. What is the attitude towards Georgians in your Republic today?

L.K.: This is a very important question. Wars are waged by politicians, but it is the  ordinary people who suffer the consequences. We in North Ossetia understand this very well. Not a single Georgian living in North Ossetia has left our Republic. The Georgian school, which is more than a century old, continues to function. More than that – since the war, some 600 Georgian citizens have asked for residence in North Ossetia. Certainly, the consequences of this war are grave, but they have had no effect on the relations between the Georgian and Ossetian people.