South Ossetia Says Italian Lawyers May Represent Region In 1919-1920 Genocide Appeal

Italian lawyers may represent South Ossetia in international tribunals once the latter decides to initiate proceedings against Georgia over human rights violations the region suffered from 1919-1920 that it considers as genocide, South Ossetian Foreign Minister Dmitry Medoev told Sputnik on Monday

ROME (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th November, 2019) Italian lawyers may represent South Ossetia in international tribunals once the latter decides to initiate proceedings against Georgia over human rights violations the region suffered from 1919-1920 that it considers as genocide, South Ossetian Foreign Minister Dmitry Medoev told Sputnik on Monday.

In early November, Medoev started his 10-day working visit to several European countries, including Germany and Italy. While in Naples, he met with local lawyers, including the head of the Libonati & Libonati law firm, Antonio Libonati. According to the minister, Libonati agreed to examine the documents related to the genocide allegations and get them in order for an appeal in international courts.

"No matter how much time has passed, we will always remember the crimes committed by the Georgian National Mensheviks against the South Ossetian civilians. The current Georgian state is responsible for these crimes, especially since it has declared itself the legal successor state of the Georgian republic that existed in 1918-1921.

There is no statute of limitations for such crimes," he said.

According to the minister, during an operation that ran from 1919 and 1920, the Georgian military killed 10 percent of the South Ossetian population and forced another 70 percent to flee.

This summer, South Ossetian lawmakers appealed to their colleagues in Russia to recognize these events as genocide. In September, the first deputy chairman of the lower house of the Russian parliament, Ivan Melnikov, said that a working group was established to examine the request.

According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the bloodshed committed at the hands of Georgian troops amounts to what now is treated as genocide.

After Georgia declared its independence from Russia in 1918, South Ossetia decided to proclaim Soviet power in 1920 to defend its national interests. As a result, Georgian Menshevik leaders started a punitive raid against South Ossetia that led to thousands of deaths and most of the population fleeing to North Ossetia.