Georgian Parliament official accuses UNM of betraying national interests by reviving term “South Ossetia”

Rati Ionatamishvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s Human Rights and Civic Integration Committee, on Monday said the United National Movement’s (UNM) reinstatement of the term “South Ossetia” constituted a betrayal of Georgia’s national interests.

While discussing a new legislative initiative presented at the Parliament’s bureau session, Ionatamishvili noted that the term “South Ossetia” was always artificial and aligned with the occupier.

“The term ‘South Ossetia’ was always artificial and aligned with the occupier. This is why one of the first decisions made by Zviad Gamsakhurdia was to abolish it. Its later restoration by the UNM was a direct betrayal of our country’s national interests”, the official said.

“There is no such entity as ‘South Ossetia’ - these are simply occupied lands and territories. Our country is independent in its decision-making, which primarily means making choices in line with national interests. This initiative allows us to free ourselves from terms imposed externally by the occupier”, he concluded.

Under the Government’s decision, the “administration of the administrative-territorial unit created on the territory of the former South Ossetian Autonomous District”, established by Mikheil Saakashvili, will be abolished.