South-Ossetian authorities deny Georgia's assertions about school liquidation in Leningor District

None of the schools in the Leningor District of South Ossetia (Georgia calls it the Akhalgori District) was ruined; while the Georgian party is again trying to destabilize the situation in the region. This was stated by Alexander Baratashvili, deputy head of the Leningor District, in his comments on the allegations moved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Georgia that Russian militaries had destroyed school No. 3 with the aim to build an apartment house for militaries instead.

"As on March 24, 2010, none of the schools in the Leningor District of the Republic of South Ossetia was destroyed. With its statement, the Georgia's MFA has once again demonstrated its incompetence and tries to destabilize the situation in the region," Mr Baratashvili told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The "Caucasian Knot" already reported, that the Georgia's MFA had accused Russia of continuing the policy of ethnic cleansings and discrimination, and of ignoring the generally recognized norms of the international law, including fundamental human rights - to get education in one's mother tongue. According to the Georgian version, 150 Georgian and Ossetian children had been attending school No. 3.

According to Mr Baratashvili, the building in question had been for a long time in desolation, well before the warfare in August 2008. "The building could be hardly treated as a school. It was a half-destroyed ground floor of a former Russian school ruined long ago under connivance of the Georgian leadership," he said.

Baratashvili has noted that now a frontier settlement is being built in the territory of former school. "It's a scheduled work. As agreed with the Frontier Service of the Russian Federation, we had provided this territory for accommodation of frontier guards. In the near future a military settlement will be built there," he said.

At present, according to his story, three schools of Leningor have to work in one building. This was a forced measure taken in winter because Georgia stopped gas supply to the Leningor District of South Ossetia in August 2008 and created constant problems with electricity supplies. New electric mains from Tskhinvali were commissioned only in December 2009," said Baratashvili.