18:11, 13 November 2017

Authorities and residents of Abkhazia demand to preserve monument in Scottish Kilmarnock

The monument to residents of Sukhumi, killed in the armed conflict in 1992 and 1993. Photo http://sputnik-abkhazia.ru

The British authorities agreed with the demand of the Georgian Ambassador to dismantle the monument to residents of Sukhumi, killed in the armed conflict in 1992 and 1993. The Abkhazian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) called the demolition of the monument an act of vandalism. More than 1600 people signed a petition to preserve the memorial.

Residents of Abkhazia leave signatures under the petition, published on the website Change.org by Kan Taniya, Deputy Foreign Minister of Abkhazia, on November 11.

The decision to demolish the memorial is "a vivid confirmation for the aggressive nature of the Georgian policy towards Abkhazia," claims the website of the Abkhazian MFA. The Abkhazian diplomats have called on international mediators in the Geneva International Discussions "to provide an adequate assessment of the Georgia's destructive actions."

In Abkhazia, the active hostilities took place in the period from August 14, 1992, till late September 1993. More than 8000 people were killed, and about 18,000 others were injured.

The memorial was built in a park in the town of Kilmarnock. The English inscription on a stone with an image of the Abkhazian flag states: "In memory of those from our twin town of Sukhumi who died in the Abkhazian/Georgian conflict of 1992-1993."

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.