No need to change passports for South Ossetians after name change vote

South Ossetia’s new name – “the Republic of South Ossetia – State of Alania” – is not going to affect its residents’ everyday life in any major way, as they won’t even have to change their passports.

78 percent of South Ossetian voters supported the name change idea in a referendum held on the same day as the presidential election on 9 April.

The territory’s foreign minister Murat Jioyev said that taking a new name did not mean giving up the old one [South Ossetia]

“Hereafter, the two names are going to be interchangeable, and both will be legally correct,” he said. “Any person will be free to use any of the two names. This means we don’t have to change our passports, amend our official documentation or immediately change our insignia. We will only have to make some amendments to article one of our constitution.”

Georgia has been insisting on South Ossetia being part of the country since the Georgian-Ossetian conflict of the 1990s, and calls both the elections and the referendum  in South Ossetia “illegitimate and in violation of all international regulations.”

The Georgian Foreign Minister, Mikheil Janelidze said: “These rallies cannot have any legal consequences; they will not be accepted by the international community, and Georgian authorities will do their best to react appropriately on their part.”

A representative of the opposition faction “European Georgia”, Sergi Kapanadze, calls the elections and referendum in South Ossetia “Russian activity in the occupied territory.” According to him, “All this has a dual purpose – to influence the Caucasus region and use the situation as leverage in relations with the West.”

 The opinions expressed in the article convey the author’s terminology and views and do not necessarily reflect the position of the editorial staff