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We, the participants of the Women World Championship 2008, express our worry about the current dangerous situation near Cabardino-Balkaria. We think when there is such a tense situation, it is not expedient to hold such a high level tournament in that area. That’s why we kindly ask you to move this tournament to the safer place, which would be convenient for all the participants.
If you agree wth the abov, please join us with signing this letter, and please send it to FIDE and to us (Maia Chiburdanidze, Lela Javakhishvili, Sopio Gvetadze, Nino Khurtsidze, Maia Lomineishvili, Sopiko Khukhashvili) by e-mail:
We do not have the email addresses of all participants and kindly ask you to send this message to other participants you know.
The 2008 South Ossetia war is a military conflict that started on 8 August 2008 involving Georgia, South Ossetian and Abkhazian secessionists and the Russian Federation.
South Ossetia and Abkhazia are territories within Georgia that declared independence from Georgia and have been acting in a de facto independent capacity since the early 1990s. Neither state has been diplomatically recognised by any member of the United Nations. In the early 2000s, it was reported that 95% of the population in South Ossetia were Russian citizens.
On 7 August 2008, Georgia claimed that South Ossetian separatists had shelled Georgian villages in violation of a ceasefire. Georgia launched a military offensive to surround and capture the capital of South Ossetia, Tskhinvali. South Ossetia denies provoking conflict.
Later the same day, Russia responded by moving its troops across the Georgian border, bringing ground forces into South Ossetia and Abkhazia and launching airstrikes on targets elsewhere in the country. The Russian government's stated justification for entering Georgian territory was to protect its own citizens and to prevent "a genocide by Georgian forces". As Georgia retreated from its offensive in South Ossetia, it claimed it was defending itself from "Russian aggression." Separatists claim that Georgians killed at least 1000 South Ossetian people before the Russians intervened. Russia responded to the charge in the United Nations, saying Georgia had started the war by conducting a military operation against South Ossetia. Georgia insisted it had earlier been provoked by attacks by South Ossetian militants, which South Ossetia repeatedly denies.
Most international observers have called for a peaceful solution to the conflict. The European Union and the United States expressed a will to send a joint delegation to try to negotiate a cease-fire. Russia ruled out peace talks with Georgia until the latter withdrew from South Ossetia and signed a legally binding pact renouncing the use of force against South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Source and extensive content: Wikipedia
