To:

Mr. Thorbjorn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe

Mr. Julien Anfruns, President of the International Committee of the Blue Shield

Mr. Francesco Bandarin, Assistant Director-General for Culture at UNESCO

Dear Sirs,

According to recent news published by the News Agency „RES“ http://cominf.org/node/1166497765 of the self-proclaimed republic of South Ossetia, government officials of the self-proclaimed republic of South Ossetia visited Ikorta Monastery in village Arcevi and announced about their plans to restore the historical monument. Representative of the so called ‘‘Monuments Protection Division of the Ministry of Culture of South Ossetia’’ talked about the restoration needs of the church and expressed that its restoration project has been included in the investment programme aiming at the socio-economical development of the republic.

This is not the first and by far not the only case, as similar news concerning the restoration of cultural heritage monuments in the oppucpied Tskhinvali region had been reported also during the years 2009-2012