A Georgian government organized ‘peace march’ in September at the border with South Ossetia will only further escalate tensions in the region, the breakaway region’s Press and Information Committee said on August 15.

In a statement earlier on August 15, the Georgian State Ministry for Conflict Resolution Issues denied reports that it was planning to organize a march of ‘Georgian Ossetians.’

The Ministry, however, said Georgia’s constitution “guarantees freedom of expression and assembly.” “The state does not interfere in the exercise of these constitutional rights by its citizens.”

A recently set up public campaign, Kokoity Fandarast, (meaning Godspeed in Ossetian) said it had no no plans for a march at the moment.

“We are still engaged in opening our branch offices in various cities of Georgia,” Vladimir Sanakoev, a co-founder of the movement and spokesperson for the Tbilisi-backed South Ossetian provisional administration, told Civil.Ge on August 15.

The Fandarast movement was set up recently by ethnic Ossetians in Georgia under the auspices of the South Ossetian provisional administration. The movement seeks to peacefully oust Kokoity through massive public campaigns.