Press Scanner

“Ramaz Klimiashvili: If the ruling party wins the elections, it will be thanks to Russia!”

Political analyst Ramaz Klimiashvili tells Akhali Taoba that the tense situation with Russia is an intentional election ploy by the Saakashvili administration, which he claims is actually cozy with the Kremlin:

“If the ruling majority wins in the upcoming parliamentary elections it will be thanks to Russia,” Klimiashvili said.

According to him, Moscow could have made its decision on Abkhazia in a month and a half, after the May 21 elections.

“Though [Russia] did not behave this way. This means that by making the situation tense in Abkhaiza, Russia helps President Mikheil Saakashvili’s cadre,” the analyst concluded.

Klimiashvili says Moscow profits by having Saakashvili as president of Georgia, as it knows him well, and a new force leading the country would probably be more provocative and of no benefit for Russia.

“Mikheil Saakashvili is pro-American. At the NATO Bucharest summit, European states denied us a MAP. Thus Russia does not want pro-European forces to come to lead the country,” the analyst said.

According to him, the fact that the Georgian-Russian relationship is tense, while parallel negotiations to simplify the visa regime are being conducted, proves that Moscow wants to have a good attitude with Georgia.

“After the January 5 early presidential election when the opposition was claiming Saakashvili was an illegitimate president, Russian President Vladimir Putin was one of the first to congratulate him on the victory,” Klimiashvili added.



“Gia Maisashvili is the majoritarian MP candidate from Saburtalo”

Rezonansi reports that leaders of the newly-formed election bloc called the Christian-Democratic Alliance named its candidates for majoritarian MPs:

According to one of the alliance’s leaders, Davit Tarkhan-Mouravi, they will have just two majoritarian candidates running in the capital.

Gia Gachechiladze will be the majoritarian candidate from Vake district, and former presidential candidate Gia Maisashvili will run from Saburtalo district.

“Education and the economy are one and the same. It is impossible to separate them if we want to create a healthy society based on dignity, justice and solidarity,” Maisashvili said.

As for the electoral list of the Christian-Democratic Alliance, the five are Gia Maisashvili, then Gia Kobakhidze, Davit Tarkhan-Mouravi, Davit Chaishvili and Merab Khurtsidze.



“Temur Iakobashvili met with ambassadors”

Sakartvelos Respublika reports that on April 21, State Minister for the Reintegration Issues Temur Iakobashvili met with ambassadors of the UN secretary-general’s group of friends of Georgia and representatives of the UN observer mission:

During the meeting, the Georgian minister spoke to the ambassadors about the president’s new peace initiative for the Abkhaz conflict.

“This new peace initiation is a base for mutual negotiations between Georgia and Abkhazia to start,” Iakobashvili said.

He also asked the ambassadors to make the Abkhaz de facto administration start negotiations.

“A new reality which has been created as a result of Russia’s decision in the region gives a justification for Georgia to respond to this with force. An attempt to involve us in armed attack will be pointless. We are not going to be swept up in provocations, and we call on the Abkhaz side to begin a mutual dialogue with us,” the minister said.



“Zaza Gorozia appeals the court against Ilia Kachibaia”

Akhali Taoba reports that the governor Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti province, Zaza Gorozia, is suing Ilia Kachibaia, the publisher of a Zugidi-based newspaper called Ghia Boklomi:

Kachibaia says Gorozia is demanding GEL 10 000 in moral damages. According to him, the governor sued after an interview [with the publisher] was printed in the newspaper Tavisupali Gazeti.

“In the interview I am saying that Zaza Gorozia offered me GEL 10 000 not to publish critical articles in my newspaper. In Ghia Boklomi, investigative journalism is published. He continues to threaten me. Only after Parliamentary Speaker Nino Burjanadze’s involvement did the situation begin to neutralize. I asked her to get Gorozia off my back,” Kachibaia said.

“Gorozia is accusing me of slander. I could not record the incident of him offering me GEL 10 000 because he took away the recorder. He also denies that his bodyguards beat me,” the journalist said.

Kachibaia says the mass media in Samegrelo region is in a critical situation, and under huge pressure.

“I ask international organizations to pay serious attention to this,” he concluded.