Press Scanner
Complied by Liana Bezhanishvili
Wednesday, November 4
There will be more swine flu in January
Sakartvelos Respublika reports that Minister of Health Alexander Kvitashvili has made a special statement about the H1N1 virus. There have been 27 cases of infection with this diseases registered in Georgia, the virus being brought in from foreign countries in each case. The Minister stated that there will be more H1N1 virus cases in Georgia in January.
The Ukrainian Minister of Health has stated that in his country the H1N1 virus is mostly fixed in the Western part. According to the latest figures the number of people who have died of H1N1 flu has reached 55.
Christian Democrats will select a Mayoral candidate
Rezonansi reports that the Christian Democrats are going to put up a candidate for Tbilisi Mayor in opposition to the Government’s nominee. It is rumoured that President of TBC Bank Mamuka Khazaradze is the person the party has in mind.
“We are looking for a candidate who is neither a member of our party nor associated with any political force. They must also be a well-known person for the public with a successful project behind him. I will not conceal the fact that this person must be financially secure so that society will have confidence in him and his intentions.
“The Mayor addresses social problems and it is necessary that the Government’s candidate faces a suitable competitor. However before negotiations are finished it would be very much inappropriate to divulge the personalities under consideration,” stated representative of the Christian Democrats Levan Vephkhvadze. Vephkhvadze himself is also rumoured to be a possible candidate.
Recently Khazaradze was also recently suggested as a possible Government candidate for Tbilisi Mayor. It is believed to be convenient for Saakashvili to replace current Mayor Gigi Ugulava, and Khazaradze would be a suitable candidate for Saakashvili because he is not associated with the National Movement but is not in opposition either.
Irakli Alasania from the Alliance for Georgia has declared he will stand for Tbilisi Mayor. Some of the non-Parliamentary opposition parties find this unacceptable and it is possible that they will name Levan Gachechiladze as an alternative opposition candidate. It is evident that in this instance the opposition vote will be split.
Tamar Chkheidze: Neither the Government nor the opposition support real democratic elections
”Unfortunately some politicians were expecting that the Tagliavini Commission would accuse Georgia of committing genocide. There are certain individuals who reiterate Russian accusations towards Georgia. There are also Georgians who talk about confederation etc. I am afraid that these forces may end up legalising the Russian occupation of our territory with this idea of confederation,” representative of Ilia Chavchavadze Society Tamar Chkheidze states in an interview with Akhali Taoba.
“The opposition’s position on certain issues is absolutely unacceptable for me. I mean their attitude towards the occupied territories. Certainly, their negative evaluation of the current Government’s policy is right. But I do not suppose them to be more democratic than the Government even in the spheres of democracy and elections. Their positions on these two major issues are unacceptable for me”, Chkheidze says.
“There are two points which need to be addressed: the first is how Georgia can resolve the problem of the occupation and the second is that it must adopt a new election code and electoral environment. These are two interlinked issues where the destiny of Georgia is concerned and should be resolved in Georgia. If the opposition had focused on taking on the Government on these two issues there would not be such divisions within it now,” Tamar Chkheidze stated.
”They should have made concrete demands during the climax of the spring meetings but did not have any and thus went nowhere. The opposition should have forced the Government to improve the electoral environment via the protests but unfortunately they were not interested in doing this. They led the protest mood in the wrong direction.
“The fact is that neither the Government nor the opposition support holding real democratic elections. The desire to do this does not exist within influential circles. Even if such a desire does exist elsewhere it is hard to hold democratic elections due to the improper use of the protest mood.
“The Government has managed to win. Democratisation should have been achieved as the climax of the spring meetings,” Tamar Chkheidze considers.
Sakartvelos Respublika reports that Minister of Health Alexander Kvitashvili has made a special statement about the H1N1 virus. There have been 27 cases of infection with this diseases registered in Georgia, the virus being brought in from foreign countries in each case. The Minister stated that there will be more H1N1 virus cases in Georgia in January.
The Ukrainian Minister of Health has stated that in his country the H1N1 virus is mostly fixed in the Western part. According to the latest figures the number of people who have died of H1N1 flu has reached 55.
Christian Democrats will select a Mayoral candidate
Rezonansi reports that the Christian Democrats are going to put up a candidate for Tbilisi Mayor in opposition to the Government’s nominee. It is rumoured that President of TBC Bank Mamuka Khazaradze is the person the party has in mind.
“We are looking for a candidate who is neither a member of our party nor associated with any political force. They must also be a well-known person for the public with a successful project behind him. I will not conceal the fact that this person must be financially secure so that society will have confidence in him and his intentions.
“The Mayor addresses social problems and it is necessary that the Government’s candidate faces a suitable competitor. However before negotiations are finished it would be very much inappropriate to divulge the personalities under consideration,” stated representative of the Christian Democrats Levan Vephkhvadze. Vephkhvadze himself is also rumoured to be a possible candidate.
Recently Khazaradze was also recently suggested as a possible Government candidate for Tbilisi Mayor. It is believed to be convenient for Saakashvili to replace current Mayor Gigi Ugulava, and Khazaradze would be a suitable candidate for Saakashvili because he is not associated with the National Movement but is not in opposition either.
Irakli Alasania from the Alliance for Georgia has declared he will stand for Tbilisi Mayor. Some of the non-Parliamentary opposition parties find this unacceptable and it is possible that they will name Levan Gachechiladze as an alternative opposition candidate. It is evident that in this instance the opposition vote will be split.
Tamar Chkheidze: Neither the Government nor the opposition support real democratic elections
”Unfortunately some politicians were expecting that the Tagliavini Commission would accuse Georgia of committing genocide. There are certain individuals who reiterate Russian accusations towards Georgia. There are also Georgians who talk about confederation etc. I am afraid that these forces may end up legalising the Russian occupation of our territory with this idea of confederation,” representative of Ilia Chavchavadze Society Tamar Chkheidze states in an interview with Akhali Taoba.
“The opposition’s position on certain issues is absolutely unacceptable for me. I mean their attitude towards the occupied territories. Certainly, their negative evaluation of the current Government’s policy is right. But I do not suppose them to be more democratic than the Government even in the spheres of democracy and elections. Their positions on these two major issues are unacceptable for me”, Chkheidze says.
“There are two points which need to be addressed: the first is how Georgia can resolve the problem of the occupation and the second is that it must adopt a new election code and electoral environment. These are two interlinked issues where the destiny of Georgia is concerned and should be resolved in Georgia. If the opposition had focused on taking on the Government on these two issues there would not be such divisions within it now,” Tamar Chkheidze stated.
”They should have made concrete demands during the climax of the spring meetings but did not have any and thus went nowhere. The opposition should have forced the Government to improve the electoral environment via the protests but unfortunately they were not interested in doing this. They led the protest mood in the wrong direction.
“The fact is that neither the Government nor the opposition support holding real democratic elections. The desire to do this does not exist within influential circles. Even if such a desire does exist elsewhere it is hard to hold democratic elections due to the improper use of the protest mood.
“The Government has managed to win. Democratisation should have been achieved as the climax of the spring meetings,” Tamar Chkheidze considers.