The News in Brief
Wednesday, February 16
Georgian MFA on Abkhazia’s so called elections
On February 12th 2011 the proxy regime operating in the Russian occupied region of Abkhazia, Georgia conducted so called local elections. Considering the fact that as a result of the ethnic cleansing carried out in Abkhazia, Georgia the overwhelming majority of the local population was forced from their homes, this pseudo-democratic political act represents yet another cynical attempt to mislead the international community.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia condemns the so called elections in the Russian occupied region of Abkhazia, viewing them as another step towards legitimising the outcome of the ethnic cleansing. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia calls upon the international community to make a satisfactory assessment of the illegal elections. (MFA Georgia)
USA Justice Department: Georgian Criminal Code – best
Georgia has the best Criminal Code among the countries of the former Soviet Union, Catherine Newcombe, Head of Regional USA Justice Department said. She is content with the legislative reforms carried out in Georgia and said the process under the USA implemented project in legislative reform is proceeding very successfully in Georgia. “In Georgia’s case we are very successful; the country’s government has made a big effort on this. The basis for the success is also due to the fact that there is an open environment for discussions. There remain some challenges for the government, but we think that the inclusiveness of NGOs and the public is good enough. Following the Rose Revolution, the country has overcome a number of big obstacles. The assessment of the Georgian Criminal Code is the highest among all post Soviet Countries,” she said. (GHN)
Speaker of Parliament among 2000 world intellectuals
The name of the Chairperson of the Georgian Parliament, Davit Bakradze will be written in a list of 2000 outstanding intellectuals of the world.
Oxford English Encyclopedia “2000 Outstanding Intellectuals of the 21st Century” will be published by the end of 2011.
The press office reports that the staff of the Speaker has already received a letter from the International Biographical Centre of Cambridge, offering him the opportunity to publish his biographic and personal data in the prestigious edition.
The book will be available in libraries around the world, research institutes and in the scientific libraries of Washington and Great Britain (Rustavi 2)
Davit Darchiashvili meets EU mission head
Davit Darchiashvili, Head of Parliamentary Committee for EU integration met with the new head of the EU mission in Georgia, Philippe Dimitrov. Darchiashvili told journalists the talks touched upon Georgian-EU relations.
“We talked about beginning associate membership of the EU, about readmission and the visa simplification regime. We also discussed the possibility of an agreement on a free trade regime with EU,” Darchiashvili said.
Darchiashvili was interested in the visions of the EU mission head about cooperation perspectives with the Georgian Parliamentary Committee for EU Integration and in particular his attitude towards internal political events (GHN)
Investigation of Footage in Electronic Media
The General Inspection of the Ministry of Internal Affairs has launched an investigation into the source of video footage spread through electronic media showing the arrest of two people by law enforcers on February 6.
Kviris Palitra published an article under the headline “Video evidence – the “witty” policemen failed”.
According to the video footage, officers of the third department of Old Tbilisi main division of MIA detained brothers Bakar and Lasha Lutidzes on 6 February 2011.
They are accused of minor hooliganism, verbal abuse in a public place and disobeying police officers.
Their case was heard by Tbilisi Civil Court; each received a 400 GEL fine.
Kviris Palitra obtained video footage of the two young men walking along the street at 11:30pm; their behaviour doesn’t show any type of violation of public order or a brawl. A car stops and three people dressed in civilian clothing get out of the car. The young men stop on their demand, one of the passengers from the car provocatively shoves Lasha Lutidze and hits him in face, searches him and then the boys are pulled into the car after a talk. According to the video material, the person next to the driver physically assaults the detained in the back seat of the car. (Interpressnews)
English language teachers arrive in Georgia
The Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia reported that a third group of English language teachers from USA, Canada, England, Australia and Norway have arrived in Georgia as part of the programme, “Teach and Learn with Georgia”.
After passing their training programmes, the teachers will be involved in the educational process in Kakheti and Rustavi.
Foreign teachers will continue to come to Georgia in 2011 as part of the programme and the process of placing the teachers in Kakheti schools will be completed. (Prime-News)
Bad weather isolates several villages of Guria
Heavy snow has isolated several villages of Guria from the rest of the region. Snow in the mountain villages of Chokhatauri district has reached a depth of 2 metres. Over 10,000 subscribers have been disconnected from electricity network.
The brigades of road department and local administration are working to clear the roads. Regional administration is working urgently to determine the further work needed to maintain contact with the mountain villages. (Rustavi 2)
On February 12th 2011 the proxy regime operating in the Russian occupied region of Abkhazia, Georgia conducted so called local elections. Considering the fact that as a result of the ethnic cleansing carried out in Abkhazia, Georgia the overwhelming majority of the local population was forced from their homes, this pseudo-democratic political act represents yet another cynical attempt to mislead the international community.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia condemns the so called elections in the Russian occupied region of Abkhazia, viewing them as another step towards legitimising the outcome of the ethnic cleansing. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia calls upon the international community to make a satisfactory assessment of the illegal elections. (MFA Georgia)
USA Justice Department: Georgian Criminal Code – best
Georgia has the best Criminal Code among the countries of the former Soviet Union, Catherine Newcombe, Head of Regional USA Justice Department said. She is content with the legislative reforms carried out in Georgia and said the process under the USA implemented project in legislative reform is proceeding very successfully in Georgia. “In Georgia’s case we are very successful; the country’s government has made a big effort on this. The basis for the success is also due to the fact that there is an open environment for discussions. There remain some challenges for the government, but we think that the inclusiveness of NGOs and the public is good enough. Following the Rose Revolution, the country has overcome a number of big obstacles. The assessment of the Georgian Criminal Code is the highest among all post Soviet Countries,” she said. (GHN)
Speaker of Parliament among 2000 world intellectuals
The name of the Chairperson of the Georgian Parliament, Davit Bakradze will be written in a list of 2000 outstanding intellectuals of the world.
Oxford English Encyclopedia “2000 Outstanding Intellectuals of the 21st Century” will be published by the end of 2011.
The press office reports that the staff of the Speaker has already received a letter from the International Biographical Centre of Cambridge, offering him the opportunity to publish his biographic and personal data in the prestigious edition.
The book will be available in libraries around the world, research institutes and in the scientific libraries of Washington and Great Britain (Rustavi 2)
Davit Darchiashvili meets EU mission head
Davit Darchiashvili, Head of Parliamentary Committee for EU integration met with the new head of the EU mission in Georgia, Philippe Dimitrov. Darchiashvili told journalists the talks touched upon Georgian-EU relations.
“We talked about beginning associate membership of the EU, about readmission and the visa simplification regime. We also discussed the possibility of an agreement on a free trade regime with EU,” Darchiashvili said.
Darchiashvili was interested in the visions of the EU mission head about cooperation perspectives with the Georgian Parliamentary Committee for EU Integration and in particular his attitude towards internal political events (GHN)
Investigation of Footage in Electronic Media
The General Inspection of the Ministry of Internal Affairs has launched an investigation into the source of video footage spread through electronic media showing the arrest of two people by law enforcers on February 6.
Kviris Palitra published an article under the headline “Video evidence – the “witty” policemen failed”.
According to the video footage, officers of the third department of Old Tbilisi main division of MIA detained brothers Bakar and Lasha Lutidzes on 6 February 2011.
They are accused of minor hooliganism, verbal abuse in a public place and disobeying police officers.
Their case was heard by Tbilisi Civil Court; each received a 400 GEL fine.
Kviris Palitra obtained video footage of the two young men walking along the street at 11:30pm; their behaviour doesn’t show any type of violation of public order or a brawl. A car stops and three people dressed in civilian clothing get out of the car. The young men stop on their demand, one of the passengers from the car provocatively shoves Lasha Lutidze and hits him in face, searches him and then the boys are pulled into the car after a talk. According to the video material, the person next to the driver physically assaults the detained in the back seat of the car. (Interpressnews)
English language teachers arrive in Georgia
The Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia reported that a third group of English language teachers from USA, Canada, England, Australia and Norway have arrived in Georgia as part of the programme, “Teach and Learn with Georgia”.
After passing their training programmes, the teachers will be involved in the educational process in Kakheti and Rustavi.
Foreign teachers will continue to come to Georgia in 2011 as part of the programme and the process of placing the teachers in Kakheti schools will be completed. (Prime-News)
Bad weather isolates several villages of Guria
Heavy snow has isolated several villages of Guria from the rest of the region. Snow in the mountain villages of Chokhatauri district has reached a depth of 2 metres. Over 10,000 subscribers have been disconnected from electricity network.
The brigades of road department and local administration are working to clear the roads. Regional administration is working urgently to determine the further work needed to maintain contact with the mountain villages. (Rustavi 2)