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Compiled by Mzia Kupunia
Monday, May 23
Russia has started appropriating Abkhazia
Russia has started the process of appropriating and selling Abkhazia’s military objects, 24 Saati reports. A sanatorium in Sukhumi, which belonged to the Soviet Defence Ministry Moscow district, has been renamed as “Sukhumi” recently. The sanatorium is situated in the picturesque place and is considered as “prestigious” and has always been a target of the Russian government. Russian internet outlet, Svobodnaya Pressa issued a letter of the sanatorium staff addressed to the Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev.
The employees of the sanatorium have asked Medvedev to study the situation. The authors of the letter have outlined some violations and claimed that the decision to close down the sanatorium was made due to an “irresponsible attitude.” In particular, the chiefs of the sanatorium issued an order based on the resolution of the Russian Defence Ministry, according to which the administration of the sanatorium had 2 hours to free the sanatorium of the guests. The guests were moved to Gudauta sanatorium, which also belongs to the Russian Defence Ministry. The fact that the decision was made so quickly raises some doubts, according to the Sukhumi sanatorium employees. They suggest that the actions are directed not towards improving the activities of the sanatorium but towards stopping the functioning of it.
Before giving an order about closing down Sukhumi sanatorium, the Russian Defence Ministry’s respective service checked the conditions in the sanatorium. The report of the supervision says that the conditions of the sanatorium complied with the norms. According to the sanatorium employees, the latest events have triggered a negative reaction and social tension among society.
Meanwhile, the de facto Abkhazian Parliament members have reacted upon the developments in Sukhumi sanatorium. They set up a so called parliamentary committee to study the details of the case. They have said that a special report will be published eventually. The de facto MPs have called on the de facto government to send a special note to the Russian Foreign Ministry, to defend the rights of the sanatorium staff.
According to Svobodnaya Pressa, Russian Defence Ministry is planning to close down 5 more sanatoriums in Georgia’s breakaway region of Abkhazia.
Saakashvili: We are ready for dialogue with Russia if Moscow wants to talk with the legitimate government
Georgian President, Mikheil Saakashvili has reiterated his readiness for dialogue with Russia, Sakartvelos Respublika reports. He underlined, that the dialogue will only be launched if “Russia will want to talk with the democratically elected government of the country.” When commenting on Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev’s statement about the August 2008 Russian-Georgian war, Saakashvili said “the three years after the August 2008 war has proved that Russia has, through the intervention in Georgia, proved its weakness, not its strength.”
“For the Russian ruler I’ve been a ‘political corpse’ for the last three years, however I don’t fit this epithet in any way. We can also recall the statements made about hanging Georgia’s President by some parts of his body, as well as about Georgia’s collapse and other issues in the Kremlin, however instead of this the whole world sees clearly that people come to Georgia even from Russia to learn about reforms,” Saakashvili noted “So, Dmitry Medvedev has only proved with his statement, that when starting a war against Georgia, he was not worried about the fate of the Abkhazian and Ossetian people, but had some other intentions. Wasn’t it important for them to have an ally like Georgia? Who did they choose as allies? – separatists and street politicians, who, according to the polls, have broken world records for non-popularity,” he added.
Russia has started the process of appropriating and selling Abkhazia’s military objects, 24 Saati reports. A sanatorium in Sukhumi, which belonged to the Soviet Defence Ministry Moscow district, has been renamed as “Sukhumi” recently. The sanatorium is situated in the picturesque place and is considered as “prestigious” and has always been a target of the Russian government. Russian internet outlet, Svobodnaya Pressa issued a letter of the sanatorium staff addressed to the Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev.
The employees of the sanatorium have asked Medvedev to study the situation. The authors of the letter have outlined some violations and claimed that the decision to close down the sanatorium was made due to an “irresponsible attitude.” In particular, the chiefs of the sanatorium issued an order based on the resolution of the Russian Defence Ministry, according to which the administration of the sanatorium had 2 hours to free the sanatorium of the guests. The guests were moved to Gudauta sanatorium, which also belongs to the Russian Defence Ministry. The fact that the decision was made so quickly raises some doubts, according to the Sukhumi sanatorium employees. They suggest that the actions are directed not towards improving the activities of the sanatorium but towards stopping the functioning of it.
Before giving an order about closing down Sukhumi sanatorium, the Russian Defence Ministry’s respective service checked the conditions in the sanatorium. The report of the supervision says that the conditions of the sanatorium complied with the norms. According to the sanatorium employees, the latest events have triggered a negative reaction and social tension among society.
Meanwhile, the de facto Abkhazian Parliament members have reacted upon the developments in Sukhumi sanatorium. They set up a so called parliamentary committee to study the details of the case. They have said that a special report will be published eventually. The de facto MPs have called on the de facto government to send a special note to the Russian Foreign Ministry, to defend the rights of the sanatorium staff.
According to Svobodnaya Pressa, Russian Defence Ministry is planning to close down 5 more sanatoriums in Georgia’s breakaway region of Abkhazia.
Saakashvili: We are ready for dialogue with Russia if Moscow wants to talk with the legitimate government
Georgian President, Mikheil Saakashvili has reiterated his readiness for dialogue with Russia, Sakartvelos Respublika reports. He underlined, that the dialogue will only be launched if “Russia will want to talk with the democratically elected government of the country.” When commenting on Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev’s statement about the August 2008 Russian-Georgian war, Saakashvili said “the three years after the August 2008 war has proved that Russia has, through the intervention in Georgia, proved its weakness, not its strength.”
“For the Russian ruler I’ve been a ‘political corpse’ for the last three years, however I don’t fit this epithet in any way. We can also recall the statements made about hanging Georgia’s President by some parts of his body, as well as about Georgia’s collapse and other issues in the Kremlin, however instead of this the whole world sees clearly that people come to Georgia even from Russia to learn about reforms,” Saakashvili noted “So, Dmitry Medvedev has only proved with his statement, that when starting a war against Georgia, he was not worried about the fate of the Abkhazian and Ossetian people, but had some other intentions. Wasn’t it important for them to have an ally like Georgia? Who did they choose as allies? – separatists and street politicians, who, according to the polls, have broken world records for non-popularity,” he added.