The News in Brief
Friday, September 11
RMG Gold suffers partial loss in lawsuit by fired miners
The Georgian Trade Union has won a lawsuit against RMG Gold, the mining company which destroyed an ancient gold mine at Sakdrisi in December, 2014.
Many locals have been employed in the company, and the jobs sustain families in surrounding villages. In Kazreti there have been fierce protests as the whole community has mobilized to protect their livelihood.
The lawsuit concerned 180 miners who were collectively fired, allegedly because they went on strike.
Locals in Kazreti supported the workers and argue that the decision was detrimental to their community.
Only 13 employees will be be given their jobs back.
The trade union explained on Tuesday that 44 workers were behind the lawsuit against RMG Gold, and that the company put pressure on them to drop the case and promised them to be re-employed as soon as there were vacancies.
The court ruled to reimburse salaries, which haven’t been paid since February 10, 2014, up until the court ruling, as well as paying a 0.007 percent fine for each day of the salary was late. The company will also have to pay court fees, as it lost the case.
RMG Gold refused to comment on the court ruling. (dfwatch.net)
Georgian Embassy to Turkey calls on Georgia’s citizens to be careful
The ropeway The Embassy of Georgia to Turkey has released an address to Georgian citizens living in Turkey, calling on them to be careful. The statement has been released at the Ministry’s official website.
“Due to the recent developments in Turkey the Georgian Embassy calls on citizens of Georgia to be careful and call +905336903040 in case of need. We call on Georgian citizens to take security warnings spread by Turkey’s corresponding services into consideration,” the statement reads.
There have been tensions between the Kurds and Turkish army for several months now. On Tuesday, Turkish Army entered Iraq to fight against the Kurds. Before entering Iraq, the army conducted air attacks on the positions of Kurdish Labor Party. At the same time, Turkish nationalists held numerous protests throughout the country. (ipn.ge)
Patrol police officers rescued a woman jumped into the river Mtkvari in a suicide attempt
The MIA Emergency Response Center "112" received the call from a civilian who informed the, that she was in Mtskheta and was going to jump into the river Mtkvari to commit suicide. The operator continued to talk to the civilian and tried to calm her down, while the other operator notified Mtskheta-Mtianeti Main Division of the Patrol Police Department, the Emergency Situations Management Agency and the ambulance about the situation.
Giorgi Khabalashvili and Giorgi Lezhava, patrol inspectors of the Crew #704 of Mtskheta-Mtianeti Main Division of the Patrol Police Department immediately arrived at the scene. Marina Ch. – D.o.B.: 1985 – jumped into the river upon seeing the police officers; the both patrol-inspectors immediately jumped into the river to rescue the woman; they managed to take out the unconscious woman, who was transferred to the hospital in Mtskheta by the ambulance. Marina Ch. was immediately provided with the first medical aid. (police.ge)
Kakha Mamulashvili released from custody
Kakha Mamulashvili, the husband of the singer Lela Tsurtsumia, who was arrested for the drug crimes, was released from custody. No media representatives were allowed to attend the trial and the details remain unknown.
Kakha Mamulashvili was arrested in Tbilisi Airport on the charges of illegal purchase, possession and trafficking of drugs on July 18.
According to the MIA, a personal search of the suspect yielded 5.591 g cocaine, 1.75 g cannabis resin and 0.2048 g. so-called ecstasy. (rustavi2.ge)
Georgia ranked 16th in Open Budget Survey
According to the open budget index, Georgia has taken the 16th place among 102 countries.
The International Budget Partnership published Open Budget Survey 2015, according to which Georgia was ranked 16th with 66 points, compared to the 33rd place it held in 2012.
Georgia was put in the Substantial Transparent category and showed best results in the region and decent results in Eastern Europe.
InterpressNews was provided with the abovementioned report by the Finance Ministry.
The Open Budget Survey measures the state of budget transparency, participation, and oversight in countries around the world. It consists of 125 questions and is completed by independent researchers in the countries assessed. Ninety-five of the questions deal directly with the public availability and comprehensiveness of the eight key budget documents that governments should publish at various points of the budget cycle.
The remaining 30 questions relate to opportunities for public participation in the budget process, and to the roles played by legislatures and supreme audit institutions in budget formulation and oversight. The Survey does not reflect opinion. It measures observable facts related to budget transparency, accountability, and participation.
The survey is carried out once every 2-3 years. (ipn.ge)
Abkhazia's Russian occupation to be reflected by Google Maps
From now on, Abkhazia will be shown on Google Maps as a Russian-occupied region of Georgia. Its current designation, “Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia”, is identical to the official Georgian name for it; previously, however, it was simply designated “Republic of Abkhazia”, implying its independence.
This change was made possible through efforts of Giorgi Balakhadze, a Georgian internet user who has sent a written note to Google with a request to change the designation to an official one. Google has complied, also issuing a guarantee that the newly changed designation will not be tampered with.
It was also thanks to Balakhidze’s letter that a few months ago, Google Maps changed the Russian-derived designation of the autonomous republic’s capital to its original one. It was a mechanical error, but nevertheless, now the city will be properly called Sokhumi instead of Sukhumi. (georgianjournal.ge)
The Georgian Trade Union has won a lawsuit against RMG Gold, the mining company which destroyed an ancient gold mine at Sakdrisi in December, 2014.
Many locals have been employed in the company, and the jobs sustain families in surrounding villages. In Kazreti there have been fierce protests as the whole community has mobilized to protect their livelihood.
The lawsuit concerned 180 miners who were collectively fired, allegedly because they went on strike.
Locals in Kazreti supported the workers and argue that the decision was detrimental to their community.
Only 13 employees will be be given their jobs back.
The trade union explained on Tuesday that 44 workers were behind the lawsuit against RMG Gold, and that the company put pressure on them to drop the case and promised them to be re-employed as soon as there were vacancies.
The court ruled to reimburse salaries, which haven’t been paid since February 10, 2014, up until the court ruling, as well as paying a 0.007 percent fine for each day of the salary was late. The company will also have to pay court fees, as it lost the case.
RMG Gold refused to comment on the court ruling. (dfwatch.net)
Georgian Embassy to Turkey calls on Georgia’s citizens to be careful
The ropeway The Embassy of Georgia to Turkey has released an address to Georgian citizens living in Turkey, calling on them to be careful. The statement has been released at the Ministry’s official website.
“Due to the recent developments in Turkey the Georgian Embassy calls on citizens of Georgia to be careful and call +905336903040 in case of need. We call on Georgian citizens to take security warnings spread by Turkey’s corresponding services into consideration,” the statement reads.
There have been tensions between the Kurds and Turkish army for several months now. On Tuesday, Turkish Army entered Iraq to fight against the Kurds. Before entering Iraq, the army conducted air attacks on the positions of Kurdish Labor Party. At the same time, Turkish nationalists held numerous protests throughout the country. (ipn.ge)
Patrol police officers rescued a woman jumped into the river Mtkvari in a suicide attempt
The MIA Emergency Response Center "112" received the call from a civilian who informed the, that she was in Mtskheta and was going to jump into the river Mtkvari to commit suicide. The operator continued to talk to the civilian and tried to calm her down, while the other operator notified Mtskheta-Mtianeti Main Division of the Patrol Police Department, the Emergency Situations Management Agency and the ambulance about the situation.
Giorgi Khabalashvili and Giorgi Lezhava, patrol inspectors of the Crew #704 of Mtskheta-Mtianeti Main Division of the Patrol Police Department immediately arrived at the scene. Marina Ch. – D.o.B.: 1985 – jumped into the river upon seeing the police officers; the both patrol-inspectors immediately jumped into the river to rescue the woman; they managed to take out the unconscious woman, who was transferred to the hospital in Mtskheta by the ambulance. Marina Ch. was immediately provided with the first medical aid. (police.ge)
Kakha Mamulashvili released from custody
Kakha Mamulashvili, the husband of the singer Lela Tsurtsumia, who was arrested for the drug crimes, was released from custody. No media representatives were allowed to attend the trial and the details remain unknown.
Kakha Mamulashvili was arrested in Tbilisi Airport on the charges of illegal purchase, possession and trafficking of drugs on July 18.
According to the MIA, a personal search of the suspect yielded 5.591 g cocaine, 1.75 g cannabis resin and 0.2048 g. so-called ecstasy. (rustavi2.ge)
Georgia ranked 16th in Open Budget Survey
According to the open budget index, Georgia has taken the 16th place among 102 countries.
The International Budget Partnership published Open Budget Survey 2015, according to which Georgia was ranked 16th with 66 points, compared to the 33rd place it held in 2012.
Georgia was put in the Substantial Transparent category and showed best results in the region and decent results in Eastern Europe.
InterpressNews was provided with the abovementioned report by the Finance Ministry.
The Open Budget Survey measures the state of budget transparency, participation, and oversight in countries around the world. It consists of 125 questions and is completed by independent researchers in the countries assessed. Ninety-five of the questions deal directly with the public availability and comprehensiveness of the eight key budget documents that governments should publish at various points of the budget cycle.
The remaining 30 questions relate to opportunities for public participation in the budget process, and to the roles played by legislatures and supreme audit institutions in budget formulation and oversight. The Survey does not reflect opinion. It measures observable facts related to budget transparency, accountability, and participation.
The survey is carried out once every 2-3 years. (ipn.ge)
Abkhazia's Russian occupation to be reflected by Google Maps
From now on, Abkhazia will be shown on Google Maps as a Russian-occupied region of Georgia. Its current designation, “Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia”, is identical to the official Georgian name for it; previously, however, it was simply designated “Republic of Abkhazia”, implying its independence.
This change was made possible through efforts of Giorgi Balakhadze, a Georgian internet user who has sent a written note to Google with a request to change the designation to an official one. Google has complied, also issuing a guarantee that the newly changed designation will not be tampered with.
It was also thanks to Balakhidze’s letter that a few months ago, Google Maps changed the Russian-derived designation of the autonomous republic’s capital to its original one. It was a mechanical error, but nevertheless, now the city will be properly called Sokhumi instead of Sukhumi. (georgianjournal.ge)