May 17 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgian Orthodox groups rallied in Tbilisi against a new law designed to protect same-sex relationships. Media estimated that there were several hundred people at the rally, underlining the conservative nature of Georgian society. The Georgian Orthodox Church retains a lot of power in Georgia.
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(News report from Issue No. 185, published on May 21 2014)
May 15 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Forces in the Georgian rebel state of South Ossetia released 17 people they had been holding after they strayed into their territory, media reported. Reports said the 17 Georgians had been picking herbs when they strayed into South Ossetia on May 10, triggering a standoff.
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(News report from Issue No. 185, published on May 21 2014)
May 17 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – A landslide in Georgia damaged a pipeline, temporarily cutting off gas supplies to Armenia, media reported. It’s unclear how serious the damage caused by the landslide is or when gas supplies through the pipeline will resume. Gazprom Armenia said it had enough reserves to cover the shortfall from the pipeline
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(News report from Issue No. 185, published on May 21 2014)
MAY 12 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The head of the Georgian Orthodox Church Patriarch Ilia II called for people to mark a new day of “Strength of Family and Respect for Parents” on May 17, the same day as the International Day Against Homophobia. The Orthodox Church is regarded as anti-gay rights. Georgia has introduced a law protecting same-sex rights.
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(News report from Issue No. 184, published on May 14 2014)
MAY 8 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Momentum appears to be building for Georgia’s NATO entry, or at least a move in that direction.
William Hague, the British foreign minister, visited Tbilisi and spoke of his support for “Georgia’s Euro- Atlantic trajectory, for its territorial integrity and for its democratic process”. His visit was part of a trip to Ukraine and Moldova too and followed trips from the French and German foreign ministers to Tbilisi.
In 2008, at a summit in Bucharest, NATO said that one day Georgia would be a NATO member. What it didn’t say, though, was when.
Since then, Georgia has been waiting for it membership card. It has supported various NATO initiatives, including the war in Afghanistan. It had hoped that perhaps a summit in Wales later this year may be the entry point, although that notion has been dashed by various NATO officials.
At the same time as Mr Hague was in Tbilisi, Georgia’s defence foreign minister, Irakli Alasania, was in Washington visiting the US defence secretary Chuck Hagel.
And if that wasn’t enough Western diplomatic handshaking, French President Francois Hollande turned up on May 13 on the final stop of his tour of the South Caucasus. Again, Georgia’s potential integration topped the agenda.
Despite some reservations by some NATO members, the crisis in Ukraine appears to have created a real opportunity for Georgia. If Georgia can maintain the forward momentum it has generated over the past couple of weeks, NATO membership may not be far off.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 184, published on May 14 2014)
MAY 12 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The authorities in the Georgian breakaway region of South Ossetia are detaining 13 Georgian citizens, media reported. Reports said five Georgians were released after paying a fine for apparently straying illegally into South Ossetia. In 2008, Georgia and Russia fought a brief war over the region.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 184, published on May 14 2014)
MAY 13 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Rustavi 2, Georgia’s main television station, is under investigation for alleged wire-tapping, media reported. Georgian society and politics is currently riven through with accusations of deceit and wire-tapping. The former government of Mikheil Saakashvili has accused the new government of a witch hunt.
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(News report from Issue No. 184, published on May 14 2014)
MAY 1 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Against the backdrop of worsening violence in Ukraine, NATO said it wants to speed up bringing Georgia closer to the Western military
alliance. On a visit to Tbilisi, NATO Special Representative to Georgia, James Appathurai, said: “We are now looking, of course, at next steps, at bringing Georgia even
closer to NATO.”
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(News report from Issue No. 183, published on May 7 2014)
MAY 4 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Annualised inflation in Georgia in April was 3.4%, media quoted the Georgian statistics agency Geostat as saying. The main driver of inflation was food prices which measured nearly 8%. Prices in Georgia have increased since October last year, a relief for policy makers after years of deflation.
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(News report from Issue No. 183, published on May 7 2014)
MAY 5 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – In a poll for the US-funded National Democratic Institute, Georgians favoured joining the EU and NATO over Russia, although the gap had
narrowed. Of the 4,000 poll respondents, 77% agreed with the government’s aim of joining the EU (85% in November) and 72% agreed with joining NATO (down from 72%).
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 183, published on May 7 2014)