Tag Archives: Georgia

Cracking situation in Georgian prisons effects elections

SEP. 21 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia’s parliamentary election on Oct. 1 was always going to be a close run affair. The United Movement Party, the party of President Mikheil Saakashvili, has found its most dogged and well-funded opponent yet in the Georgian Dream, the party of the country’s richest man, Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Now, though, after the broadcasting of a leaked video from inside a prison showing guards raping inmates with truncheons, it’s become even more fraught.

Hundreds of people poured out onto the streets of Tbilisi to protest against the videos shortly after they were aired on Sept. 18. A junior cabinet minister resigned immediately and then, a couple of days later the interior minister, Bacho Akhalaia, also quit.

The damage may have already been done, though. It’s not clear yet what impact the video will have on voters’ intention but it does feed into the feeling, shared by many Georgians, that not far below the glossy surface lies a more unsightly side of the current government.

The video, broadcast by two pro-opposition TV channels and apparently timed to have maximum impact on the election, may have had its desired effect.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 105, published on Sep. 21 2012)

Border skirmishes occur in Georgia

AUG. 29 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Three Georgian security agents and 11 bandits died in a gunfight during a hostage siege in mountains in the north of the country, media reported. Five hostages were released from the siege. The bandits were reportedly from Dagestan in Russia’s North Caucasus and the violence may further strain Russia-Georgia relations.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 103, published on Aug. 31 2012)

Georgia’s richest man to run for PM

AUG. 21 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgia’s richest man, officially declared himself the PM candidate for the opposition Georgian Dream coalition, at parliamentary elections on Oct. 1, media reported. The day before president Mikheil Saakashvili’s governing United National Movement party, said current PM, Vano Merabishvili, would be its PM candidate.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 102, published on Aug. 24 2012)

Georgian soldier dies in bomb attack

AUG. 1 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – A Georgian soldier injured in a bomb attack in Afghanistan in January has died, media quoted Georgia’s Ministry of Defence as saying. The soldier was the 17th Georgian soldier to die in the US-lead war against the Taliban in Afghanistan. Last year Georgia’s parliament voted to increase its deployment to Afghanistan.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 100, published on Aug. 10 2012)

Georgian court fines opposition

AUG. 10 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – A court in Georgia fined Kakha Kaladze, a Georgian ex-international footballer, $10.3m for withdrawing $2m without explaining how he was going to spend the cash, media reported. Mr Kaladze, Georgia’s most famous living footballer, supports Georgia’s opposition. Last month, the authorities froze his bank accounts on fraud allegations.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 101, published on Aug. 17 2012)

Georgian bank freezes footballer’s account

JULY 27 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – A bank in Georgia froze the account of one of the country’s most famous footballers, ex-AC Milan player Kakha Kaladze, for alleged money laundering. The 34-year-old Mr Kaladze, who won 84 caps for Georgia, said the charges are politically motivated. He openly supports Georgia’s opposition.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 099, published on Aug. 3 2012)

Georgia complaints to the Olympic Games

JULY 25 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia has complained to the London Olympic Games for placing the disputed regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia in Russia, media reported. On the London 2012 website, the birthplaces of two of Russia’s wrestlers, born in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, were followed by “(Rus)” indicating they are in Russia.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 098, published on July 27 2012)

Interest rates in Georgia remain unchanged

JULY 18 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – After cutting Georgia’s interest rate by 0.25% in each of the past three months, the Georgian Central Bank kept it unchanged at 5.75% in July because deflation had slowed. Compared to the same a year earlier, Georgian consumer prices fell by 0.2% in June and 3.3% in May.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 097, published on July 20 2012)

Chinese bank buys stake in Georgian bank

JULY 4 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – China’s Hualing group bought a 90% stake in the Georgia’s Basisbank from the EBRD and the bank’s founder, Zurab Tsikhistavi, the company said. Media reported that this is the first time a private Chinese bank had bought an overseas bank. The EBRD and Mr Tsikhistavi will both retain a 5% stake in Basisbank.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 095, published on July 6 2012)

Georgia elects new prime minister

JUNE 30 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Politics in Georgia can often be messy and spill out on to the streets.

That, possibly, is part of the reason why President Mikheil Saakashvili appointed long-time ally Vano Merabishvili as prime minister.

Mr Merabishvili has a reputation as a tough operator willing to take difficult decisions. He had been interior minister since 2004 and is credited with reforming the police and stamping out corruption — a popular move that has earned him respect and a reputation as a man of action.

Installing Mr Merabishvili as PM will boost the appeal of Mr Saakashvili’s party, the United National Movement.

It’s going to be a busy election season with a parliamentary election in October and a presidential election in January. Billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili is a tough opponent. He has already proved that he can galvanise Georgia’s opposition and pulled thousands of supporters on to the streets.

Mr Saakashvili may have played one of his ace cards already by installing the popular Mr Merabishvili as prime minister.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 095, published on July 6 2012)