OCT. 1 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — On a trip to Tbilisi, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said NATO remained committed to granting Georgia full membership of the alliance. The day before a landmine in Afghanistan killed four Georgian soldiers, including a colonel. Georgia has about 925 soldiers in Afghanistan.
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(News report from Issue No. 10, published on Oct. 7 2010)
OCT. 1 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia introduced the possibility of juries in Tbilisi courts for trials of aggravated homicide. News reports said this will be the first time in the South Caucasus juries are used. If the prosecution and defence agree they can select a judge-led trial instead.
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(News report from Issue No. 10, published on Oct. 7 2010)
SEPT. 24 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia’s parliament voted in favour of changing the Constitution to create a powerful PM. Opponents of the changes say they are designed to bolster Mikheil Saakashvili who has to step down as president in 2013. The proposed changes need to pass two more readings to come into force.
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(News report from Issue No. 9, published on Sept. 30 2010)
SEPT. 30 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili will be 46-years-old when he reaches the end of his second and final four-year term in 2013.
He is energetic and ambitious, so what will he do?
Vladimir Putin faced a similar dilemma in 2008 when the Russian Constitution forced him to step down as president. Putin moved to become an empowered prime minister.
Now, Mr Saakashvili’s opponents say he plans a similar move. They say changes to the Constitution which easily passed a first reading in the 150-seat Parliament on Sept. 24 are designed with him in mind.
The proposed changes, which still need to pass two more readings to become law, will cede domestic and foreign policy from the president to a powerful prime minister.
Under the draft law, the transfer of power would occur in 2013 after the next Georgian presidential election.
Mr Saakashvili denies the changes have been tailored for him to retain power. He says they are needed to speed Georgia’s development.
Despite losing popularity after a war against Russia in 2008, Mr Saakashvili retains a tight grip on power. A close ally won an election to become mayor of Tbilisi in August and his Untied National Movement party currently dominates the Georgian parliament.
The next parliamentary election is scheduled for 2012.
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(News report from Issue No. 9, published on Sept. 30 2010)
SEPT. 22 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — In a boost for Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, Georgia’s state press service reported that Donald Trump, a U.S. property developer, signed a letter of intent to build a tower in Georgia. Foreign investment was key to Georgian economic growth but it slowed after a war in 2008 with Russia.
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(News report from Issue No. 8, published on Sept. 23 2010)
SEPT. 14 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan, Georgia and Romania agreed to create a transit route for liquefied natural gas from the Caspian Sea to Central Europe. The route will use existing pipelines to pump gas to Georgia’s Black Sea coast and then ship it across to Romania. It will rival Europe’s proposed Nabucco pipeline system and Russia’s South Stream.
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(News report from Issue No. 7, published on Sept. 16 2010)