Nov. 15 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Police in Georgia arrested nine more interior ministry officials linked closely with the previous United National Movement party (UNM) government for abuse of power. Senior NATO and EU officials have expressed their concern at the arrests which UNM leaders likened to a witch hunt.
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(News report from Issue No. 113, published on Nov. 16 2012)
NOV. 12/14 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Making a statement of intent on where he wants to lead Georgia, the country’s new PM, Bidzina Ivanishvili, made his first overseas trip since winning an election last month to Brussels where he met the head of NATO and the EU. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili visited Brussels at the same time on a separate trip.
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(News report from Issue No. 113, published on Nov. 16 2012)
NOV. 9 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Politics in Georgia often carries a dramatic flavour and the arrest of Bacho Akhalaia, a former defence minister; Brigadier General Giorgi Kalandadze, the head of Georgia’s military; and Zurab Shamatava, a senior commander fits this mould perfectly.
Police arrested them allegedly for physically abusing six soldiers in Oct. 2011. The soldiers were sacked later that year for attempted mutiny.
Allies of Mr Akhalaia, who served as defence minister from Sept. 2009 to July 2012 before becoming the interior minister for a few months, were furious. They accused the new government of starting a witch-hunt against members of the previous administration.
Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, whose United National Movement party (UNM) lost a parliamentary election last month to a coalition lead by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, said the arrests had been politically motivated. The UNM’s MPs walked out of parliament.
Mr Ivanishvili is now Georgia’s PM but Mr Saakashvili remains the president until an election in about a year’s time. The arrests and the reaction to these arrests show the strain this uneasy partnership is already under.
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(News report from Issue No. 112, published on Nov. 9 2012)
NOV. 7 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov fired the minister for maritime transport, Melis Mutdikov, in October for repeatedly using a 60m euro government-owned yacht for private parties, media reported. Senior Turkmen officials have previously been criticised for their lavish lifestyles.
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(News report from Issue No. 112, published on Nov. 9 2012)
OCT. 24 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Highlighting Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov’s unlimited power, a government website reported that Turkmenistan’s Council of Elders had elected Hally Nazarov, a previously unknown farmer, to be his vice-president. Mr Berdymukhamedov chairs the Council of Elders, which rubber-stamps his decisions.
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(News report from Issue No. 110, published on Oct. 26 2012)
OCT. 24 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – The day before parliament rubber-stamped his first government, Georgia’s new PM, Bidzina Ivanishvili said he only wanted to hold the job for 18 months. Mr Ivanishvili’s announcement is consistent with previous statements that he didn’t want a political career but it still raises the prospect of further instability.
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(News report from Issue No. 110, published on Oct. 26 2012)
OCT. 25 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia’s 150-seat parliament in Kutaisi formally voted in a new government headed by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, leader of the opposition coalition that defeated President Mikheil Saakashvili’s party in an election on Oct. 1. Mr Ivanishvili’s coalition won 85 seats in parliament.
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(News report from Issue No. 110, published on Oct. 26 2012)
OCT. 16 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – The family of Badri Patarkatsishvili, the dead Georgian billionaire who in 2007/2008 financed opponents of President Mikheil Saakashvili, regained control of Imedi TV. In 2007, police raided Imedi TV after the authorities accused it of inciting unrest. From 2008, an ally of Mr Saakashvili had controlled Imedi TV.
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(News report from Issue No. 109, published on Oct. 19 2012)
OCT. 12 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – British police detained Maksim Bakiyev, son of former Kyrgyz president Kurmanbek Bakiyev, after the US issued an extradition request. The US wants to prosecute Mr Bakiyev for financial crimes. Since a revolution in 2011, Kyrgyzstan has wanted the Bakiyevs sent back to Bishkek to face various charges.
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(News report from Issue No. 109, published on Oct. 19 2012)
OCT. 8 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – At a meeting with Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, the PM-elect, Bidzina Ivanishvili, said he wanted to continue to push for NATO membership as well as improve ties with Russia. It was a symbolic but important meeting between these bitter rivals. Mr Saakashvili will remain head of state until a presidential election, which is scheduled for October 2013.
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(News report from Issue No. 108, published on Oct. 12 2012)