News
Besieged businessman met by wall of silence
TBILISI, DFWatch - They have taken away his citizenship, accused his bank of laundering money, arrested a friend of his son and disarmed his bodyguards, but in all of these cases the authorities in Georgia are not commenting beyond stating the facts. Since he almost two weeks ago set out on a mission to remove president [...]
Media watchdog chairman accused of conflict of interest
TBILISI, DFWatch - The chair of Georgia's media regulatory commission keeps back from interfering when TV stations break the advertising rules. His inaction as a watchdog leader is to his own personal benefit. The chair, Irakli Chikovani, has a 35% share in Magi Style Media Ltd, which sells TV airtime to advertisers. Therefore, the chairman's private [...]
Financier signing up political advisors
TBILISI, DFWatch - Georgia's richest is carefully laying the groundwork for his entering politics and wresting the Caucasus nation out of the grip of president Mikheil Saakashvili. One crucial piece in his plan is to put together a pool of advisors around him in order to bounce ideas around and gauge the atmosphere among the population. [...]
Political newcomer target of armed police operation
TBILISI, DFWatch - Police in Tbilisi Tuesday afternoon arrested six employees of CartuBank in an armed operation against the bank which belongs to the businessman who ten days ago said he would challenge president Saakashvili's almost total power grip over the country. Government friendly TV Rustavi 2 reports that several are detained for money laundering, and [...]
Opposition feels targeted by ban on loyalty gifts
Georgia's ruling party has made it illegal for a political candidate to let him or herself be caught up in backroom deals with campaign contributors. The opposition thinks it's done to undermine their financing. While the laws against corruption here as in other countries applies to elected officials, Georgia has widened criminal liability to also include [...]
Does the road to peace go through tasty food?
Can the Caucasus region be united through good taste? That was one of the questions as food producers from all over the region gathered in Tbilisi for a peace festival over the weekend, with the aim of building peace and develop food business in the Caucasus region. Various types of tea, cheese, wine and honey from [...]
Saakashvili dodges freedom of information requirement
The Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili has decided to make his people pay for accessing public documents. Like in most Western countries, Georgia has a law guaranteeing citizens free and unfettered access to public information. But now the leader has made it a little bit harder for people to find out about just what authorities are up [...]
Financier’s citizenship ends up in court
The financier Bidzina Ivanishvili has decided to go to court in order to get back his citizenship which was taken from him right after he announced he would use his considerable wealth and influence to challenge the ruling party's grip over the country. “We made a decision to file the lawsuit with the court against the [...]
Georgian tycoon gathers support
In Georgia, a businessman who one week ago set out to unseat president Mikheil Saakashvili is quickly gathering supporters while the small Caucasus nation is eagerly awaiting his TV appearance. One of the country's most well-known literary figures, Chabua Amirejibi, as well as a well-known fotballer, have thrown their support behind the financier. Since releaseing his declaration [...]
Groups boycott right-to-vote reform
Three rights groups refuse to take part in a new system meant to guarantee every Georgian the right to vote, because they think the reform may make things worse. Parliament has just decided to establish a new system for going through the voters rolls and make sure that every citizen who has a right to vote [...]
Troop replacement in Afghanistan
Georgia's light infantry Battalion #31 has just left for Afghanistan. It consists of 749 soldiers and will replace Battalion #33. The troop Georgian replacement takes place within the framework of the ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) operation in the country. The Georgian peacekeeping battalion will carry out its mission alongside American troops in Helmand province. They [...]
Tskhinvali weighs in on Georgian financier’s revelations
A top official working for the regime in Tskhinvali says he agrees with revelations the financier Bidzina Ivanishvili put forth in a lengthy open letter published Wednesday as part of his effort to unseat president Saakashvili and give the country back to its people. A close advisor to so-called South Ossetian president Eduard Kokoiti told the [...]
Georgian soldier dies in accident
A 19 year old Georgian soldier has been killed in an what appears to be an accident at a base in Zugdidi, a town on the Black Sea coast near the border with Abkhazia. The accident took place at a base for the paramilitary forces of Georgia's Ministry of Internal Affairs. At the Interior Ministry's Samegrelo-Zemo [...]
Billionaire’s citizenship was unlawfully revoked, lawyer says
The stripping of a businessman's citizenship right after he made a dramatic call to remove Mikheil Saakashvili from power moved one step closer to turning into a legal battle Thursday, as Bidzina Ivanishvili's lawyer presented five documents said to prove that Georgia was breaking the law when revoking his citizenship. "We request a clear and specific [...]
CoE to Georgia: No more surprises, please
Two observers from the Council of Europe (CoE) have asked Georgia's ruling party to stop coming up with surprise changes in a draft law without going through the normal democratic procedures. At least according to one of the opposition politicians, two rapporteurs from the Monitoring Committee of the CoE's Parliamentary Assembly asked Georgia's ruling party to [...]
Georgian media answers hopeful patron
Journalists Wednesday responded to the wealthiest Georgian Bidzina Ivanishvili's call for them to form an alliance to unseat Mikheil Saakashvili, while experts debated whether Georgia had the right to revoke his citizenship. Tuesday night, the tycoon-turned-politicians had the support of at least the viewers, if not the staff, of two small cable TV stations which have [...]
“Resign. You are exhausted, Misha”
“Stop, Misha, you are standing on the edge of the abyss, stop!” was the fincier Bidzina Ivanishvili's message to Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili Wednesday. As the financier, who is one of the world's richest, released his second statement on a mission to unseat the Georgian leader, he clarified his position towards the different oppositional groups in [...]
Georgia bars billionaire from entering politics
The authorities in Georgia have stripped the country's richest man of his citizenship, just as he was preparing to launch a new opposition movement aimed at unseating president Mikheil Saakashvili in elections the coming two years. Revoking Bidzina Ivanishvili's citizenship effectively means that he can't legally take part in political activities nor fund political parties, nor [...]
Unemployment Georgians’ biggest worry
Two thirds of Georgians think of themselves as unemployed. Living conditions are so dire that the question of territorial integrity has become secondary. But Georgians still welcome the government’s reforms, National Democratic Institute (NDI) Georgia director Luis Navaro said as he met journalists to present the results of a fresh survey. The three top priorities for [...]
TV channels vying for financier’s political debut
The public broadcaster and two independent TV stations are competing to carry the political debut of Georgia's richest man. First, the public broadcaster released a statement saying it invites the Georgian billionaire on to their Channel 1 to answer the questions from journalists. The financier had asked before the weekend to be let on the channel. [...]
Competition watchdog must do more with same budget
Government wants to reform the antimonopoly service and give it new tasks. But its budget is to stay the same next year. Experts think it's doubtful whether there will be any real change in how the service operates, which the European Union is demanding from Georgia. A well-functioning antimonopoly service is the most important [...]
Grassroots movement welcomes financier’s entry into politics
After being rejected by the journalists of Maestro TV, financier Bidzina Ivanishvili's has found new allies in the anti-Saakashvili grassroots movement behind last May's demonstrations. The People's Assembly in a statement says Ivanishvili represents a fresh, new start to Georgian politics, and that his program fully matches the goals of the assembly. People's Assembly is a [...]
Three detained Georgians released
The daily life of ordinary people continues to be plighted by borders which were drawn unilaterally by Russia in 2008.
Georgia’s richest to launch opposition movement
The financier Bidzina Ivanishvili is satisfied so far with the impact he has had, after announcing he would challenge the ruling party in the next election by founding a new party and buying a TV station. According to his press secratary, Irakli Tripolsky, Ivanishvili’s first statement "caused deep resonance in the society". Next step will be [...]
Investor-politician gets cold shoulder from Georgian media
The billionaire businessman who said he would run in the next election has received a cold shoulder from two independent TV stations he said he wants to buy. Bidzina Ivanishvili's extensive written statement about his political goals, which was published on Friday October 7, focuses particular attention on Georgian television. While criticizing President Saakashvili's regime, Ivanishvili [...]
French President greeted by astroturf crowd
President Nicolas Sarkozy finally arrived in Tbilisi Friday from Baku. It was the final stop on his tour of the South Caucasus. Security was tight around Freedom Square. People who wanted to attend the event had to arrive two hours earlier. The square had been decorated with French, Georgian and EU flags for the occasion. In [...]
Sarkozy to Georgia: more reforms needed
French president Nicolas Sarkozy told Georgians Friday that the country must strengthen democracy through further reforms if it wants to move closer to EU membership. A few thousand people were in or around Freedom Square in the center of Tbilisi while Sarkozy held his speech this afternoon but many seemed uninterested and left before he even [...]
Confusion over parliament’s first session in Kutaisi
There is rising confusion after President Saakashvili said that the first parliamentary session in Kutaisi will be on the next national day, May 26, 2012. He said this two days ago at the opening of a new House of Justice in the city. But according to the Georgian constitution, parliament can only convene in Kutaisi after [...]
New law may restrict consumers’ rights in Georgia
Parliament is to consider a new law about product safety which might require scrapping an old law, and a big chunk of the country's consumer rights with it. The new bill is called "Code on Product Safety and Free Flow" which envisages to set up a special commission to monitor product safety in the market. "This [...]
Prosecutors given new powers to check money transfers
Prosecutors in Georgia will get powers to monitor suspicious money transfers before they are carried out. But this will require a court warrant. Parliament’s decision means that after getting a court's approval, the prosecutor's office can ask that a bank account be subject to a strict control regime: every time there is a transfer [...]
Georgian government to boost civil society
The Georgian government is to start handing out funds to select players in the whole non-public sector, after a decision in parliament. Power to hand out money will reside with ministries. The effort is not limited to non-governmental organizations (NGOs), but may also include educational institutions and branch offices of foreign think tanks as well as [...]
Journalists take Georgian police to court over May 26 beating
Three journalists and four media companies filed an administrative lawsuit at Tbilisi city court Tuesday morning against Georgia's Ministry of Internal Affairs, asking to be compensated for the injuries they sustained in the night of May 26, when police violently dispersed a protest rally ahead of an Independence Day parade. The journalists presented the court with [...]
Political Tbilisi skeptical to proposed new election system
Work to improve the Georgian election environment has ended as a draft has been sent off to the Council of Europe's Venice Commission for review and the government promises that parliament will not start its review until the results of the review are clear. It's hard to say what the Venice Commission's conclusions will be and [...]
Rush law amendment is to limit property rights
Owners of derelict or abandoned buildings in Georgia may have their property taken from them under a new bill which is being rushed through parliament. The law change will encroach on property rights guaranteed by the Georgian constitution. Owners of buildings will be required to complete the construction within a certain period, as envisaged in the [...]
Ruling party’s latest election law maneuver a setback for democracy
Three non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are seriously concerned after the government's sudden changes to the draft for a new election law. Now that rights advocates have had time to look closer at the changes, which were worked out behind everyone's backs and revealed a week ago, their conclusion is that this is a disappointment to everyone who [...]
Workers forced to renounce rights
Support is mounting for the three imprisoned metallurgy workers in Kutaisi. According to their labor union, they have been forced to sign a statement promising to never again go on strike. The appearant violation of their basic human rights had brought nearly thirty non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to Kutaisi Monday to show support for the three, who [...]
Gate crashing the President’s vineyard
The reason journalist Shalva Ramishvili wanted to get into Mikheil Saakashvili's vineyard on Sunday was that the president was hosting a number of other TV journalists there. Georgian TV viewers have become accustomed to these events, which are often broadcast live on several of the national channels, all of which are widely believed to be under [...]
TV-crew detained in President’s vineyard
Police Sunday arrested the well-known Georgian journalist Shalva Ramishvili and his crew in president Saakashvili’s vineyard. Ramishvili was just done shooting footage for his TV show "Without Accreditation" in the president's vineyard in Kvareli, a village 140 km west of the capital Tbilisi when regional police and officers from state security appeared and confiscated all the equipment. [...]
Revenue Service halts tax audit of Palitra Holding “indefinitely”
Georgia's revenue service has suspended the tax audit of Palitra Holding, one of Georgia’s largest media groups. The Revenue Service’s order, dated September 18, does not give any reason for the suspension. The GRS had only nine days left to complete their inspection when they suspended it "indefinitely", after extending the deadline twice in three months. [...]
Government introduces surprise changes in new election law
After reaching a hard-fought agreement with several opposition parties, the ruling party has introduced significant changes in the draft for a new Georgian Election Code. According to lawmakers, the eleventh-hour changes were only made in order to ensure a democratic election environment in the country, however many opposition parties remain skeptical. Some of the changes in [...]
President defends 26 May dispersal: ‘we have improved since 2007’
President Saakashvili maintains that the deadly police action last May was necessary.President Mikheil Saakashvili has no regrets about issuing the order which led to the police clearing the area in front of parliament the night before the Independence Day rally. An opposition movement led by former parliament speaker Nino Burjanadze had gathered around 300 people in [...]
Leak shows U.S. believed secret tapes ‘turned the tide’ for Saakashvili in 2008 election
The United States ambassador at the time thought that two recordings which were televised by Saakashvili's government right before the presidential election in January 2008, decided the final outcome in his favor. The two clandestinely acquired tapes purportedly proved that one the president's challengers to the presidency had plans to commit a coup d'etat. The new [...]
Privatization will not mean losing control, government guarantees
As Georgia makes a new push to find more investors who will have a stake in its most strategically important assets, like the post and railways, the state will keep a controlling share of the stocks. Chair of the financial budgetary committee, Zurab Melikishvili, made the promise today during a debate in parliament about a new [...]