TBILISI, DFWatch – The Georgian president, Mikheil Saakashvili, says through his press speaker that he may not agree with everything Human Rights Watch (HRW) is writing about his country. HRW’s World Report 2011 is sharp in its criticism of the situation in Georgia, much of which revolves around the police operation to clear a peaceful … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch – Ekaterine Khvedelidze, wife of Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, is a Georgian citizen again, after the president decided not to appeal a court ruling. This paves the way for the Ivanishvili couple to formally register a political party and run in the election this fall. On December 27 Tbilisi City Court ruled partly … Read more
It is very fitting and important that Presidents Obama and Saakashvili meet in Washington on January 30, writes Kenneth S. Yalowitz, former U.S. Ambassador to Georgia. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and Georgia and this is an excellent time to reflect on the many … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch – Tbilisi City Court did not grant Rustavi Media Management Company’s request to sequester TV Company Igrika ltd. The reason is that Igrika ltd is no more the property of Ilia Kikabidze, general director of the independent TV company Maestro. A week ago Eroski Kitsmarishvili’s Rustavi Media Management Company went to court, demanding … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch – Time Magazine called it one of the greatest hoaxes in history. But 33% of Georgians still trust the channel that scared them out of their wits. That’s one the findings Eurasian Partnership Foundation’s program called Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC) presented Monday. Internationally it’s called the hoax news, but locally it is … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch – The South Ossetian opposition leader Alla Dzhioyeva calls off her protest and enters talks with the regime. Dzhioyeva said that consultations between the opposition and authorities will continue, according to Russian news agency RIA Novosti. On November 17 she withdrew from a compromise agreement and gave acting president Vadim Brovtsev until today … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch – Georgia’s ruling party has already started mobilizing supporters, before a date for the parliamentary election has been announced. Georgian newspaper Mteli Kvira reports that the National Movement Party has begun compiling lists of of supporters around the various districts of Tbilisi. Party activists are going round collecting passport numbers of people who … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch – Saturday was just another day for president Mikheil Saakashvili. But it dominated the news on Georgian national TV channels. The news was simply put that the president visited Rustavi, a small city just south of the capital Tbilisi, to talk to the locals about how things are going. This news story took … Read more
Most of the government’s decisions are routine in nature and ordinary people rarely feel their effect in everyday life, writes David Losaberidze, project coordinator at Caucasus Institute for Peace Democracy and Development.
From time to time, however, the government makes
TBILISI, DFWatch – A Georgian parliamentarian from the governing party says his country will support the West in case of a confrontation between Iran and the U.S. Davit Darchiashvili, head of the Euro-integration committee, says that ‘in case of an Iran-U.S. confrontation, Georgia’s choice will be clear’, which means that ‘Georgia will be with its … Read more