Monthly Archives: September 2017

Police evict city assembly members as Tbilisi land plots handed to Ivanishvili

By | September 29th, 2017|Categories: News|Tags: , , |

TBILISI, DFWatch–Two candidates for Tbilisi mayor were among opposition politicians and activists who were forcibly dragged out of the city council on Friday before a proposal was approved that will hand over two land plots to a company owned by former PM Bidzina Ivanishvili. […]

Abduction of Mukhtarli Reduces Trust in Georgian Authorities among Ethnic Azerbaijani Population

By | September 27th, 2017|Categories: Opinion|Tags: , , |

Ethnic Azerbaijani people make up 6.3% of the Georgian population, or 233,000 persons. It is the biggest ethnic minority community in the country, though their voice is least heard here. The main reason is that ethnic Azerbaijani people do not trust the Government of Georgia. Moreover, they are afraid of the government. […]

Georgian parliament passes new Constitution as opposition walks out in protest

By | September 26th, 2017|Categories: Politics|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch–The Georgian parliament almost unanimously adopted a new constitution on Tuesday as opposition factions walked out and said the day will mark the establishment of one-party rule in the country. […]

Georgia’s president refuses to convene parliament to pass revamped Constitution

By | September 25th, 2017|Categories: Politics|Tags: , |

President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–President Giorgi Margvelashvili has turned down a request by the ruling party to call an unscheduled session of parliament in order to adopt the new Constitution, citing the threat of one-party rule. “The president will not convene an extraordinary session,” […]

Georgia’s constitutional reform gets cautious thumbs up from CoE

By | September 23rd, 2017|Categories: Politics|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch–The Venice Commission draws an overall positive conclusion about Georgia’s latest constitutional reform in an assessment published Friday, but the Council of Europe experts are still concerned about the lack of consensus among the country’s largest political parties. […]

Azerbaijani agents shadowing opposition journalists in Tbilisi

By | September 20th, 2017|Categories: News|Tags: |

Layla Mustafayeva. (Facebook.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The exiled wife of jailed Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Mukhtarli says she fears there may be a new wave of harassment against herself and other critics of the regime of Ilham Aliyev. Mukhtarli was abducted in downtown Tbilisi on May 31 and taken across the border […]

David Lynch to found film festival and cinematography institute in Georgia

By | September 16th, 2017|Categories: News|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch–American film director David Lynch is coming to Georgia in November to launch a film festival and open a new institute of cinematography named after him. The iconic director, who is known for the films Blue Velvet, Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive, […]

Openly lesbian woman to run for public office in Georgia, a first

By | September 16th, 2017|Categories: News|Tags: , |

Nino Bolkvadze. TBILISI, DFWatch–For the first time, an openly lesbian woman will run for political office in Georgia. Nino Bolkvadze, a professional lawyer, was nominated Friday by the Republican Party to compete for a seat in the Tbilisi city council, the Sakrebulo, this October. […]

Georgian PM denounces Saakashvili as a sad reminder of the past after Ukraine border stunt

By | September 13th, 2017|Categories: News|Tags: |

Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Saakashvili is Georgia’s ‘very sad past’ says Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili while commenting recent developments in Ukraine. “Mikheil Saakashvili is the political past of our country, a very sad past, and it is very unfortunate, […]

Georgian ex-president burst through police block and into Ukraine

By | September 11th, 2017|Categories: News|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch–After trying for several hours, Mikheil Saakashvili finally managed to get into Ukraine Sunday evening, with the help of his supporters. Currently he is in Lviv and reportedly plans to travel to Kiev. “I don’t plan to oust anyone, I plan only to legally defend my interests,” […]

Saakashvili breaks through Ukraine border assisted by crowd of supporters

By | September 10th, 2017|Categories: News|Tags: |

Mikheil Saakashvili addressing the media before boarding the train. (Facebook.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Former president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili broke through the border to Ukraine on Sunday, aided by a crowd of supporters. At first, the train he was riding from Poland, bound for the Ukrainian city of Lviv, was held at the border in Przemysl, […]

Saakashvili confirms pledge to enter Ukraine on September 10

By | September 7th, 2017|Categories: News|Tags: , |

Mikheil Saakashvili made the pledge during a webcast from the Polish capital in mid August 2017. (Facebook.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Former president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili has repeated a pledge made three weeks ago to return to Ukraine on September 10, despite the risk of being detained and extradited to Georgia where he may face criminal charges and possible imprisonment. […]

Georgian priest sentenced to nine years in prison for murder attempt

By | September 5th, 2017|Categories: Crime|Tags: , , , |

TBILISI, DFWatch–A Tbilisi court on Tuesday sentenced a high ranking cleric to nine years in prison for trying to kill the patriarch’s personal secretary with poison. The case has sent shock waves through Georgian society and revealed divisions within one […]

CoE’s Buquicchio disappointed by Georgian stalemate on new constitution

By | September 5th, 2017|Categories: News|Tags: , |

TBILISI, DFWatch–The head of the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission Gianni Buquicchio is disappointed by the lack of progress on Georgia’s constitutional reform. The commission president took to Twitter on Monday to react to a lack of agreement between […]

52 tourists rescued in Georgia’s mountains this summer

By | September 1st, 2017|Categories: News|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch–Fifty-two foreign tourists got lost in Georgia in the period from June 1 to August 17, according to figures published Friday by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and reported by Interpressnews. Everyone was rescued safe and sound except two German nationals, […]