NEWS: Georgia News Digest 06-09-08

A service of the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies

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Archives and associated files at groups.google.com/group/genewsfiles (from February 2008) and groups.google.com/group/genews (before February 2008)

Conflicts and foreign relations
1. Unsanctioned flight reported over Georgia-Ossetia conflict zone
2. Peacekeepers register "unauthorized" flights in Georgia's South Ossetia
3. Russia says rail troops to leave Abkhazia within 2 months
4. Russian railway troops to leave Abkhazia over next two months
5. Russian railway troops to stay in Abkhazia for two months
6. NATO addresses deployment of Russia’s “Railway Forces” in Abkhazia
7. I’ve been working on the railroad
8. Abkhazia will do everything to keep Russian peacekeepers in place
9. Moscow Mayor tells Tbilisi to recognize breakaway regions
10. Step boldly on Abkhazia
11. Government’s mistakes: “The cool guys must be in Russia, not in Washington”
12. Problems in the South Caucasus cannot be resolved without Russia – Solana
13. Georgia doing all it can to prevent violence in Abkhazia
14. British diplomat says Russia has key role in settlement of Georgian- Abkhaz conflict
15. Sukhumi rejects U.S. proposal on joint Georgian-Abkhaz police force in Gali district
16. Russia cautiously optimistic on Russian-Georgian relations
17. Georgian, Russian presidents to meet in "more serious format"
18. Meeting the new boss: what will happen in St. Petersburg?
19. Looking for solution to 'artificial situation'
20. There'll be neither compromise nor concession; there'll be justice
21. Lessons from the past to the fore as Bush makes last stand in Europe [excerpt]
22. Tbilisi’s first Wilton Park Conference focuses on regional cooperation with the EU
23. EU enlargement must continue - Estonian MEP
Politics and elections
24. Parliament elects Speaker, opposition leaders cut up mandates
25. New Speaker extends "hand of cooperation" to opposition
26. Georgia parliament convenes early, thwarts protest
27. Ex-Foreign Minister elected as parliamentary speaker
28. Speaker positive about new parliament's efficiency
29. Opposition so far unable to rally supporters outside parliament
30. Opposition stages protest outside Georgian parliament
31. Opposition MPs destroy certificates in sign of protest
32. Setting up of 'alternative parliament' debated
33. Opposition to set up alternative parliament
34. 31 vs. 119: Will the opposition enter Parliament?
35. Where leads the “corridor of shame”? Opposition prepares for first day of new parliament
36. If it's necessary to use force, the state will use it!
37. Gamkrelidze is ready to go to jail
38. Getting ready for 'lily of the valley' revolution?
39. MP mulls leaving big-time politics due to friction with opposition
40. America is seriously thinking about Burjanadze
41. Opposition MP appears in parliament despite boycott
42. Political scenarios
43. Patriarch urges national unity
44. National Union for Education joins opposition demonstration
45. Five journalists assaulted in one day
46. Political repressions in Georgia
47. Board of Sighnaghi District Election Commission faked documents
48. NGOs observed problems during parliamentary elections
49. Georgia's elections
Research
50. book section: Georgia 2007 [chapter introductions]
51. journal issue: The ODED-GUAM: A road map to relevance? [section introductions]
52. book chapter: Georgia and the Wider Black Sea
53. report: Georgia’s policy towards its national minorities: Tolerance or Integration
54. report: Refreshing Georgia’s courts: Trial by jury
Rule of law and human rights
55. The Shida Kartli government poorly adjudicates administrative claims
56. Faked legal findings in Shida Kartli Prosecutor’s Office
57. Ombudsman sounds the alarm about freedom of speech violations
58. Appeal of Public Defender
59. Murder in Gori: Many unanswered questions
60. History of political prisoner’s detention
61. OSCE Mission helps organize discussion on ways to improve situation of prisoners
62. Prisoners were beaten at Gori Police Station
63. Former representative of the Constitutional Security Department (CSD) accused of rape
64. Tbilisi city government turns its attention to the disabled
65. IDPs and eco migrants are not supplied with electricity any longer
66. Single mother: “I will do impossible things for their sake”
Media
67. "Prime-Time" to be resumed in July
68. Ex-chief of radio station says dismissal caused by reorganization
69. Media restrictions on Radio Imedi
70. Terror of different opinions continues: Soon journalists organize protest
71. Journalistic solidarity and professionalism is the solution
72. Black and white but not red all over: Free media and elections worldwide
Misc.
73. Eurasian transport corridor will allow processing Caspian oil at the refineries of Europe
74. Railway of Georgia to spend about GEL 32 million in 2008 for recovery
75. Third Georgian soldier killed in Iraq
76. Kay divvies up Patarkatsishvili’s billions
77. video: Georgian mystery: Death of an oligarch
78. The execution department insists Patarkatsishvili’s family fulfill the verdict of Tbilisi Court
79. First lady praises Turkish schools in Georgia
80. Pankisi: A gorge of tradition, legends and real crimes
81. Spikes or flats - the great footwear decision faced by Georgian women
82. Ethnic groups in Georgia #16 – Germans
83. Turkish Ambassador concerned for erroneous connection to car accident
84. Fewer students for national exam due to 12th year
85. Ex-finance minister and Policy and Management Consulting Group join ICC-Georgia
86. Diana Gurtskaia, Georgian pick for Eurovision 2008, finishes 11th
87. Deconstructed in secret, “Old Tbilisi”
88. Church of Godmother might be made into mosque
89. Guards of Uplistsikhe Museum sues Ministry of Culture
90. Two scenes from the theater of life
91. Zezvaoba and the Carpet Festival: Meeting Georgian traditions in Alvani field
92. Taboo kids: In-vitro fertilization popular, but remains in shadows

Jonathan Kulick, Ph.D., Director of Studies, Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies, 3a Chitadze, Tbilisi 0108, Georgia (Republic), jonathan.kulick@gfsis.org, office: +995 32 47 35 55, mobile: +995 95 33 33 40, USA voicemail: 310.928.6814