NEWS: Georgia News Digest 06-12-08

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)

Foreign relations and conflicts
1. Bush’s tour to Europe not to change attitude towards Abkhazia
2. GA BSEC proves of Russia's dynamic development
3. Saakashvili says Europe’s principles at stake in Abkhazia
4. Georgian officials unruffled by Russian military exercise
5. Question about the current situation in Georgian Abkhaz settlement
6. Khurcha incident: Will the guilty ever be punished?
7. Russian peacekeepers receive warm welcome in Abkhazia
8. South Ossetia honor Bulgarian diplomat for his mission in OSCE
9. Referendum is being preparing in Vladikavkaz to unite ‘two Ossetias’
10. Minister denies Georgia preparing for war against breakaway South Ossetia
11. South Ossetian separatists protest at being sidelined from Georgia-OSCE talks
Politics
12. Cabinet reshuffle expected
13. Burden and opportunity for a one-party parliament
14. Rusudan Kervalishvili to be appoint as a vice speaker
15. Two vice-speakers elected
16. Government's offers and opposition's interests
17. Parliamentary majority, opposition start consultations
18. Opposition has lost
19. Opposition doomed to failure in struggle with authorities
20. Georgia’s opposition splits into factions
21. Christian-Democratic Party’s memorandum
22. Ruling party calls for talks based on memorandum
23. Laborites not to join oppositional memorandum in Georgia
24. Four members of Labor Party to be interrogated
25. Opposition supporters under threat of arrest in Telavi
26. Should there be repeat elections?
Media
27. Journalists and lawyers help representatives of media to access public information
28. GYLA blames Levan Bezhashvili for blocking public information
29. Fear hampers free speech in former Soviet nations [excerpt]
30. State representative in Samegrelo-Upper Svaneti region lost court case against journalists
31. Kakheti correspondent for the newspaper “24 Hours” blames World Vision’s Representative in Georgia for fraud
32. Journalists set up rights group
33. Imedi TV will resume news programs by the end of June
Misc.
34. Okruashvili’s uncle attacked in Tbilisi
35. Lost Croatian tourist found in western mountains
36. Border department delegation leaves for Lithuania
37. Air flights will start between Georgia and Iceland
38. Prison department says hunger strikers making senseless demands
39. Socially excluded seek to escape poverty, “one fine day”
40. A hollowed fir tree lands man in jail
41. Worked-over: Mamuka Kvaratskhelia - did political views gets him beaten?
42. Why reduction of criminal age of responsibility? 14 to 12 years-of age, rights of children violated
43. Eight Usenashvilis family members need assistance

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