NEWS: Georgia News Digest 03-19-08

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)

1. Parliamentary elections could be held May 21
2. Saakashvili offers to increase number of MPs, hints on poll date
3. President suggests increasing number of seats in parliament
4. Government, opposition remain at loggerheads
5. Increase of number of MPs proposed
6. Republicans offer new rule of election majoritarian MPs
7. Opposition calls for European mediation to resolve crisis
8. Appeal to the international community
9. Republicans intend to resume negotiations with Nino Burjanadze
10. NGOs demand to meet Levan Tarkhnishvili
11. Opposition could become our victim
12. Opposition dumps rubbish on steps of Tbilisi City Hall
13. Irakli Okruashvili becomes official leader of his party
14. Natelashvili slams opposition
15. United Opposition breaks up
16. Are we going to receive MAP?
17. US stays the course: Secretaries of State and Defense check out Moscow's foreign policy leanings [excerpt]
18. US and allies put Germany under unprecedented pressure to waive objections to Georgia and Ukraine in NATO
19. Rapid reaction: Moving NATO forward
20. Important developments in North Caucasus
21. Good policies should make good neighbors
22. Russia agrees to restore air link with Georgia 17 months after imposing transport blockade
23. UN Secretary General to receive President of Georgia
24. Moscow expects resumed air traffic with Georgia to improve relations
25. Abkhazia region claims to shoot down unmanned Georgian spy plane
26. Abkhazia shows reconnaissance plane fragments to media
27. Unmanned spy plane Abkhazia downed was of Israeli manufacture
28. Georgia denies separatist report of plane downed over Abkhazia
29. President says new approach needed on Abkhaz conflict
30. Georgia about to make new proposals on Abkhaz settlement
31. Saakashvili promises "radical" new proposals for Abkhaz conflict settlement
32. Tbilisi to lay out new Abkhaz proposals
33. Georgia urges UN group to react to Russia’s "dangerous" Abkhazia policy
34. Playing Kosovo card: The Duma intends to recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia as sovereign state
35. UN chief to discuss breakaway regions with Georgian leader
36. Georgia cannot unilaterally replace Russian peacekeepers in Abkhazia
37. Russian Foreign Ministry denies plan to supply arms to Georgian breakaway region
38. Senior MP does not rule out use of force to restore territorial integrity
39. “Our Georgia” addresses Russian Duma regarding Abkhazia and South Ossetia
40. Georgia seeks to modify South Ossetian peace negotiation format
41. Dismissed employee sets fire to university
42. Expansion in staff of Congress of Georgian Azerbaijanis
43. Analysts warn against lack of building code
44. Youth patriot camp to be built in Shaori
45. How bad is poverty in Georgia?
46. 18 micro-finance organizations operate in Georgia
47. Construction of refrigerating station for agricultural products started in Poti under the program AGRO 100

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