Tag Archives: Georgia

Georgia’s Orthodox Church

OCT. 7 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – >> I read earlier in the Bulletin that the Pope flew over to Tbilisi but wasn’t warmly received. This surprised me as I thought the Pope was generally greeted by massive grounds wherever he went.

>> You’re right. Georgians gave Pope Francis a luke- warm welcome. Staff at the Vatican had probably been expecting a far more friendly touch down but then Georgia has a complicated relationship with the Catholic Church.

>> So what actually happened in Georgia?

>> Essentially, although the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Ilia II, greeted Pope Francis, he was made to feel unwelcome. Many Orthodox priests told their congregations to stay away from his Papal mass on the Saturday and a hardcore group of Orthodox believers followed him around shouting various slogans against the Catholic Church.

>> Right, the sound fairly active? Outside the Pope’s visit, is the Orthodox Church influential in Georgia?

>> Yes, very. Around 80% of Georgians identify themselves as Orthodox. The Patriarch, Ilia II, is one of the most powerful men in the country and is often turned to in times of crisis. He has brokered deals between rival political leaders. Presidents and prime ministers are careful to be seen attending church and meeting with the Patriarch. He is also a staunch conservative, holding views that represent those of many in Georgia.

The Georgian Orthodox is anti-gay rights and same sex marriage, for example. There are often Orthodox priests leading anti-gay rights marches.

And the Georgian Orthodox Church an incredibly influential body. Public opinion surveys consistently rank it as the most trusted public body in Georgia.

>> I see. But is the Orthodox Church involved any way in Georgia’s foreign policy?

>> Not officially. Georgia’s constitution states that the Orthodox Church is fully independent of the state. That said it has played a major role on occasion. After Georgia and Russia fought a brief war in 2008 over the disputed region of South Ossetia, it was the Patriarch who was able to reach out to the Russian side and begin to mend relations. He was in Moscow towards the end of 2008 to see the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Alexey II, for the last time. While he was there he also met up with Dmitri Medvedev, then Russia’s president. This was considered a vital first step towards pulling Georgia and Russia together.

>> So, Ilia II is definitely a bit of an all-rounded then. He seems to play a major role in domestic affairs, influencing public opinion, and also happy to deal in high level diplomacy in international affairs.

>> He’s certainly a major factor in modern Georgia. Watch out for his reaction to any issues before or after the parliamentary election in Georgia on Oct. 8.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 299, published on Oct. 7 2016)

Pope faces hostility on trip to Georgia

TBILISI, OCT. 2 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Pope Francis endured a diplomatically tough trip to Tbilisi and Baku, his second to the South Caucasus this year.

In Tbilisi, hostile Orthodox Christian followers tried to unsettle the Pope by heckling him and waving banners with anti-Catholic slogans outside each of his various meetings.

“The Vatican is a spiritual aggressor” and “Pope, arch-heretic, you are not welcome in Orthodox Georgia,” their posters read according to media reports.

The Orthodox Church, suspicious that the Pope’s real reason for making the visit was not to improve relations but to recruit followers, also called for a boycott of a Papal mass planned for a football stadium.

“As long as there are dogmatic differences between our churches, Orthodox believers will not participate in their prayers,” the Georgian Orthodox Church said on its website.

Only a few thousand people turned up to the mass, leaving the stadium looking empty.

Earlier the Pope had met with both the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Ilia II and President Giorgi Margvelashvili.

The Pope then visited Azerbaijan, a country with a tiny Catholic community, where he held talks with President Ilham Aliyev aimed at improving diplomatic relations.

Pope Francis said that in both Yerevan, which he visited earlier this year, and Baku he had urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to hold peace talks.

“Armenia is a nation with open borders, it has problems with Azerbaijan and should go to an international tribunal if dialogue and negotiation is a no-go,” he was quoted as telling media.

Azerbaijan and Armenia are officially at war over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh which is controlled by Armenia-backed forces.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 299, published on Oct. 7 2016)

Georgia signs train deal with China

OCT. 8 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – CRRC, China’s state-owned train manufacturer, signed an agreement with state-owned Georgian Railway to supply 28 new electric locomotives and jointly build a factory to produce trains in the country. The new $20m factory, located near Tbilisi, will be operated by CRRC and local companies BMI Partners and AS Group 1990. The joint venture aims to create an export hub for train parts to Europe and Turkey.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 299, published on Oct. 7 2016)

Tension rises ahead of Georgia election after car bomb

TBILISI, OCT. 3 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — A bomb exploded under the car of leading UNM parliamentarian Givi Targamadze in central Tbilisi, the most serious act of violence in a heated, and at times dangerous, campaign ahead of Georgia’s parliamentary election on Saturday.

Media reported that Mr Targamadze and his driver were unhurt in the blast, although four other people were injured.

The United National Movement party (UNM), backed by former President Mikheil Saakashvili, immediately accused the ruling Georgian Dream coalition, backed by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, of planning the bomb attack.

“I think he (Targamadze) was chosen as a target because he has been keeping active contacts with the law enforcement which scares Ivanishvili very much,” Mr Saakashvili said on his Facebook page.

The Georgian Dream has denied any involvement and its supporters have instead said that the UNM planted the bomb itself to destabilise the country.

Georgia’s parliamentary election campaign has become increasingly fraught as polling day approaches.

Opposing MPs have fought on live TV debates, three supporters of the ruling Georgian Dream coalition were allegedly beaten up by a group of UNM supporters and last week two men were shot and injured at a rally being given by Irakli Okruashvili, a former Georgian defence minister.

Analysts have said that the election is too close to call.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 299, published on Oct. 7 2016)

Behlen to build sport infrastructure in Georgia

OCT. 4 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Behlen Industries, a Canadian construction company, started building a new Sports Palace in Batumi, on Georgia’s Black Sea coast. The project is part of a government drive to build new sporting facilities across the country to promote healthy lifestyles and improve facilities for amateur and professional sports men and women. New complexes will also be built in Telavi and Gori, in east and central Georgia. The total cost of the three projects is $33.9m. Behlen is part of WGI Westman Group.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 299, published on Oct. 7 2016)

Port developments begin in Georgia

OCT. 4 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Anaklia Development Consortium started construction at the $2.5b Anaklia Deep Sea Port, just north of Poti, on Georgia’s Black Sea coast. At the groundbreaking ceremony, Georgia’s PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili said the port will be complete by 2020. TBC Holding and US-based Conti are part of the consortium. Mamuka Khazaradze, chairman of TBC Bank, owns TBC Holding.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 299, published on Oct. 7 2016)

Georgia signs deal with Iran to build new oil refinery

TBILISI, SEPT. 29 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgian-Iranian company GEOPARS signed a deal with the Georgian government to build an oil refinery in Supsa on the Black Sea coast, the first to be built in Georgia for 80 years.

According to local media, the government licensed the land to GEOPARS for free. GEOPARS said it would need to make an investment of $1.5b to build the refinery, a petro- chemical plant and a logistical centre.

PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili attended the signing ceremony and hailed its impact on Georgia’s industrial sector.

“We will see a project that once again accentuates and reinforces Georgia’s regional role as the shortest route to Europe for Near East and Asian countries. This is a project that puts Georgia on a map by highlighting not only its transit function, but its industrial role as well,” local media quoted him as saying.

Caution is needed, though. Georgia has negotiated building an oil refinery in Supsa or Poti several times previously with Azerbaijani, Kazakh and Russian investors but the deals eventually fell through.

SOCAR Georgia Investments, a subsidiary of Azerbaijan’s state owned energy company SOCAR, had proposed building a refinery in Supsa in May, but failed to commit funds.

This is the first refinery deal in Georgia made with Iran, which has played an increasingly active role in the South Caucasus over the past few years. If the project does go ahead, it will give Iran an important foothold in Georgia, a close US ally.

The only major oil refinery previously built in Georgia was at Batumi in the 1930s. The Batumi refinery was downgraded in the 1990s and sold to Kazakh investors. It later became an oil terminal.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 298, published on Sept. 30 2016)

HeidelbergCement to invest in Georgia

SEPT. 28 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Germany’s HeidelbergCement said it will invest $100m into expanding its cement and concrete plant in Kaspi, a small town 50km outside of Tbilisi in northern Georgia. HeidelbergCement has operated in Georgia for 10 years.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 298, published on Sept. 30 2016)

Cartu Foundation to invest in Georgia

SEPT. 27 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Cartu Foundation and the Georgian Co-Investment Fund, both supported by Georgia’s richest man Bidzina Ivanishvili, have invested $80m in the construction of a new hotel and a botanical garden in the town of Ganmukhuri, on the unofficial border with Abkhazia. Abkhazia is a breakaway region that declared its independence from Georgia after a brief war in 2008.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 298, published on Sept. 30 2016)

US-based company makes progress in Georgia

SEPT. 26 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – US-based Frontera Resources said it has made progress at the South Kakheti gas complex it operates in Georgia, announcing a new drilling campaign for October. Frontera also said it will go forward with a financing deal it reached with YA II PN, part of the Yorkville Advisors financial group. Frontera will raise around $686,000 through a share issue in London.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 298, published on Sept. 30 2016)