Tag Archives: Georgia

Georgia imprisoned ex-minister

OCT. 22 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – A court in Georgia sentenced former defence minister Bacho Akhalaia to 7-1/2 years in prison for abuse of power and torture.

Akhalaia is the most high-profile member of the former government of Mikheil Saakashvili to be sent to prison. The current government, headed by members of the Georgian Dream coalition, has said it has to pursue former ministers on various corruption and abuse charges although Mr Saakashvili and his allies have called the charges a witch hunt.

The European Union and the United States have both warned the current government of using its powers to pursue personal vendettas. The US repeated its warning after the imprisonment of Akhalaia.

“We continue to stress to the Georgian Government the importance of due process and rule of law and of conducting investigations with transparency to avoid even the perception that the judicial system is being used for political retribution,” a US State Department spokesman said.

The big risk for the Georgian government is that it is undermining the country’s positive image with the West.

Akhalaia was already held in pre-trial detention. His conviction dates back to the torture of four inmates in 2006 when he was head of the Georgian prison service. He was also a former interior minister.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 206, published on Oct. 29 2014)

Aeroflot flies to Georgia

OCT. 27 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Flights by Russian airline Aeroflot resumed between Moscow and Tbilisi for the first time since a brief war between the two neighbours in 2008. The resumption of Areoflot flights is another sign that Russia-Georgia relations have improved since Mikheil Saakashvili left the Georgian presidency last year.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 206, published on Oct. 29 2014)

Georgia to host NATO centre

OCT. 17 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – In a move that threatens to aggravate delicate relations with Russia, Georgia is planning to open up a NATO training base.

Georgian defence minister Irakly Alasania told Reuters in an interview that Georgia would not be cowed by a Russian warning not to host any NATO equipment or bases.

“Confrontation with Russia should be avoided. Georgia needs stability,” he said. “But we will never bow to the Russians.”

Relations between Russia and Georgia have improved since Mikheil Saakashvili quit as Georgian president last year but they are still icy and have been aggravated by alleged Russian action in Ukraine. Georgia supports the pro-Western Ukraine government.

Georgia has been pushing to join NATO for some years and has supported operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Earlier this month, Russia warned Georgia not to host any NATO equipment, although that warning appears to have been ignored.

“This centre will be jointly operated by NATO and Georgia and it’s going to be an additional layer of security and defensive capability for Georgia,” Mr Alasania said. “It will be a Georgia-owned facility, but planning will be jointly done with NATO.”

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 205, published on Oct. 22 2014)

Crimea-Armenia air route opens

OCT. 21 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – A direct air route is opening up between Simferopol, the capital of Crimea, and Yerevan, making Armenia the only country other than Russia since the Kremlin annexed the Ukrainian region earlier this year to set up a connection.

Media reported that the airline, Grozny Avia would run the once-a-week flight from Simferopol from Nov. 16.

Perhaps this is the price that Armenia has to pay for Russian economic and military support. The West has levied sanctions on Russia for its annexation of Crimea. Russia has said that Crimea voted to join Russia in an independence referendum and that its actions were legitimate.

And what it craves is international recognition. Russia has had the same problem with South Ossetia and Abkhazia, rebel Georgian states whose independence it has recognised to the chagrin of most the international community.

The only countries which have followed Russia’s lead are small countries from Central America to the Pacific Ocean looking for economic support.

Armenia may be falling into that category over Crimea. It will join the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union in 2015 and looks to Russian forces in Armenia to act as a counterbalance for any Azerbaijani aggression over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Grozny Avia likely to be linked to Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-supported leader of Chechnya, provides another link between Russia and its semi-vassal states.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 205, published on Oct. 22 2014)

Georgian President to visit Japan

OCT. 21 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Looking to secure more foreign direct investment (FDI), Georgian president Giorgi Margvelashvili travelled to Japan on a state visit. During his five day trip Mr Margvelashvili will meet with Japanese Emperor Akihito and PM Shinzo Abe, Georgia is heavily reliant on FDI.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 205, published on Oct. 22 2014)

Georgia and Azerbaijan to open up BTK railway

OCT. 16 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia and Azerbaijan have opened up their Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line project to outsiders, Azerbaijan’s transport minister Ziya Mammadov said at a conference. The project will link the Caspian Sea with the Black Sea, aiding transport between Asia and the Europe.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 205, published on Oct. 22 2014)

Domestic violence triggered action in Georgia

OCT. 21 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – A series of murders of women by their husbands or ex-husbands in Georgia has triggered the government into action, the civil.ge website reported. The website said 20 women have been murdered this year. The government has pledged tough action on domestic violence although it is still unclear what this pledge means.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 205, published on Oct. 22 2014)

Georgia-Russia relations set to improve

OCT. 8 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia’s president Giorgi Margvelashvili has said he wants to meet Russian president Vladimir Putin, Russian news agency Interfax reported. Georgia-Russia relations have improved since a 2008 war. Kremlin intervention in Ukraine, though, has threatened to damage them once again.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 204, published on Oct. 15 2014)

Georgia and Russia spar

OCT. 14 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia and Russia often appear to be playing an extended game of cat and mouse.

Only a few days after Russia warned Georgia that it would not tolerate any NATO equipment in the country, USS Mount Whitney steamed into Batumi, its third visit to the Georgian Black Sea port (since 2008).

Its mission, according to reports, is a simple joint training exercise with Georgia’s navy. On its previous two trips Russia has accused it of delivering arms.

And only on Oct. 9, Russia had said that if NATO deployed so-called infrastructure to Georgia it would destabilise the region. At a meeting between Georgian and Russian officials in Geneva, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that it was concerned about reports that NATO was moving kit into the region.

“Such actions would create a threat to emerging stability in the Transcaucasus region,” the Russian foreign ministry said.

In general, relations between the two neighbours have improved since former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili lost power last year. Georgia, though, has been heavily critical of Russia’s alleged support of Ukraine rebels and it has increased its rhetoric about joining NATO.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 204, published on Oct. 15 2014)

Georgia’s rebel region to bolster army

OCT. 12 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia’s rebel region of Abkhazia will sign a treaty with Russia to bolster its military. Only Russia and a handful of its close allies recognise Abkhazia. By bolstering its military, Abkhazia threatens to antagonise ties with Georgia.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 204, published on Oct. 15 2014)