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-- Increasing turmoil in Georgia
Increasing turmoil in Georgia
As usual, Russia is blamed for this one, directly by Georgian president Saakashvilli. He claims that Russia, Russian security and spy agencies are behind these protests. Even though its actually happening because of recent arrest of Irakly Okruashvili who was arrested after criticizing the current president. He then appeared on television aired from his detention/prison where he confessed to plotting against the state and he took back his claims against the government which included accusations of government crime and corruption. Then he was released on a 5-million-dollar bail, and he then renounced what he said before while in custody, claiming that he was pressured and threatened to confess. And then he flew to Germany where is right now, calling for the resignation of current Georgian leader and early elections.
A video:
http://www.russiatoday.ru/news/news/16606/video
Story:
http://www.russiatoday.ru/news/news/16616
quote:
November 8, 2007, 2:50
Georgia gags media in political crackdown
The Georgian government has declared a nationwide state of emergency after a day of violence in Tbilisi. Riot police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse protesters. News channels were raided and shut down. President Saakashvili is blaming Russia for the unrest.
The 15-day state of emergency is already operational. It silences opposition media voices in Georgia and bans the right to protest.
Only State-run TV and radio stations will be allowed to broadcast.
Announcing the measure, Economic Development Minister Georgy Arveladze said the President had acted constitutionally.
He said it would �affect the receiving and spreading of information, the freedom of public gatherings, rallies and strikes."
�Information will only be spread through Georgian public TV and Radio. The decree has been published so is already in force,� Mr Arverladze said.
Two TV stations were immediately blacked out. Police forced their way into the studio of the leading opposition station �Imedi TV� and stopped the broadcasts.
'Imedi' was recently sold by influential Georgian businessman, Badri Patarkatsishvili to the western media holding News Corp.
Mr Patarkatsishvili has strongly backed the opposition demonstrations.
The clashes between police and opposition protesters have injured hundreds of people. Most of them were poisoned by tear gas used by the police.
The day's violent events
Security forces in Tbilisi cleared protesters from outside the parliament building in following five days of demonstrations.
Opposition protesters were demanding early elections and the resignation of President Mikhail Saakashvili.
About 70,000 people took part in the demonstrations. Many were involved in clashes with police.
Russia Today's own correspondent Ekaterina Azarova and cameraman Evgeny Litovko, were caught up in the police crackdown. They were conducting a live television broadcast when special forces began to spray tear gas, as a result of which our team suffered tear-gas poisoning.
To watch RT�s coverage of the events, please follow the link.
Opposition supporters began to return to the Parliament building after the police broke up the rally early on Wednesday. The protesters planned to stage another rally but were again confronted by riot police.
The Speaker for the Georgian Parliament, Nino Burdhanadze, has called on the opposition to stop the protests and to resume talks.
�I address every Georgian citizen and call for calm. It's not the time for ultimatums. We must do everything in order not to damage our state. We will resume the dialogue with the opposition as soon as the police return to its barracks,� she said.
Georgia blames Russia
The government is blaming Moscow for orchestrating an attempted coup and has expelled three Russian diplomats.
President Mikhail Saakashvili addressed the nation to explain the crackdown.
He blamed 'evil forces' directed from Moscow for stirring up unrest.
"We will not allow the special services of another country to undermine Georgia,� Mr Saakashvili said.
The President said Russia had 'great experience' in destabilising other countries, but said it had 'no chance' of succeeding.
"While Russia has practically annexed Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region - to allow massive clashes in Georgia is to threaten its existence. The time for demonstrations and counter demonstrations is over. We will allow no more violence," he said.
President Saakashvili said several spies working as diplomats in the Russian embassy will be expelled for stirring up political unrest in Georgia.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry later revealed the names of Russian officials declared persona non grata.
The President added that he could prove that Russian security services are behind attempts to sabotage the stability in Georgia. Mr Saakashvili promised that the proof will be made public soon.
He also said the authorities will do everything �to prevent destabilisation and chaos�. The use of force against the opposition rally was necessary to restore order, he believes, and was absolutely lawful.
�We gave people the right to protest but they used force against us. We have the right to use force against them as in any democratic country,� Mikhail Saakashvili said.
Georgian Ambassador to Russia, Irakly Chubinishvili, has reportedly been recalled to Tbilisi.
The Russian Foreign Ministry says it will find an adequate response to the removal of Russian diplomats from Georgia signalling the possibility of a tit-for-tat expulsion.
It has urged Tbilisi against taking what it calls 'destructive steps'.
Reaction
The Kremlin has labelled President Saakashvili�s accusations and the expulsion of Russian diplomats as 'anti-Russian hysteria'.
Moscow says Saakashvili's talk of human rights doesn't square up with the actions of the police on the streets of Tbilisi.
Head of the Duma's Constitution Committee Vladimir Pligin says the current turmoil inside Georgia has nothing to do with external Russian influence. He says the allegations against Russia are groundless.
�Objective observers and experts from different countries and agencies stressed that this is an internal problem of Georgia today,� Mr Pligin said.
�It was all started by people who were against the Russian policy and they are not supportive of the Russian Federation,� Mr Pligin added.
Georgian Ombudsman, Sozar Subari, has called the security crackdown on protesters unconstitutional. He also said that the country �is ruled not by laws, but according to the wishes of certain individuals.�
He also said that he witnessed people lying on the ground being beaten.
�I tried to stop them, but was severely beaten. What's more they did it deliberately, since those who did it knew that I am Georgia�s Public Defender. But I have no regrets � some people have had worse,� Mr Subari said.
Governments around the world have also been reacting to events in Tbilisi.
The U.S. State Department says it supports the right for peaceful protest in Georgia and called for an end to violence.
The European Union says it hopes a solution will be found through constitutional regulations.
Chairman of the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe), Miguel Moratinos, expressed concern over events, calling on the two sides to open talks based on democratic principles.
The same evil regime that used the protests to seize power / overthrow Shevardnadze in 2003 is now using force and un-democratic efforts to prevent the same thing happening to it this time around:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20071105/wl_csm/odemo
quote:
Georgia verges on repeat turmoil
TBILISI, Georgia - Thousands of antigovernment demonstrators protested for a third day in front of Georgia's parliament Sunday in what could become an opposition-led repeat of the Rose Revolution that brought down an unpopular leader and swept current President Mikhail Saakashvili to power on a wave of reformist hopes.
The 10-party opposition coalition, formed just a month ago to protest planned changes to the electoral system, suprised most observers by drawing more than 50,000 supporters onto the streets of the capital, Tbilisi, on Friday. Repeat rallies over the weekend were much smaller, but suggested the movement might have staying power. Though some opposition leaders held out the possibility of compromise, others began demanding Mr. Saakashvili's resignation.
"I think Saakashvili has already lost his chance," says Georgy Khaindrava, a former minister in Saakashvili's government turned opposition leader. "No one wants this government; everyone wants a new one."
The upsurge suggests that Georgia's dismal history of turbulent political change might be on the verge of repeating itself. Since the tiny mountainous republic of 5 million gained independence from the Soviet Union, it has had three leaders, each of whom came in on an intense wave of popularity only to run afoul of surging public discontent.
Zviad Gamsakhurdia, elected with 87 percent support in 1991, was killed in a civil war that brought the popular former Soviet foreign minister Eduard Shevardnadze to power the next year. Mr. Shevardnadze appeared to stabilize Georgia and put it on the path to democracy, but he was accused of rigging a parliamentary election and forced to resign in the Rose Revolution. The US-educated Saakashvili, once a protege of Shevardnadze, won subsequent presidential polls with a 97 percent majority.
But Saakashvili's reforms have since managed to anger Georgians from almost all walks of life.
"I don't like the conditions of the past four years," said Manana Ravtadze, a child-care worker at Saturday's rally. "I want our president to stand in front of the people and tell them of his mistakes."
Zero-tolerance crime legislation has put large numbers of young people in prison for minor offenses. Privatization has led to complaints by small property holders that their rights are being violated. Intellectuals worry about a perceived erosion of democratic rights. Food and energy prices are climbing, while unemployment remains stubbornly high.
"[The protests are] not just about politics, it's about the people's anger," says Tina Khidasheli, a leader of the moderate Republican Party. "What Saakashvili managed in four years was to create the feeling that the president was against each person individually."
The opposition coalition was formed a month ago after the arrest of former Defense Minister Irakly Okruashvili, who was charged with "political negligence and corruption" after he formed an opposition party and accused Saakashvili of plotting to murder unnamed key opponents. Mr. Okruashvili later recanted, was released on $6 million bail, and reportedly left the country last week to seek "medical attention" in Germany.
The opposition is demanding the release of what they term political prisoners. It also wants to halt Saakashvili's plans to postpone spring parliamentary polls until next fall,and make other electoral changes opposition leaders regard as "undemocratic." The Republican Party favors abolishing the presidency altogether and turning Georgia into a British-style parliamentary republic.
Though the opposition lacks a single leader of the stature Saakashvili enjoyed during the Rose Revolution, and popular grievances seem less acute, the tactic of rolling street demonstrations threatens once again to destabilize Georgia's fragile democracy, some experts warn.
"What's happening now is beyond any civilized framework. The opposition is using a previously tested system of overthrowing government, one that does not bring credibility to our country," says Alexander Rondeli, president of the independent Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies in Tbilisi. "Like most post-Soviet republics, Georgia is not ready for democracy."
Many in the weekend crowds said they do not want to overthrow Saakashvili, but just force him to address their grievances. As of Sunday evening, Saakashvili had yet to meet with opposition leaders or speak publicly about the crisis.
"We're ready to stay here a long time. We want a conversation with Saakashvili," said David Bayindurashvili, a college student, at Saturday's rally.
Despite the calls for Saakashvili to go, some opposition chiefs were still holding out the possibility of compromise on Sunday.
"[Saakashvili] has to choose between his people and his inner circle," Davit Usupashvili, Republican Party leader, told Imedi TV, a station owned by Georgian billionaire Badri Patarkatsishvili.
A former Saakashvili supporter who now financially backs the opposition, Mr. Patarkatsishvili told the Financial Times last week, "I don't think my country would survive another revolution."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/serv...06.wgeorgia1106
quote:
Georgia's former defence minister surfaces in Germany
MARGARITA ANTIDZE
Reuters
November 6, 2007 at 5:58 AM EST
TBILISI � Georgian authorities threatened on Tuesday to launch an international manhunt for President Mikhail Saakashvili's arch foe after he surfaced in Germany and accused Georgia's leader of corruption.
The television interview by former defence minister Irakly Okruashvili injected fresh momentum into opposition protests � which have attracted thousands since Friday � calling for the resignation of injected fresh momentum into opposition protests Saakashvili for corruption and economic mismanagement.
�If Okruashvili does not appear in Georgia on the first demand of the Prosecutor-General's office, his 10 million lari ($6-million U.S.) bail will be transferred to the state budget and a search for him begun,� deputy prosecutor-general Nika Gvaramia told a news briefing.
Outside the parliament in central Tbilisi protesters gathered for a fifth successive day and some demonstrators joined four opposition politicians on a hunger strike to press for the president's resignation.
Fiery nationalist Mr. Okruashvili first took aim at Mr. Saakashvili in September, alleging that his former boss had plotted the murder of a businessman and had overseen massive corruption.
His charges, vigorously denied by Mr. Saakashvili, galvanized the previously disunited opposition but also led to his arrest.
A few days later, looking tired and dazed, Mr. Okruashvili was released on bail after retracting all his allegations in a televised statement.
On Monday, in his first public comments since his release from jail, Mr. Okruashvili said in a broadcast from Germany that he had been pressured into retracting the allegations, insisted once again that they were true, urged Mr. Saakashvili to resign and said that he was now a political refugee.
All lies, Mr. Gvaramia said.
�Okruashvili's statement that he had been pressured while in jail is another lie,� he said.
Mr. Saakashvili has flatly rejected the opposition's demands for his resignation and for early parliamentary elections. He says the protests are the work of �dark forces,� hinting that former imperial master Russia is behind them.
Moscow denies involvement. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described Mr. Saakashvili's comments as a �farce� on Tuesday, adding: �I believe that the Georgian nation deserves a better future, and in this it can have Russia's support.�
Thousands have protested in the Georgian capital Tbilisi since Friday in the biggest challenge to Mr. Saakashvili's authority since he came to power in a peaceful 2003 revolution.
�Hundreds and hundreds of people are ready to go on hunger strike in order to force Saakashvili from power,� opposition leader Kakha Kukava said.
The opposition's main accusations against Mr. Saakashvili are that his government is corrupt and authoritarian. It also says the benefits of economic growth have not been felt by ordinary Georgians. Most critics do not question his pro-Western line.
wow, your the only one concerned about this
| quote: |
| Originally posted by ams.rld wow, your the only one concerned about this |
I used to follow Georgia more closely than I have this week. The country is so pretty, and definitely on my list of places I want to go. I will catch up once I sober up.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Lebezniatnikov I used to follow Georgia more closely than I have this week. The country is so pretty, and definitely on my list of places I want to go. I will catch up once I sober up. |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by ams.rld The country isn't that beautiful....sober up first. |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Lebezniatnikov I apologize, I should have consulted with you, oh wise one, first. |
This is not nearly as bad as the Pakistani state of emergency. The Georgian president has essentially resigned saying early elections will be held in January.
Does anyone read the Wall Street Journal. I've seen in the paper almost everyday an ad from the Georgian government talking about how good Georgia is for investors, and how much growth is happening, etc. etc. Political turmoil though is enough to spook many investors out. Especially with separatist South Ossetia. I think Georgia should just let the Ossetians govern themselves and worry about the economic development of Georgia. Russia should stop pressuring such a small country as Georgia because they'll get what the Chechans have given back to the Russians for suppressing them.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7087209.stm
Georgia opposition ends protests
Georgian soldiers in central Tbilisi - 9/11/2007
Authorities said the state of emergency would be lifted soon
Opposition leaders in Georgia say they have called off their protest campaign against President Mikhail Saakashvili after he announced early elections.
Parliament has voted to approve the 15-day state of emergency ordered by Mr Saakashvili after days of protests that were broken up by police on Wednesday.
Authorities have said the state of emergency will be lifted soon but have not given a date.
Early elections were one of the main demands of protesters.
The vote to approve the state of emergency was passed by all 149 members of the 225-seat parliament who were present. Opposition lawmakers boycotted the vote.
Saakashvili 'gamble'
Mr Saakashvili announced the early elections after widespread shock in Georgia at the ferocity of the police crackdown on protesters in central Tbilisi on Wednesday.
Police used tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets to disperse several thousand protesters.
There were also strong expressions of concern from the president's allies in the West over the declaration of a state of emergency.
CRISIS TIMELINE
Troops in Tbilisi
28 Sep: Thousands rally in Tbilisi against President Saakashvili after arrest of his former ally and ex-defence minister Irakli Okruashvili
2 Nov: About 50,000 attend anti-Saakashvili rally outside parliament, calling for early elections and for Mr Saakashvili to quit
7 Nov: Riot police use force to disperse protesters after six days of opposition rallies, Mr Saakashvili imposes state of emergency
8 Nov: Mr Saakashvili calls early elections for January
9 Nov: Parliament approves state of emergency decree
Mr Saakashvili is taking a gamble by calling early elections but it is one he believes he can win, says the BBC's Matthew Collin in Tbilisi.
In his announcement on Thursday, the president said he would hold a referendum, simultaneously with the presidential vote, on whether to bring those polls forward to the spring.
No opposition figure has emerged who could seriously challenge him in the presidential elections, says our correspondent.
Georgia's opposition accuses the president of corruption and authoritarianism.
They have welcomed the election call as a "victory of the people", and predicted the president would lose.
Mr Saakashvili said on Wednesday that "Russian special services" were behind the unrest in Tbilisi and expelled three Russian diplomats.
Two opposition figures, Shalva Natelashvili and Tsotne Gamsakhurdia, have been accused of spying and plotting a coup in league with the expelled Russian diplomats.
Russia has rejected the claims and expelled three Georgian diplomats.
Georgia's prosecutor general's office said it suspected billionaire Badri Patarkatsishvili of plotting a coup and wanted him for questioning.
Mr Patarkatsishvili finances opposition parties and is the owner of Imedi television, which was taken off the air on Wednesday following the police action against the protesters.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by ams.rld The country isn't that beautiful....sober up first. |
| quote: |
Increasing turmoil in Magnetonium's head |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by HardTranceProd fixed |
with some vodka.| quote: |
| Originally posted by Krypton Are YOU drunk? |
OK now, back to topic. The issue with Georgia is very delicate. Abkhazia and South Ossetia in early 1990s have become technically independent with strong help from Russian military and volunteers, I dont deny it. A neighbour of mine in Russia, a Cossack went to Abkhazia in 1992 and fought as a volunteer against Georgian forces. Its a very delicate issue. Many crimes committed, many people displaced.
For Abkhaz people it was a bittersweet revenge for the 1930s cleansing of Abkhaz people by Stalin's Georgian killing squads (Stalin was Georgian himself) - at that time over one-squarter of Abkhaz people were slaughtered. South Ossetians were forcefully resettled and many of Georgian crimes were unpunished. When Soviet Union disintegrated, these suffering people decided to settle old scores, with help. Georgia was humiliated.
Strangely enough, Russia is campaigning to keep these de-facto independent republics within Georgia. Just like its campaigning bitterly to keep Kosovo as part of Serbia.
But these events have little to do with whats currently going on in Tbilisi. People got tired of Saakashvilli's lies and incompetence. When he came to power, he promised his people to bring back the separatist republics. But after using provocations and failed attacks and sabotage against these republics, he hasnt gained anything. He quadripled the defense/military budget of the country, indicating a possible use of force to reunite Georgia. The truth is, South Ossetia never left Russian Empire. There are no documents that were signed that gave Southern Ossetia to Georgia. It was forcefully ripped off by the communists and divided in two, one of many examples of which the conflicts in Caucasus are brewing. The area was always Russian, and even today most of South Ossetians (and EVEN Abkhazians) have dual Russian citizenship and speak Russian fluently and have it as one of official languages. Thousands of Russians visit Abkhazia as tourists every year, and economic and business is growing between Russia and the separatist republics in Georgia, while Georgian government is pushing Russia away.
I've been to Georgia, but sorry to say it so blatantly, but the most beautiful regions there were in the separatist regions.
Abkhazia, visited by thousands of Russian tourists every year:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Ritsa
Lake Ritsa in Abkhazia
EDIT: Pics are too big, so I am just linking:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/RitsaMounts.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Ritsa1.jpg
Autonomous republic of Adjara in Georgia:
Gallery of Adjara mountains:
http://www.tourismadjara.ge/en/inde...file=mountains/
Adjaria rainforests (Colchian Rainforest):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:..._Rainforest.jpg
I've seen Colchian Rainfrest personally, but oddly enough I cant find any pictures online that are decent of it.
Here's the next Georgian leader for you:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7088734.stm
quote:
Georgian tycoon 'to contest poll'
Exiled tycoon Badri Patarkatsishvili has said he will run in snap presidential elections called to quell an escalating crisis in Georgia.
Mr Patarkatsishvili - whom authorities accuse of plotting a coup - called the government "completely discredited".
His pledge came after government and opposition leaders met in Tbilisi for the first time since police broke up violent protests there on Wednesday.
The severity of the government response to the protests has shocked onlookers.
Despite President Mikhail Saakashvili's pledge to call a presidential poll on 5 January, a state of emergency remains in force banning public demonstrations and independent news broadcasts.
A high-level US state department official is expected to add his voice to European demands to lift the state of emergency when he arrives in Tbilisi on Saturday.
But President Saakashvili - who accuses Russian agents of destabilising the country, a charge which Moscow denies - has said it will remain in force as long as necessary.
Opposition 'surprised'
Mr Patarkatsishvili is an old foe of the government in Tbilisi.
He finances opposition parties and is the owner of Imedi television, which was taken off the air on Wednesday following the tough police crackdown on thousands of protesters.
On Saturday, Mr Patarkatsishvili told Reuters news agency he would participate in January's elections, in a statement emailed from his location in exile, thought to be Israel.
""Mr Saakashvili's regime has completely discredited itself in the eyes of the Georgian people who will never again entrust it its destiny," the statement said.
Mr Patarkatsishvili's pledge reportedly surprised a 10-party opposition coalition which is trying to unite around a single candidate to challenge Mr Saakashvili.
"It's the first I have heard of this," opposition leader Tina Khidasheli told Reuters.
On Friday, Georgia's prosecutor general's office said Mr Patarkatsishvili was under criminal investigation for plotting a coup and he was wanted for questioning.
Pressure continues
Opposition parties have hailed the calling of the election on 5 January as a victory, but commentators caution that it presents them with the significant task of mounting a credible challenge to Mr Saakashvili in the space of a few weeks.
No opposition figure has emerged who could seriously challenge him in the presidential elections, says the BBC's Matthew Collin in Tbilisi.
The leader of the opposition Republican party, Levan Berdzenishvili, told news agency AFP that discussions over candidatures would only begin after the state of emergency is lifted.
The emergency decree was passed by parliament on Friday, but opposition lawmakers boycotted the vote.
The EU envoy to the South Caucasus, Peter Semneby, urged the state of emergency to be lifted "as soon as possible" on Saturday.
His calls are expected to be echoed by Matthew Bryza, US deputy assistant secretary of state, when he arrives on Saturday.
But Mr Saakashvili sounded a defiant note in a speech on Saturday, saying the decree would be lifted "when we deem it necessary".
Opposition leaders met a government representative, parliamentary speaker Nino Burdzhanadze, for preparatory talks ahead of full negotiations set to begin on Saturday evening.
In addition to elections, opposition demands include bringing forward parliamentary elections, the reform of election rules, the release of jailed opposition figures and the resignation of the president.
Its now official - Saakashvilli and his mad dogs want to keep the blockade on opposition and independent media in the country with bans, at least until after the January elections. The popular independent Imedi TV and its property has been placed under arrest and according to the reports will not be allowed to air on television until summer 2008. Currently only the government television station and its channels are on air.
http://www.indexonline.org/en/news/...-protests.shtml
quote:
Journalists in Georgia have felt the heat during recent upheaval in the former soviet state. Here, one reporter tells of the conditions he and his colleagues have faced in recent days
Earlier this week, Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili decreed a state of emergency after the violent dispersal of anti-government protests, ordering the shutdown of independent media outlets and deploying troops throughout the capital.
While the government�s crackdown succeeded in restoring order in a country still recovering from years of civil conflict, the ruling administration�s reputation for liberal reform has been irreparably damaged, as it enforces emergency rule and a news blackout at the same time a snap election campaign gets underway.
The anti-government rallies, organized by a tenuous coalition of ten political opposition parties, began 2 November with tens of thousands of Georgians calling for earlier parliamentary elections. They soon progressed to angry but peaceful demands for Saakashvili�s resignation.
The protests unraveled into bloody street battles across the capital�s center on 7 November, as riot police moved in to break up the crowds with tear gas, rubber bullets and batons.
The president declared a state of emergency that evening, suspending the rights to assemble, strike and receive and disseminate information.
The government ordered television and radio stations, then airing live coverage of the rally and its breakup, to stop their news broadcasts.
The next day, the streets were calm but the air tense as hundreds of men in army fatigues kept watch in central Tbilisi.
Only the state-owned television station was broadcasting news updates, interspersed with content including combat footage from one of Georgia�s secessionist conflicts.
Other channels showed soap operas and movies, while Tbilisi residents found that BBC, CNN and Russian news broadcasts were unavailable on terrestrial cable.
Newspapers, not widely read, are still free to print. At least one of the bigger newspapers, however, temporarily closed down shop in an apparent precautionary measure.
Journalists reported being targeted in the crackdown on 7 November. When clashes first broke out between riot police and protestors that morning, a number of reporters and photographers suffered minor injuries.
Initially, police tried to confiscate or destroy camera equipment. During the afternoon�s relative lull, journalists were able to operate freely as riot police squared off with protestors on the city�s main avenue.
But with the violence continuing in Tbilisi, broadcast live and escalating, police pulled over a minibus full of local journalists heading to a constitutional law conference in the town of Batumi.
After asking the driver for his documents, the police let the minibus continue on�but not before finding out the passengers were journalists.
Fifteen minutes later, another set of police officers stopped them again. This time, they arrested the driver for unpaid fines, a charge he is contesting. The journalists were threatened with arrest after photographing the incident, then left on the side of the road as police confiscated the minibus.
The reporter who relayed the incident is convinced police stopped them because they were journalists. A student demonstration in Batumi, in reaction to the ongoing events in Tbilisi, was planned for later that day. She speculates police wanted to limit coverage of that demonstration, which was eventually broken up violently by spetznatz, the black ski-masked special forces troops.
There were reports of physical violence against journalists that evening, when the most aggressive dispersal of protestors brought an end to the rallies.
One reporter and his crew were caught between advancing columns of riot police. Two were injured by rubber bullets before being chased down a road by police officers. The reporter insists they saved their heads and their equipment only with the aid of a passing motorist.
And as riot police battled protestors among the churches and bridges of central Tbilisi, presenters at Imedi TV announced that spetznatz were storming their studio. They sat in tense silence for 20 seconds before the broadcast went dead.
The Imedi media group, viewed as unfriendly towards the government, was founded by Georgian billionaire Badri Patarkatsishvili. He ran the network until last week, when he handed over his controlling stake to Rupert Murdoch�s News Corp. He gave up control of the station, Patarkatsishvili said, so he could finance the opposition�s political campaign and still maintain the station�s objectivity.
Patarkatsishvili is now being charged with conspiracy to overthrow the government.
In an interview with BBC World Service, Imedi TV chief F Lewis Robertson said around two hundred special forces officers rushed into the television studio that evening without warning. They completely destroyed the control room equipment, he said, injuring several journalists and engineers with rubber bullets and batons.
The station�s destruction is especially concerning in light of Saakashvili�s decision to hold a snap presidential election on 5 January, announced in an apparent effort to quell the capital�s unrest and regain lost legitimacy with voters.
�I have decided to put your trust and my mandate to the test,� he told Georgians in a live address, carried by the state-owned broadcaster on 8 November.
There will also be a non-binding referendum on whether parliamentary elections should be moved forward.
Imedi TV�s prime competitor, Rustavi 2, is considered pro-government. Its anonymous ownership is rumored to be tied to a top administration official.
Rustavi 2 remains on-air, with a purely entertainment format. Only Imedi TV and a smaller broadcaster, Kavkasia, were shut down completely.
With the country beginning a two-month presidential campaign, the political opposition fear they will be hamstringed by the continuing media blackout and the loss of Imedi TV.
Speaking with AP in an article published 8 November, News Corp owner Rupert Murdoch suggested it could be at least three months before Imedi TV resumes full operations�well past the election date.
Before this crisis, Georgian journalists enjoyed more freedom than colleagues in neighboring countries.
Under ex-president Eduard Shevardnadze, ousted in the Western-supported and bloodless 2003 Rose Revolution which brought Saakashvili to power, news media were vibrant, diverse and often heavily critical of the government.
Media diversity dropped after the Rose revolution, in part because many newspapers belonged to the slew of small political parties which faded as Saakashvili�s National Movement won overwhelming political�and popular�dominance.
Any censorship since the Rose revolution was typically self-imposed. In a tiny, closely networked country with a meager advertising industry, few media operators can afford to upset powerful figures they may need to do business with the next day.
Balanced and objective reporting, meanwhile, is a relatively new phenomenon here. Print articles in particular are routinely spiced with the reporter�s �analysis� of the situation, often mixing hearsay and opinion in a questionable cocktail.
With a major media network out for the count and newspapers sparsely read, Georgian voters will have difficulty finding information they trust even after the state of emergency is lifted.
As this report was being written, Georgia�s parliament voted to back a fifteen-day national emergency rule. Unless Saakashvili decrees otherwise, the media blackout will continue as he reruns for the presidency in hopes of repairing his tattered mandate.
LMAO!!!! 
Rupert Murdoch was involved in Russian-backed coup attempt against a very democratic Georgian government!
http://www.variety.com/article/VR11...egoryid=14&cs=1
quote:
Imedi TV off the air
News Corp. network has license suspended
Georgia has suspended the license and confiscated transmission equipment of Rupert Murdoch�s Imedi TV channel Wednesday.
Mikheil Saakashvili, president of the troubled Caucasus nation, declared a 15-day state of emergency in the country Nov. 7, putting all independent media off the air, with only state-owned broadcasters retaining access to transmission facilities. Rebroadcasts of Russian channels were also stopped.
Nino Burdzhanadze, speaker of the country�s parliament, said Wednesday that the state of emergency would be lifted early, effective Friday.
But a court order issued Wednesday looks likely to keep Imedi off the air for the foreseeable future -- severely compromising the country�s alleged commitment to democracy in the broadcasting sphere.
Georgian authorities accused the station of being involved in Russian-backed protests in Tbilisi, Georgia�s capital, where people were dispersed with water cannon and tear gas Nov. 7.
Imedi had aired hospital footage of victims of the day�s violence. In previous days, it had also broadcast interviews with former defense minister Irakly Okruashvili, now in exile in Germany and a major opponent of Saakashvili.
Martin Pompadur, chairman of News Corp. Europe, denied that Imedi was �somehow involved� with Patarkatsishvili in Russia-backed street demonstrations. He added that the channel would appeal the decision through the Georgian courts.
mag, wouldn't it be easier for Russia to invade than just stand by?
Go for it Russia! Go!
| quote: |
| Originally posted by ams.rld mag, wouldn't it be easier for Russia to invade than just stand by? Go for it Russia! Go! |
What's with the "Emergency Rule" syndrome sweeping Eurasia? Hope this little sickness doesn't spread!!!!!!!!!!!
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