Press Digest 18.11.2014
Chances for getting recommendation on visa-free travel with the EU still exist; however, before making final decision, Europe will measure everything extremely carefully
City Park has bought City Hall High officials
Kakha Kukava: Coalition members have told me they plotted against Alasania
***
Chances for getting recommendation on visa-free travel with the EU still exist; however, before making final decision, Europe will measure everything extremely carefully
"We have not followed through with our job yet and cannot really predict the consequences of this process; however, as our analytical experts maintain a very small chance of getting the recommendation on visa-free travel on the Riga Summit shines on us at this point in time. In their opinion, addressing their requirements will take a lot of time. Although the EU has welcomed Georgia’s achievements in the execution of the first phase of the visa-liberalization action plan. The EU has also expressed complete readiness to assist Georgia in successfully accomplishing the next phase of the action plan. For this purpose, the first EU mission will visit Georgia on Nov. 24. According to Gharibashvili, within the Association Agreement, “Personal Data Protection” law, the migration strategy as well as the action plan and the law on “Undermining all forms of Discrimination” has already been passed,” reports the Rezonansi gazette.
“Yesterday, at the meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, the Premier expressed his hope that the Alliance will remain committed to its open-door policy and will provide Georgia with due support and assistance. “We will keep pursuing our chosen path and will actively use all tools in our hands to make progress on our path to the EU. Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations are in the Georgian people’s bones, and we will quadruple our efforts to achieve this goal. We do hope that the Alliance will continue its open-door policy and help us in moving forward with our plans to integrate ourselves with the EU,” announced the Georgian Prime Minister at the conference in Brussels.
“As Manager of the Euro-integration program, Vano Tchkikvadze states, accomplishing the agreement execution phase will takes a long time and we might even fail to do this before the Riga Summit. “The visa-liberalization action plan was granted to Georgia on the 25th February of 2013. The visa-liberalization action plan involves two phases: execution and legislative phase including 4 main blocs linked to the relative normative acts. “As we have already pointed out, we have successfully completed this phase of the visa liberalization Action Plan (VLAP) that is we have enacted all the laws, including the anti-discrimination law that was required from us. Thus, the first phase requirements have already been met and now we can move onto the second phase that is the execution phase,” stated Tchkhikvadze and added the chance of getting a recommendation on visa-free travel with the EU is rather low at this point,” says the article.
“Since this phase is expected to take much more time for us, we stand an immensely small chance of getting the recommendation at the Riga Summit. As experience shows, we have succeeded in passing reasonable laws in our country; however, unfortunately, we have always found it difficult to observe these laws. Obviously this is an extremely serious issue and, on top of that, no one knows whether or not relative political will pushing the EU to offer visa-free travel to Georgia will surface at the summit. Getting this long-cherished recommendation is not obviously a peace of cake but chances for receiving it still exist,” asserts Mr. Tchkhikvadze.
City Park has bought City Hall High officials
"Before being elected as Mayor, Davit Narmania repeatedly promised us that he would deal with the City Park issue by exposing the company’s corrupt activity. However, he has failed to deliver on this promise and corruption has remained rampant there. Gigi Ugulava cooperated with the City Park extremely successfully since, as it appears, they paid him a fulsome tribute for this cooperation. Mr. Narmania must also have gotten some pecuniary benefits from them and, in the wake of this, has forgotten his promise. In this way, the City Park has successfully continued privatizing territories in the city and has used them for its parking lots,” states Head of the Anti-Corruption Union, Giorgi Burjanadze in his interview with the Alia gazette.
“Those presiding over the City Hall are stubbornly keeping silent. Everyone is at their ease doing nothing to bring about some positive changes in our people’s lives. All the requests from the people are falling on deaf ears. Davit Narmania is sadly mistaken if he thinks that by entering the office and by allowing his people to take a seat near him he has dealt with the problem. On the contrary, all issues have remained unsettled as the present top officials have also plunged headlong into corruption as easily as their predecessors,” contends Mr. Burjanadze.
“From whom have our high officials taken a bribe? Obviously, we have given them nothing as our financiers are on the rocks. Thus, City Park has bought them as they have turned out to be for sale. Is this so difficult to guess? Our top officials have simply been bought and all the problems with which the city has always faced have remained unsettled,” alleges the respondent.
“Thus, once again I repeat, even under the present government, our territories are being alienated extremely easily despite the fact that while in the minority, the acting authorities bellowed across the country that if they managed to sweep enough votes to come to power, they would have resolved all our problems,” states Mr. Burjanadze.
“I stress the officials of the City Council as well as those of the City Hall are actively making money and on top of that they require fringe benefits from us… Why don’t these shameless people remember that the City Park has swallowed our territories? They’d better come round and use discretion while handling the problems of our people; otherwise, they will be toppled down soon enough. They will not manage to get off scot free. By repeatedly deluding their own people, they are obviously digging their own grave…” concludes the respondent.
Kakha Kukava: Coalition members have told me they plotted against Alasania
“There is not even a shadow of doubt that Irakli Alasania is a victim of political persecution. Each and every man alleging that corruption was rife in the Defense Ministry is nothing more than a disgraceful hoodlum. I have a great deal of friends in the Georgian Dream Coalition and I can say for certain that six month earlier to Alasania’s ouster, everyone knew that they were plotting against the former defense minister and if he refused to voluntarily bow out from his post, legal proceedings would have undoubtedly been instituted against him,” maintains leader of “Free Georgia,” Kakha Kukava.
“I don’t really think that the rally held by the Nationals should be given great importance or attention. I think everyone knows perfectly well that this party has its own staunch adherents. Nevertheless, it’s also a fact that they need more of them. Actually, the National Movement is vying for the second place on our political stage and is doing everything in its power to achieve this goal. And it’s obvious, that at this rally, only their supporters stood by them,” claims the respondent.
"However, today a rather strong force led by Alasania has appeared on the political scene and the Nationals will find it extremely difficult to maintain their status of the key opposition force. Thus, they are expected to be permanently kept on their toes by Alasania’s party… As for Irakli Alasania, we cannot doubt that he has been subjected to political persecution, and everyone alleging the opposite is trying to delude the public,” declares the respondent.
“I have obtained this information from the Georgian Dream members and giving out extra details regarding this issue will not be morally right. However, one thing I can say is – the present developments are very similar to those of 2007, when the Nationals brought the case against the then Defense Minister, Irakli Okruashvili. And the present authorities are also planning to do the same; all this obviously strongly indicates that their move to oust Alasania is politically motivated,” asserts Mr. Kukava.
"The case is classified and the Prosecutor’s Office has issued very few details regarding it. However, Bidzian Ivanishvili has passed on rather interesting information in terms of this matter to our public. Some think that Bidzina Ivanishvili’s eagerness to meddle in the country’s affairs is something absolutely normal. However, we are simply obliged to make it clear which model of rule we long to have – Asian (when unofficial figures interfere in the country’s domestic affairs) or European model. As you know, in Europe the Asian model of ruling is simply something totally unacceptable,” claims the respondent.
To the question whether anything will be changed in our political scene after the Free Democrats’ decision to abandon the Coalition Mr. Kukava responds:
"This directly points to the fact that the Coalition is being disintegrated gradually. The Dream Government has already exhausted its life energy and is expected to cease to exist soon.
