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Mamuka Katsitadze, MP from the New Conservative Party, said at a press conference that unless the acting electoral legislation is changed, the forthcoming elections will "bury democracy in Georgia once and for all."
Katsitadze called an "example of impertinence" President Saakashvili´s statement that naming the date for elections is his prerogative and will do so whenever he wishes to.
As to the Tbilisi mayor´s [Gigi Ugulava] "quip" that "elections are like Doomsday and no one knows when it occurs," Katsitadze said, "truly, this will be like a Doomsday for the authorities along with it´s the Deluge."
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Mamuka Katsitadze MP castigates President Saakashvili for not naming the date for local elections
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Mamuka Katsitadze, MP from the New Conservative Party, said at a press conference that unless the acting electoral legislation is changed, the forthcoming elections will "bury democracy in Georgia once and for all."
Katsitadze called an "example of impertinence" President Saakashvili´s statement that naming the date for elections is his prerogative and will do so whenever he wishes to.
As to the Tbilisi mayor´s [Gigi Ugulava] "quip" that "elections are like Doomsday and no one knows when it occurs," Katsitadze said, "truly, this will be like a Doomsday for the authorities along with it´s the Deluge."
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NGO "Georgia for NATO" & New Rights Party joint press conference
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On June 21, 2005, NGO "Geogia for NATO" representative Teona Akubardia, and New Rights (Conservative) Party representative, Colonel George Tavdgiridze, held a joint press conference regarding the draft-law discussed at the Defense and Security Committee of the Parliament on June 12, 2006. The draft is related to the taxes the conscripts will have to pay for delay of the military service. According to the draft the tax amount will rise from 200 GEL to 2000 GEL for 18-month delay. With that, conscript may use this clause only twice, at least for the age of 25.
Akubardia and Tavdgiridze presented questions at the press conference and demanded answers from the authorities.
1. If the high-level government officials say that the army will shift to contract-based, professional service, then why such a big growth of conscripts and what kind of army are we building?
2. Given the difficult social conditions in the country, can an avarage Georgian family pay the 2000 GEL tax and will this factor not cause social inequality?
3. And last but not least, if the draft-law is approved, will this not bring the corrupt system back again? For such a high tax amount will give officials an incentive to enter a corrupt deal with the conscript.
With the above-said in mind, the presentators deem it reasonlable that the tax amount and the conscription rule stays unchanged or is totally abolished. And as to conscription procedure, this should be carried out according to the NATO member-states standards and experiences.
NGO Georgia For NATO
Address: Tbilisi, 0105, Machabeli 8,
Phone: +995 32 92 25 03
Fax: +995 32 92 39 63 |
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David Gamkrelidze reacts to Saakashvili-Putin meeting
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On 14 June, the leader of the New Conservative Party (NCP) David Gamkrelidze commented on the recent meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Georgian counterpart Mikheil Saakashvili.
Gamkrelidze said that the meeting would not produce any results and Russia only carried out its duty prior to the forthcoming G8 Summit.
"I think the relations between Russia and Georgia will get even tenser after the G8 meeting. Putin´s appearance at the meeting three hours late, cannot be considered as a sign of goodwill in any way." Gamkrelidze said.
Russia, at the meeting, put a significant emphasis on its economic dominance.
Gamkrelidze believes that it is impossible to return the Georgian products to the Russian market through formal meetings. He also said that the meeting was unsuccessful due to President Saakashvili’s patriotic speech. "It is good to say that no one will ever take away even one inch of our land, but it was all political one-upmanship. This patriotic speech was one of the factors for the failure of the meeting," Gamkrelidze said. |
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Pikria Chikradze MP reacts to Iralki Alasania´s appointment as Georgia´s Ambassador to UN
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Pikria Chikradze MP commented on the recent appointment of Irakli Alasania as Georgian Ambassador to UN.
Chikradze said Alasania´s positive activity had alarmed many and that is why he was shifted to a less promising position.
"There were recommendations coming from abroad to appoint Alasania as defense minister or give him some other important post. Also, it was during Alasania´s period that there were quite good steps taken with regard to the settlement of the Abkhaz conflict. The Abkhaz trusted his word. With Alasania gone, the dialogue with Abkhazia has been disrupted yet again," Chikradze explained. |
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Seven opposition parties of Georgia relay jointly undersigned Statement to the EU member-state ambassadors to Georgia
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As the leader of the Right (Conservative) Opposition David Gamkrelidze said the Statement on the status of the electoral system undersigned by the New Conservative (Rights) Party, Republican Party, Conservative Party, Industrialists, Labor Party, Freedom Party and the Public Forum has been relayed to the ambassadors of the member-states of the European Union.
As the party representatives said, the ambassadors of the EU member-states had focused mainly on the judicial system, property rights, human rights and forthcoming local elections in Georgia.
The opposition also shared with the ambassadors the critical attitude of the authorities on their boycott. The opposition members said that the EU member-state ambassadors "had certain doubts with regard to Human Rights violations in Georgia." The opposition confirmed these kinds of Human Rights violations at the meeting.
Pikria Chikradze MP said, "we presented to the ambassadors a document undersigned by seven opposition parties of Georgia. This document was also given to other representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited in the country. The statement gives very clear proposals we as the opposition have. Only if these proposals are taken into account by the authorities does our participation in the coming elections have any sense," Chikradze said.
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Tbilisi City Council opposition groups boycott sittings
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On June 9, 2006 the opposition groups of the Tbilisi City Council - New Rights (Conservatives), Democratic Front, Industrialists and Labors - declared boycott to the Presidential Majority group of the council and vowed not to attend council sittings.
The united opposition says that their decision was triggered by City Mayor´s, who is appointed by the President, attempts to fully disregard and discredit the elected City Council.
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State Minister of Conflict Settlement meets with NCP MP´s
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On 6 June 2006, the State Minister of Conflict Settlement George Khaindrava met with the MP´s of the New Rights (Conservative) Party.
The meeting discussed the current situation in the conflict zones of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as well as the Russian-Georgian relations.
"We have to determine as to where we are right and where not, where we have to compromise in the future and where not. Tskhinvali is a test polygon where we will be able to hold negotiations with Russia," Minister Khaindrava said.
As to the ongoing Georgian-Russian talks regarding the de-facto Abkhazian republic, the minister said that there is every pre-condition for bettering the bilateral relations with Russia.
The leader of the NCP David Gamkrelidze spoke about the recent allegations of detentions and beatings of the Georgian citizens of Ossetian origin.
"It is obvious that the Georgian local authorities planned this provocation, which calls for a question: Do they carry out the orders of the Russian special services?" the NCP leader pointed out.
As regards the issue of autonomy, Gamkrelidze believes that the Ossetian people should have their cultural autonomy. The exchange of ambassadors between Tskhinvali and Sukhumi, he said, "is merely playing state affairs and nothing else."
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