Web Portal on Human Rights in Georgia

Officials from the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, Alverd Chankseliani and Khatuna Akhalaia, verbally and physically insulted two journalists, Madona Batiashvili and Gela Mtivlishvili of the Kakheti Information Centre. The unfortunate incident took place on July 29, 2010 at 5 PM, in the building of the Ministry, the Orhus Center. The exchange was colorful in its wording, “you’re sick and need treatment … “what an idiot! I should just tear you to threads, you up,’’ – threatened the Ministry officials.
 

The Russian media has seized upon a raunchy photograph – of the Georgian Economy Minister posing in a nightclub – to release a fresh torrent of criticism at President Mikheil Saakashvili for appointing "strippers" to his cabinet.

Georgia needs “a total defense” wherein “each village should be able to defend itself”, as Russia has not dropped its plans to occupy entire country, President Saakashvili said on July 28.
 

Take this article out... don’t attack me at all, or I’ll attack you...’’ wrote Otar Kovziridze in an email to the journalist, Ilia Martkopishvili. Otar Kovziridze is an activist for the Nationalist Party and works at the Dedoplistskaro municipality government. Kovziridze assures that his words don’t include any form of threatening. Though, he can’t explain what gives him right to demand the cancellation of material posted on the journalist’s blog.

The listener of the radio Liberty knows that at the end of June an authoritative international organization Freedom House published the annual report called “transitional states” that analyses the democratization degree of Eurasian countries.

“A person and particularly teacher shall not live in permanent fear. It is the only reason why I took part in the exams. It is shameful when a teacher (after such a tense school year) has to take exams instead creating better working conditions for them; they cannot even explain to us why we need the exams because they dismiss teachers from schools despite all our efforts,” a teacher from Kutaisi stated after leaving the examination center on July 22. Most of the local teachers did not attend the exam.

“The situation got hopeless after Saakashvili launched the war in August of 2008,” regretted the residents of Dali Valley. Before the occupation, the government of Georgia called Upper Abkhazia to this territory. The local people (Svani) think term – Dali Valley – is more proper name for their region. The name of Kodori is associated with the Kodori River which flows in the Dali Valley.

The IDPs evicted from the former publishing house “Samshoblo” (homeland) are planning to continue the protest rallies. They are requesting the provision with the residence places. There are approximately 300 families of IDPs in the building. According to Conservative Party member, Lasha Chkhartishvili, only several families of IDPs took the offering of the Ministry of Refugees and Accommodation – accommodation in Potskho and Oreli. The rest are temporarily residing in the places of their relatives.

 

The head of the non-governmental organization Iber-Rioni, Maia Chigoeva is currently an emigrant in Cadana, but, as she states with the Human Rights Center, she doesn’t want to openly talk about her emigrant experience to avoid the undesirable interpretations. One thing is clear – like Gocha Dzasokhov, Leri Khabelov and Arsen Kasabiev, Maia Tsaboshvili-Chigoevi could not live in “revolutionary Georgia.”

For a period two weeks the villages of the Gori district, Khidistavi, Uflistsikhe , Kvakhvreli and Doesi were blocked from using an irrigation system from the water company ,,Mtkvari-em”.  The head of  ,,Mtkvari-em” says that in this period there was no- water.

Kakliskure, the natural peninsula in the Dedoplistkaro district is on the edge of catastrophe. The river might alter the connecting land which will result in leaving 180 hectares of land in Azerbaijanian territory. 

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner came to Georgia on July 14 with a simple message: Put the emphasis on civil society to put an end to conflicts with the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

In 2010, Canadian investor William James Simpson purchased a land area in the town of Mestia from Giorgi Svanidze, along with a ruined building of the former tourist complex “Ushba,” where he planned to construct a hotel. The land purchase agreement was legal and was registered in the Georgian National Agency of Public Registry (Svanidze had been an owner of this land for several years). William Simpson’s official, notarially certified representative in Georgia was David Kukhilava, resident of the town of Jvari.

15 families, whose shelter belongs to the Patriarchate, might remain homeless. The families live in poor social conditions. Among them are 30 children; some of them are infants. The Patriarchate intends to open a branch of the Georgian Institute after St. Andira in the building. The residents of the building state they have nowhere to go. They were warned to leave the space before July 12. Otherwise, they will be evicted under force. None of the residents have signed the protocol to leave the building.

The members of the Rustavi city council voted for a resolution of the council, for the creation of commissions and budget amendments without having read the documents. Council members from the opposition parties  stated about it at a July 2 session.