Public Gathering Declares Constitutional Changes "Untrustworthy"

სახალხო კრებამ საკონსტიტუციო ცვლილებებს უნდობლობა გამოუცხადა

Gathered before the Parliament building, the Public Gathering declared the October 2010 constitutional changes "untrustworthy."

The motion, which actor Gogi Kavtaradze announced before the crowd, was passed by the delegates unanimously. According to Gogi Kavtaradze, the people have rejected the October 2010 constitutional changes.

In his words, these changes do not reflect the interests of the people and that these changes were adopted without the participation of the people.

Leaders of the "National Forum" and the "Conservatives" Already Before Parliament

"ეროვნული ფორუმისა" და "კონსერვატორების" ლიდერები უკვე პარლამენტის წინ არიან

Opposition party leaders have already begun to gather before the Parliament building. Participants in the Public Gathering [also translated "Public Assembly"] have been joined by Zviad Dzidziguri, leader of the Conservative Party, and members of his party, and have also been joined by leaders of the "National Forum" and other political activists. The party which initiated the gathering expects other parties to join.

Everything is ready for the official start of the Public Gathering in front of Parliament. The flow of people is increasing little by little. Territory stretching from the Student-Youth Palace to the First Public School is overflowing with people.

Meanwhile, the registration of delegates continues and already several thousand delegates have been registered.

Rustaveli Avenue Shut Down

რუსთაველის გამზირი გადაიკეტა

Rustaveli Avenue has been shut down. The enormous influx of people from West Georgia has shut down the main avenue in Tbilisi. In the last few minutes, representatives from Khelvachauria, Khulo, Shuakhevi, Kedi, and all three of Guria's regions have joined the People's Gathering (or "Public Assembly") on Rustaveli Avenue and in doing so, have shut down traffic on Rustaveli.

According to the People's Gathering's initiator, Irakli Batiashvili, they are readying themselves for a drawn-out political battle and that they do not intend to retreat.

"What this public gathering will lead to depends on the people," noted Batiashvili.

The official start time for the demonstration is at 15:00 in front of the Parliament building.

Territory stretching from the Student-Youth Palace to the First Public School is packed with protesters.

Beginning November 9, Only Those Carrying "Form 9" Will be Allowed Entrance into Akhalgori

8 ნოემბრიდან ახალგორის ოკუპირებულ რაიონში შესვლა მხოლოდ ე.წ “ფორმა ცხრით” იქნება შესაძლებელი

Expressnews.ge

Beginning November 9, only those carrying "Form 9" will be allowed to enter the occupied region of Akhalgori. The document is written in Russian and indicates the personal identification number issued to citizens of the Tskhinvali region [i.e., South Ossetia--RE].

The document will be used until the end of they year. Beginning January, 2011, so-called Ossetian passports will be issued.

The separatists require that in exchange for receiving "Form 9," recipients will be required to renounce their Georgian citizenship and surrender their Georgian identity cards.

No one will be allowed into the region without proper documentation. Meanwhile, the separatists are planning to change the name of Akhalgori to Leningori.

Sacrifices for Parliament

21/12/09--Resonance Daily
Sacrifices for Parliament
Akaki Bobokhidze: “No one will stand in the way of the construction of the parliament building in Kutaisi”

By: Giorgi Putkaradze

As a result of the sacrifices made by mother and daughter, Eka Tsutskhvashvili and young Nino Jincharadze, up to ten people have been arrested, the governor of Imereti [of which Kutaisi is the capital] has been sacked and the president is horrified; however one thing will remain unchanged: the dismantling of the victory memorial and the construction of the parliament building in Kutaisi.

Two days ago, the deceased girl’s father, Soso Jincharadze, arrived at the scene of the tragedy pleading desperately, “They killed my child. What can help me?” Just as Soso’s child cannot be returned, neither will the fact that “no one will stand in the way of the construction of the parliament building in Kutaisi” be changed. Those were the words of parliamentary majority member Akaki Bobkhidze, one of the chief proponents of relocating Parliament to Kutaisi, who is paying close attention to accusations coming from the public in the wake of the tragedy.

On December 19, at approximately 16:00, Merab Berdzenishvili’s [WWII] victory monument, located in the residential area surrounding the auto-factory, was demolished. Minutes later, word spread throughout the city that the demolition had claimed a victim. It was later learned that young Nino Jincharadze died at the scene and that her mother, Eka Tsutskhvashvili, died at the hospital.

Several other residents near the memorial were wounded and were treated at the scene by emergency crews.

But the dismantling of the memorial began on December 12. The site of the new parliamentary building was marked out, and, as the news media would later learn from the workers on site, the date of the demolition was to be December 21, the president’s birthday. But supposedly due to the plans of political and non-governmental organizations to construct a human chain around the memorial, the dismantling process was hastened.

According to “The New Gazette” [„ახალი გაზეთი“], law-enforcement officers appeared in the residential area surrounding the auto-factory on December 19 at around 14:00. They warned residents in the area that they needed to evacuate their homes immediately. At 16:00, SakPetkMretsvi, LLC, demolished the 27 meter-high concrete structure (what was left of the “victory monument” after a week of dismantling). The force of the explosion sent chunks of concrete flying some hundreds of meters in the direction of the residential area.

“When they began the evacuations, they removed us from our apartments saying, ‘the demolition is going to happen and you need to get out in the streets.’ We moved away from the apartments and ran towards the ‘barracks.’ At that moment, the explosion occurred. Those poor folks who were in the courtyard by the apartment building—that’s where the girl was standing when the rock hit her in the head and killed her. Is our government happy now? They don’t care, their kids didn’t die! This is simply destruction for destruction’s sake—what trouble did the monument ever cause?” said several eyewitnesses to the newspaper.

“I was coming in from the city and the police wouldn’t let me go to my home. I wanted to pick up a few things. At that moment, the explosion occurred and when I arrived at the scene of bloodied people on the ground I discovered that my husband was among them,” said the wife of Irakli Jincharadze who was taken to the hospital.

Emergency crews first transported the wounded to the auto-factory’s hospital, and only later were they taken to the West Georgian National Center of Interventional Medicine. Nino Jincharadze would have been taken to the children’s hospital but it was too late to save her.

Local journalists quote eyewitnesses as saying that following the explosion, they were asked by police officers to leave the area with all haste as a second explosion was imminent. According to eyewitnesses, the police wanted to empty the area so that they could hide the child’s body.

[Second half of translation to come]

Bitsadze says survived an assasination attempt by Saakashvili, "one more minute and it would have turned out very badly"

ბიწაძე ამბობს, რომ სააკაშვილის ბრძანებით დაგეგმილ თავდასხმას გადაურჩა "წუთიც და იქ ძალიან ცუდი ფაქტი მოხდებოდა"

From Georgian daily "Rezonansi," by Tamta Karchava

Badri Bitsadze [former Chief of Border Police and husband of opposition leader Nino Burjanadze] accuses the government authorities for making an attempt on his life. According to Bitsadze, on October 27, after leaving TV company "Maestro," his car was followed by three black SUVs. The cars stopped by Vakhushti Bridge and were preparing to stage an incident, according to Bitsadze, when he made the decision to return to "Maestro." Bitsadze was a guest on "Cell #5" [an opposition TV talk show starring Giorgi Gachechiladze, famous musician and brother of opposition leader Levan Gachechiladze, who has sworn to stay in his "cell" while Saakashvili remains president of Georgia]. The main topic of discussion concerned the government's hand in the bombing of Tskhinavli and the current situation in Pankisi Gorge.

Badri Bitsadze: At 12:30, I left TV company "Maestro." The moment I set foot out of theat studio, three black SUVs began to tail me. They tried to stage an incident at the start of Vakhushti Bridge.

Rezonanshi: Why do you think they were tailing you?

BB: One more minute and it would have turned out very badly. Two cars were in front of us, one in back, but we knew something was up and we turned around. The cars scattered--that's always a sure sign. I know Saakashvili all too well and most likely, after hearing what I had to say that night, he issued an order for me to be punished.

R: What was it that you said that angered the authorities?

BB: I said the truth, about what I know, and what I have seen with my own eyes. I talked about Tskhinvali and also Pankisi. I talked about the possibility of terrorists crossing into the Pankisi Gorge. As for Tskhinvali, I said that the war could have been avoided if Saakashvili weren't president, and I know that this angered him. I said that Saakashvili was preparing for this war.

R: Did you confront them?

BB: No.

R: Why not?

BB: Because there were two police patrols lying in ambush and they were keeping an eye on the scene. They know that I have the right to carry a gun and that I'm a more than qualified to handle it. That's why they want to shoot me. For them, the life of a person is nothing. They would kill one of their hired men and then blame it on me. That's what they wanted to do this time, but it didn't work out. The two cars which were driving in front of me blocked the bridge, the third was behind me. At that moment, I made the decision not to continue and turned around and headed back to the TV studio. It seems that they became confused. It took them a long time to decide what to do. . They came back for me, but by then I was already in the TV studio.

R: When you got back to the TV studio, they came back for you?

BB: Yes. They came up to the TV studio, but there were people waiting for them. They realized that it wasn't going to work out and they left. I want to tell these people that it would be best for them to forget about shadowing me.

R: Approximately how many people were in the car?

BB: It had tinted windows and I couldn't see if they were masked or not. In the two cars in front, there were four people in each. I don't know how many people were in the car behind me. I'm certain that they would have been armed. I know Saakashvili's character, and while he was watching the broadcast, I know that he gave the order.

R: What order did he give?

BB: An order for my punishment, of course.

One hundred meters from Trinity Cathedral

[The following is my incomplete translation of the most recent cover article from Asaval-Dasavali. It concerns the recent scandal involving disparaging comments made about Georgian Patriarch Ilia II. The title "One hundred meters from Trinity [Sameba] Cathedral" is a reference to the Presidential Palace located near the Patriarch's primary place of worship. The beginning of this article promises an interesting read... The rest of the translation will come in pieces throughout the week--check back often!--Ryan]

სამების ტაძრიდან ას მეტრში

It’s 11:30 at night in the Avlabari District. Mikheil Saakashvili is pacing back and forth in his office. Both anger and despair are written across his face, and every once in a while he casts a hopeless glance towards his two advisers, Nodar Grigalashvili and Van Bayburt, who are fidgeting in their leather armchairs and casting furtive looks at Saakashvili’s desk. A rather large ashtray sits between them as does a television remote, and like two birds afraid that they will be struck by either object, neither dares to fly away from the leader.

Each time the restless Saakashvili nears his desk, Grigalashvili and Baiburt feel death’s grip tightening, thinking that now’s the moment that he’s going to make a fist or seize the ashtray or remote and come after us. True, these two have nothing to do with Saakashvili’s current rage, but when Saakashvili is angry, does he distinguish the guilty from the innocent?

Only when Saakashvili storms out of his office into his sitting room and stands directly beneath the large chandelier do Nodar and Van breathe a sigh of relief. The advisers’ chests loosen a bit. We saved the ashtray, they think to themselves.

“Did you hear what he said? Oh, why did Ilia II do this to me?! As if the Tagliavini report weren’t enough, now I’ve got to deal with this? Who is this guy, who is Ilia II…? I’ll see to it that he’s put into his place. I must, I must! What am I going on about! I won’t have him…” So distressed is Saakashvili that even his speech fails him.

“What are we going to do now? His words could be serious trouble. The people will pay close attention to what he says, for we all know how these people wait eagerly for each and every one of his words!” says Nodar Grigalashvili, avoiding the eyes of his boss.

“Van, what do you say? What do you think?” Saakashvili asks Bayburt. “How do we silence this man… how do we cover up what he said? How do we make sure that they don’t heed his comments and are instead distracted by something else?”

“What do I know, Misha, sir, what do I know? This man is the Patriarch, not just some nobody, Misha, sir. As for what we should do with him, what do I know?! He’s the Patriarch. He has a lot of authority, and should anything arise, the people will protect him, they will stand by his side! Misha, sir, what should I tell you!” says Bayburt, who also looks away from Saakashvili. He is staring at Nodar’s shoes. On one shoe, the presidential adviser has a loose strap; the other is fine—the strap has broken off entirely and has been replaced by a cord.

The scene is a comic one, but it is no time to laugh when the boss is angry.

“Nodar, what do you say? What should we do? We need to do something, that’s for sure, that way I can’t be stopped! Who does Ilia II think he is? To me, he is nobody. To me, he is not the Patriarch, and no one is. I’ll put him in his plae. Nodar, what should we do?” asks Saakashvili.

“What can I tell you, Misha, what can I tell you, my friend, what do I know? I’m…as Ilia Chavchavadze once wrote, 'I’m simply the man in the middle, sometimes of the earth, sometimes of the sky.'"

“Eh, Nodarik, it’s not 'sometimes of the sky, sometimes of the earth,' but 'I’m neither of the sky nor earth.' Moreover, it wasn’t Ilia Chavchavadze but Akaki Tsereteli!” interrupts Van Bayburt, catching Grigalasvhili’s mistake.

[More to come of this dramatization...]

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