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Compiled by Inna Egieva
Tuesday, November 4
The President is a prisoner of his environment

Kviris Palitra reports that political analyst Soso Tsiskarishvili has said that President Saakashvili is the prisoner of his own environment, because he hasn’t changes any senior minister since the tragic events of August.

Commenting on last week’s Cabinet changes, Tsiskarishvili said that it was really unexpected that after all the talk about the “necessity of new blood” coming from Saakashvili, previous Cabinet member Koba Subeliani is “the new face,” and the Minister of the Environment of the country, who will have to deal with a critical situation, is a pop singer, Goga Khachidze.



Lavrov says Georgia is guilty of the death of Dutch journalist

24 Saati writes that Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov has stated that the Dutch journalist who died in Georgia was a sacrifice of Georgia’s improper policy.

At a press conference after a meeting with his Dutch counterpart, Lavrov said he supported The Netherlands in its request that an investigation in to the affair be conducted, and that a mission has been established in Moscow to study what happened. He also said that Russia was interested in finding out the truth, because it undertook all its operations within international law limits.

Lavrov added that he hoped that the International Court would soon compensate the losses that people had incurred in the war, as there had been more than 2,000 such complaints made.



Temur Basilia sentenced to nine years

Kviris Palitra reports that Tbilisi City Court has found Temur Basilia, ex-Adviser in Economic Affairs to President Eduard Shevardnadze, guilty of corruption and has sentenced him to nine years imprisonment.

The court upheld the charge that Basilia, a patron of Intellect Bank, had introduced unfair practices to the organization, including covertly transferring its shares to his close relatives. Among other issues, Intellect Bank transferred 23,758 in sterling to Britain, where his eldest son was at the time, and 29,830 euro to Austria, were his younger son Givi Basiliani is studying.



Giorgi Tsagareishvili: 7 ministers must be from opposition

Member of the Parliamentary minority Giorgi Tsagareishvili believes that in a possible coalition Government the opposition should be adequately represented, 24 Saati reports. If not, the coalition would be merely cosmetic, as other changes have been during the five year rule of President Mikheil Saakashvili.

“If anyone is employed by the Government from now on they should be the member of one of the other coalition partners or an independent. There are also many people outsode the ruling party who are ready to take a senior post in our Government. Seven of the fourteen ministers must be from the opposition,” Tsagareishvili stated.

The MP also said that the opposition must have an opportunity to obtain the post of Minister of Defence. “Why can’t a member of opposition be Minister of Defence? Did the ruling party representative do a good job in August? “ asked Tsagareishvili.