The News in Brief
Wednesday, May 6
Grigol Vashadze receives letter from US Secretary of State
On 2 May 2009, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Grigol Vashadze received a letter from the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The letter concerns the meeting held between the two on April 14 in Washington DC where the issues of Georgia-US bilateral relations were discussed. It highlights the US position of unconditional support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia and Georgia`s integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions. (Rustavi 2)
Incident at GPB
An incident has occurred outside the Georgian Public Broadcaster building. On leaving the left exit of a building, a GPB employee, believed to be the anchorman of Alioni, Nika Avaliani, tried to overturn the cell erected by the exit. Opposition activists protesting nearby hurled verbal and physical insults at the journalist for doing so, but he managed to leave the area and proceed in the direction of the Tbilisi Zoo.
Police stationed in the yard of the TV company did not intervene. The situation outside GPB remains tense. (Interpressnews)
Two ethnic Georgians kidnapped in Gali
Two Georgians have been kidnapped in the Gali district of Abkhazia, Georgia. Russian occupiers and Gali militiamen have detained ethnic Georgian Enver Sharia, who was working in his garden in the village of Zemo Barghebi, and Merab Danelia, who was digging a road with a tractor, in the village of Chuburkhinji.
In Zemo Barghebi the occupiers and separatists demanded a 10,000-dollar ransom from the family of the hostage. The hostage’s son is a member of the legal Abkhazian Government. In
Chuburkhinji, where the occupiers were working on the border reinforcements, Danelia was accused of an illegal act. The occupiers took away his tractor and again demanded a ransom from his family. (Rustavi 2)
Another Georgian citizen arrested in Baku
Azerbaijani police have arrested another Georgian citizen of Azeri origin, Gadir Aliyev, in connection with the killing of 17 people at the State Oil Academy in Azerbaijan`s capital, Baku, last week.Last Thursday 29-year-old Farda Gadyrov is reported to have gone on a shooting spree at the academy, killing 17 students and staff and wounding 10 others, before turning the gun on himself.
Gadir Aliyev is from the village of Dashtafi, in the Marneuli district of Georgia, where Gadyrov also lived. His connection with the gunman has not been disclosed, but police retrieved 12 cartridges and some hashish during a search of his house. The two students rented an apartment together in Baku.
Other reasons for the detention have not been reported so far. Azerbaijani investigators have so far made no comment on the arrests. The Georgian Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Nikoloz Natbiladze, says the Azerbaijan Prosecutor`s office will hand over documents to them concerning this in a few days. (Rustavi 2)
On 2 May 2009, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Grigol Vashadze received a letter from the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The letter concerns the meeting held between the two on April 14 in Washington DC where the issues of Georgia-US bilateral relations were discussed. It highlights the US position of unconditional support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia and Georgia`s integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions. (Rustavi 2)
Incident at GPB
An incident has occurred outside the Georgian Public Broadcaster building. On leaving the left exit of a building, a GPB employee, believed to be the anchorman of Alioni, Nika Avaliani, tried to overturn the cell erected by the exit. Opposition activists protesting nearby hurled verbal and physical insults at the journalist for doing so, but he managed to leave the area and proceed in the direction of the Tbilisi Zoo.
Police stationed in the yard of the TV company did not intervene. The situation outside GPB remains tense. (Interpressnews)
Two ethnic Georgians kidnapped in Gali
Two Georgians have been kidnapped in the Gali district of Abkhazia, Georgia. Russian occupiers and Gali militiamen have detained ethnic Georgian Enver Sharia, who was working in his garden in the village of Zemo Barghebi, and Merab Danelia, who was digging a road with a tractor, in the village of Chuburkhinji.
In Zemo Barghebi the occupiers and separatists demanded a 10,000-dollar ransom from the family of the hostage. The hostage’s son is a member of the legal Abkhazian Government. In
Chuburkhinji, where the occupiers were working on the border reinforcements, Danelia was accused of an illegal act. The occupiers took away his tractor and again demanded a ransom from his family. (Rustavi 2)
Another Georgian citizen arrested in Baku
Azerbaijani police have arrested another Georgian citizen of Azeri origin, Gadir Aliyev, in connection with the killing of 17 people at the State Oil Academy in Azerbaijan`s capital, Baku, last week.Last Thursday 29-year-old Farda Gadyrov is reported to have gone on a shooting spree at the academy, killing 17 students and staff and wounding 10 others, before turning the gun on himself.
Gadir Aliyev is from the village of Dashtafi, in the Marneuli district of Georgia, where Gadyrov also lived. His connection with the gunman has not been disclosed, but police retrieved 12 cartridges and some hashish during a search of his house. The two students rented an apartment together in Baku.
Other reasons for the detention have not been reported so far. Azerbaijani investigators have so far made no comment on the arrests. The Georgian Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Nikoloz Natbiladze, says the Azerbaijan Prosecutor`s office will hand over documents to them concerning this in a few days. (Rustavi 2)