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Compiled by Keti Baramidze
Tuesday, May 25
Incident between members of Ratom and City Council security staff

Kviris Palitra writes that Members of the Ratom (Why?) Movement and Tbilisi City Hall security staff have had a confrontation after Ratom members stuck posters on the walls of City Hall and the security staff tore them down. The demonstrators responded by continuing to flypost there, stressing that their behaviour is a way of expressing dissatisfaction with what they called the "illegal projects" undertaken by the Council.

Ratom member Merab Chikashvili said that that they had obtained a document stating that the Rikhe site where the new glass bridge is being built belongs to a company called Rikhe Ltd, the owners of which have French surnames. He explained that however Ratom tried to obtain information about the company it was unable to do so as it doesn’t even have a website.

Another Ratom member called on incumbent Tbilisi Mayor Gigi Ugulava to withdraw his candidacy and give himself up to the Prosecutor as everyone knows that he disgracefully misuses the Tbilisi budget to fund his election campaign.



Tao-Klarjeti sepulchres robbed

Kviris Palitra writes that members of a team of historians and geographers visiting former Georgian territory now in Turkey have reported that the Tao-Klarjeti Sepulchres (near Bana monastery church) have been robbed. Giorgi Dvalishvili, head of the expedition, said that mysterious miners, hoping to find treasure, have dug deep holes around the church and this has obviously compromised its safety and damaged all the sepulchres. It’s difficult to say whether the robbers found any treasure chest, but the deep holes which they dug near the church wall may destroy it.

Unfortunately Bana Monastery is not on the Turkish Cultural Ministry’s list of protected monuments and neither is it on a tourist trail, and thus subject to some protection.



The Georgian Academy has analysed party manifestos

Akhali Taoba writes that The Georgian Academy and NGOs want the opposition parties to understand their responsibilities more than they currently do.

Academy representative Temur Naneishvili says that before people enter the polling booth they must be well aware of all the candidates’ manifestos, as only then can they decide whether they approve of them or not.

“We would like to draw people’s attention to the electoral programmes the parties are offering us. For this purpose we have analysed them and will present this analysis at a meeting at the Chess Palace”, says Naneishvili, asking the public to attend this meeting.