Georgian Opposition

Source: www.dallasnews.com --- 20 days ago
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Source: www.kommersant.com --- 42 days ago
It became known yesterday that Mikhail Kareli, former governor of Shida Kartli Region in Georgia and close advisor to former Georgian defense minister Irakly Okruashvili, has asked for political asylum in France. Nothing had been known of the fate of the politician, who is accused in Georgia of abuse of office, extortion and corruption, since last November, when he was released from custody on $140,000 bail and immediately disappeared. ...

Source: www.topix.com --- 60 days ago
A lawyer for a Georgian Opposition leader has asked France to give political asylum to her 15-year-old son, who she says is being persecuted at home. ...

Source: www.topix.com --- 14 days ago
Ukraine's Opposition party has pledged to send 365 neckties to Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who was recently caught on camera nervously chewing his garment while discussing the Georgian-Russian conflict Saakashvili has caused an internet sensation with his tie-chewing antics, captured during a phone conversation with a top Western official and aired by the BBC, and also over footage of him running in apparent terror after speaking to reporters, believing he was about to be attacked by Russian planes. ...

Source: blogs.reuters.com --- 14 days ago
When thousands in the streets of the Ukrainian capital Kiev and the Georgian capital Tbilisi overthrew Soviet-style rulers, many felt warm in the embrace of the West. Western support for the Opposition — open and behind the scenes – helped many people overcome fear of Soviet-style reprisals to stand for days outside Georgia’s parliament in 2003 or to pitch [...] ...

Source: www.moreover.com --- 27 days ago
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has ordered home the country's contingent in Iraq to join the fight against Russia. The Georgian president made the announcement at a Tbilisi meeting with members of the Georgian Opposition. The Iraq brigade to be ...

Source: www.npr.org --- 16 days ago
Russia shows little sign of ending its occupation of Georgia, but Georgian citizens have found new ways to show their Opposition. Former Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze says the more Moscow squeezes the current president, the more his authority will grow. ...

Source: www.theglobeandmail.com --- 18 days ago
With his country trounced and still occupied by Russian troops, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili's own political future might soon be called into question, Opposition figures say.Three days after the President reluctantly signed a peace truce to end a bloody conflict with Russia, there are grumblings about the wisdom of Mr. Saakashvili's decision to pick a fight with his mighty neighbour. ...

Source: www.economist.com --- 16 days ago
NATO foreign ministers issue a warning to Russia, telling it to withdraw troops from Georgia NATO foreign ministers gathered in Brussels on Tuesday August 19th for an emergency summit, called by America, to discuss what to do next about Georgia and Russia. The military alliance gave warning that “we cannot continue with business as usual” until Russia withdraws troops from Georgia. NATO also pledged to deepen ties with Georgia by setting up a NATO-Georgia Commission. Russia and America have cancelled plans for joint military exercises. The facts on the ground are changing only slowly. Despite a promise by Russia’s president, Dmitry Medvedev, that Russian troops now deep inside Georgia would this week withdraw (presumably to the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia), only by the middle of the day on Tuesday were the first reports issued that some Russian units were beginning to pull back from the town of Gori. However this was a small gesture compared with the steady flow of troops and armour heading in the Opposition direction in previous days. Also on Tuesday Russian troops detained 21 Georgian soldiers in another town, Poti. ... ...

Source: MiamiHerald.com --- 57 days ago
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told Georgian Opposition politicians and social activists Thursday that the United States supports Georgia's struggles for democracy and pluralism following flawed elections won by a U.S.-backed president. ...

Source: www.lewrockwell.com --- 21 days ago
The Georgian Opposition correctly blames him for starting a war that has been disastrous for Georgia (as well as its victim, South Ossetia), and wants new elections. Mikheil, I am sure there is plush sinecure awaiting you at the American... ...

Source: tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com --- 22 days ago
For those you wondering how Georgia came to believe that the U.S. might come to their rescue in case of war with the Russians, we found something pretty interesting. Here's an interview that Randy Scheunemann , John McCain's top foreign policy advisor, gave to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty back in April, which is posted on a Georgia government Web site. And note the date -- April 28, 2008. That's less than two weeks after Scheunemann's lobbying firm, Orion Strategies, had signed a new $200,000 lobbying contract with Georgia's National Security Council. At no point in the interview does Sheunemann mention that he was Georgia's primary lobbyist in Washington for several years. I think what is most important, first and foremost, is to have Western unity in the face of the latest Russian undermining of Georgian sovereignty. Traditionally, we have seen that the Russians will push and push until they meet Opposition. And what they need to understand is that all European countries and the United States are united in opposing the latest Russian moves, which is really the culmination of years of what they've been doing, undermining Georgian sovereignty. ... The reason, I think, that there's been such support for years on a bipartisan basis in the U.S. Congress, as well as support through successive administrations, for Georgia is not because Georgia has resources -- as you point out, Georgia is relatively resource poor -- it is because, ...

Source: www.michaelmoore.com --- 23 days ago
2008-08-13 GEORGIANS ASK QUESTIONS OF LEADER AFTER LOSSES By Margarita Antidze and Niko Mchedishvili / Reuters TBILISI - Georgians are rallying behind the country in its conflict with Russia but voices of dissent are being raised against President Mikheil Saakashvili for taking Tbilisi into a war it could never win. Saakashvili came to power in 2003 on a promise to reunite the country by reining in separatists in South Ossetia and Abkhazia and steering Georgia towards membership of NATO. The two regions threw off Georgian rule in wars in the early 1990s and declared independence. No state has recognized them, though Russia has given political and financial support. But there is a growing sense in Tbilisi that Saakashvili, who sent in troops to retake the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali by force last week, gambled on his Western allies intervening to halt a Russian counter-offensive. He lost heavily and as a result the country's bid for NATO membership also looks more forlorn than ever. The political Opposition, so vocal in their criticism of Saakashvili for a heavy-handed crackdown on post-election protests last year, has been reluctant to criticize the leadership during a time of war. But some are now breaking ranks. "Support for President Saakashvili is now a matter of principle for the majority in Georgia, as we face a military aggression from Russia," said David Usupashvili, leader of the Opposition Republican Party. "But when t ...

Source: timesunion.com --- 25 days ago
With army in retreat, Georgia seeks cease-fire and wonders if the West will come to its aid OUTSIDE TSKHINVALI, Georgia -- The Georgian army, suffering massive casualties in the face of overwhelming Russian firepower, retreated from the breakaway region of South Ossetia Sunday. Georgian leaders' recent expressions of defiance turned increasingly into pleas for a cease-fire and Western support in the face of military debacle.Russia ignored those calls and continued to bomb targets deep in Georgia, with little apparent Opposition, drawing new condemnation from the United States and other Western countries. The White House warned of serious setbacks in relations with Russia if the onslaught against Georgia, a close U.S. ally, did not end. Russian airstrikes hit the international airport and a military factory in the capital Tbilisi Sunday evening, as well as Georgian-held positions in Abkhazia, another breakaway region. Russian warships were reported to be blockading a Black Sea port and to have sunk a Georgian gunboat. It remained unclear Sunday how far Russian troops intended to advance. Georgian villages just outside South Ossetia were shelled Sunday, clouds of smoke and burning fields visible on the horizon as artillery barrages echoed loudly. Georgians fled the villages, bedding loaded into the back of their cars. Residents of one village outside South Ossetia said advancing Russian troops had entered their homes. Georgian Presi ...

Source: www.globalvoicesonline.org --- 47 days ago
Steady State comments on the state of democracy in Georgia. The blog examines the situation and the attitude of the authorities towards the pro-Opposition media and a report prepared by the human rights ombudsperson which was highly critical of the 7 November dispersal of an Opposition protest in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. ...

Source: blogs.cqpolitics.com --- 25 days ago
A Wikipedia editor emailed Political Wire to point out some similarities between Sen. John McCain's speech today on the crisis in Georgia and the Wikipedia article on the country Georgia. Given the closeness of the words and sentence structure, most would consider parts of McCain's speech to be derived directly from Wikipedia. First instance : one of the first countries in the world to adopt Christianity as an official religion (Wikipedia) vs. one of the world's first nations to adopt Christianity as an official religion (McCain) Second instance : After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Georgia had a brief period of independence as a Democratic Republic (1918-1921), which was terminated by the Red Army invasion of Georgia. Georgia became part of the Soviet Union in 1922 and regained its independence in 1991. Early post-Soviet years was marked by a civil unrest and economic crisis. (Wikipedia) vs. After a brief period of independence following the Russian revolution, the Red Army forced Georgia to join the Soviet Union in 1922. As the Soviet Union crumbled at the end of the Cold War, Georgia regained its independence in 1991, but its early years were marked by instability, corruption, and economic crises. (McCain) Third instance : In 2003, Shevardnadze (who won reelection in 2000) was deposed by the Rose Revolution, after Georgian Opposition and international monitors asserted that the 2 November parliamentary elections were marred ...

Source: eng.primenewsonline.com --- 51 days ago
Tbilisi. July 16 (Prime-News) – Gia Tsagareishvili and Paata Davitaia, members of the parliamentary Opposition, will appeal to the Georgian General Prosecutors Office to institute a case against mobile company the Acuaphone, which operating in Georgia's separatists region of Abkhazia with violations. ...

Source: www.temple-telegram.com --- 25 days ago
OUTSIDE TSKHINVALI, Georgia - The Georgian army, suffering massive casualties in the face of overwhelming Russian firepower, retreated from the breakaway region of South Ossetia Sunday. Georgian leaders’ recent expressions of defiance turned increasingly into pleas for a ceasefire and Western support in the face of military debacle. Russia ignored those calls and continued to bomb targets deep in Georgia, with little apparent Opposition, drawing new condemnation from the United States and other Western countries. The White House warned of serious setbacks in relations with Russia if the onslaught against Georgia, a close U.S. ally, did not end. ...

Source: www.thewest.com.au --- 11 days ago
Russian MPs voted to recognise the independence of two breakaway Georgian regions as the European Union signalled its mounting Opposition to Russia's actions by calling a special summit on the conflic ...

Source: www.pennwellblogs.com --- 27 days ago
Posted by John Keller Russian tanks and armored personnel carriers rolled across the Georgian border yesterday in a fast-moving armored blitzkrieg in support of Georgian separatist rebels fighting in Opposition to the democratic and Western-leaning established government of Georgia. CNN is reporting that upwards of 1,000 Georgian civilians have been killed so far, and Russian warplanes have ...