Wednesday, July 25, 2007, #140 (1407)

Press Scanner
Prepared by Diana Dundua

Headline: Industrialist MP May Change Parties in September
The newspaper Rezonansi reports that it’s possible Industrialist MP Gia Tsagareishvili will switch to a new party in September. According to the MP, he wants to struggle and be involved in active political life.
“I am fed up with being in the role of the passive opponent, just pressing a [voting] button during sessions. If this situation continues, I prefer to leave politics and return to my former business,” stated Tsagareishvili.
He said he is participating in the creation of a new political coalition that will be established by September or October, but refrained from speaking about the details of the new party or its members.

Headline: Koba Subeliani: “Dighmis Masivi district will not be destroyed!”
The newspaper Akhali Taoba reports that the residents of Dighmis Masivi district in Tbilisi were frightened when they heard that their houses were slated for imminent destruction.
Head of Tbilisi City Municipal Improvements Service Koba Subeliani firmly asserted this was a lie, deliberately spread to attack Tbilisi City Hall.
“If I find the person responsible for spreading such inaccurate information, they will be strictly punished,” warned Subeliani.
Rumors are also flying that homes would be torn down in Avchala district. Supposedly, a foreign investor is interested in building a resort complex there. City Hall has not yet confirmed or denied those reports.

Headline: Houses Being Destroyed Near Batumi
The newspaper Sakartvelos Respublika reports that according to the NGO Human Rights Center, 173 houses will be destroyed in Chakvi (a sea resort near Batumi, Adjara), in a move decided by the Kobuleti municipality.
Around 100 families will be left homeless. The residents do not have appropriate documentation for their property, but most of them have children, and have been living there for years after being resettled from the mountainous region in Adjara to Chakvi.
According to head of the Kobuleti municipality Tengiz Zoidze, the land where these houses are located is the municipality’s property, and destroying these houses is not illegal.
The residents have decided to go on a hunger strike in front of the Adjara government building if their homes are destroyed.
The NGO Human Rights Center is calling on media and other NGOs to take up the cause.

Headline: Adjara Hosts 100 000–150 000 More Tourists Than Usual
The newspaper Akhali Taoba reports that this year Adjara sea resorts, including Batumi, Kobuleti and Sarpi, will host 100 000–150 000 more tourists than it has in the last few years, according to Adjaran Health Minister Mamuka Nakashidze.
Data from the Department of Tourism and Resorts logs about 210 000 tourists sunning themselves in Adjara’s resorts in 2006. Most were Armenians.
The minister added that the sea and drinking water is tested regularly.
“We have evidence that the water is not dangerous to the health,” assured Nakashidze.



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