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The News in Brief

Tuesday, September 2
Russian citizen burns passport in front of Russian Embassy in Tbilisi

Russian citizen Valeri Kacharava burnt his passport in front of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Tbilisi on September 1.

Valeri Kacharava has been a citizen of Russia since 1993, but, according to him, after the recent events in Georgia he made the decision to burn his Russian passport. “I state my protest to the Russian Federation. I have been a citizen of Russia since 1993, but when I saw burnt houses in Gori and the burnt villages I decided to renounce Russian citizenship and burn my Russian passport”, Kacharava stated to journalists.
(Black Sea Press)



Today the world is with us and Russia is completely isolated – Merabishvili

Interior Minister of Georgia Vano Merabishvili, on arriving in the village of Karaleti where a Russian checkpoint is situated to join the live chain, stated that the whole world supported Georgia and Russia has become completely isolated.

On September 1, while the EU Summit was held to determine the organisation’s future relations with Russia, many thousands all over Georgia formed a live chain showing their unity to the world. “We, the citizens of Georgia, are standing here to show the world that we are united. We will defend Georgia and will make it strong. It is important that the whole world is with us and Russia is isolated. There is no serious organization or state that has supported Russia”, Merabishvili stressed.
(Black Sea Press)



Georgian Ombudsman: ethnic cleansing of Georgian population continues in conflict zone

According to Sozar Subari, Public Defender of Georgia, ethnic cleansing of the Georgian population is being continued in villages of the conflict zone.

Prime-News was told at the Public Defender’s Office that the Ombudsman’s representative was currently visiting the villages of Karaleti, Kintsnisi, Marani, Tkviavi, Tirdznisi, Gitsi and Arbo to evaluate the situation there. According to the Public Defender’s Office, the population of these villages is facing a humanitarian catastrophe. Despite humanitarian aid, there is a lack of food and medicine. The villages are not supplied with electricity and gas and are almost completely destroyed. Local civilians report that Ossetian gangs are marauding there.
(Prime-News)



SOCAR postpones oil storage depot construction in Georgia

Construction of a new oil storage depot in Georgia by the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) has been deferred to October due to the Georgian-Ossetian conflict, “Trend” news agency reports.

Mahir Mammadov, General Director of the SOCAR Energy Georgia, said that “The construction works were planned to begin in September. However, the process has been suspended till October due to the current developments in the country.”

The storage depot will be located on Kiziki Street near Tbilisi International Airport. In 2007, the company purchased five hectares of land for $3mln to construct the depot, whose reservoir will hold up to 20,000 tonnes of oil products including liquefied gas. The project will cost $15mln and construction will continue until the end of 2009.
(Prime-News)