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Compiled by Inna Egieva and Salome Modebadze
Thursday, October 30
‘Successful Parliamentary experiment’

Speaker of Parliament David Bakradze has said at a session of the Temporary Parliamentray Commission studying the August war that questioning high-ranking diplomats and politicians is a good experiment, a positive innovation in the history of Parliament, Alia reports.

Bakradze said that the Commission sessions are the best example seen of developing new traditions and strengthening Parliament. “It is good that sessions are being held in an open format, and there won’t be any questions that skeptics might ask which will go unanswered,” Bakradze said.



Why did Abkhaz demand a meeting with Alasania?

Akhali Taoba reports that on October 27 the Temporary Parliamentary Commission questioned Temur Iakobashvili. After two hours the meeting was closed to the press, as confidential matters were being discussed.

“We had a good basis for thinking that Russia was preparing something serious and this problem grew. We also had a direct order from the President to form a close relationship with the international community and inform it about what was happening. When the Abkhaz demanded a meeting with Alasania, we did not refuse and he went there. But at the meeting in Sweden the Abkhazians rejected everything we proposed. As the war showed us, in Russia everything was run by one man,” Temur Iakobashvili remarked.



Election won’t be postponed

Sakartvelos Respublika reports that everything is not well at the Georgian Olympic Federation.

On October 27 an important meeting was planned, but the leader of the Georgian Olympic Federation, Gogi Topadze, and First Vice-President Leri Khabelov did not turn up to it. Consequently nothing substantial emerged from the meeting.

The General Secretary of the Olympic Federation, Emzar Zenaishvili, has told the press that the election of the next President of the Georgian Olympic Federation won’t be postponed in spite of this, and will be conducted at The Courtyard Marriot on October 31. There are five candidates for President: Leri Khabelov, Gia Natsvlishvili, Bejan Khurtsidze, Kakha Basilia and Levan Akhvlediani.



Tskhinvali still accuses Tbilisi of kidnapping

24 saati reports that the de facto Government of South Ossetia is still accusing the Georgian side of kidnapping ‘citizens’ of the de facto Republic. Davit Sanakoyev, Human Rights Defender in Tskhinvali, states that on October 25 Georgian policemen kidnapped Eric Margievi, born in 1958, and Murat Kusraev, born in 1963. The de facto Government has been asked to help by Naira Margieva, the sister of one of the kidnapped.

Margievi and Kusraev lived in Gromi in the Tskhinvali region. They were arrested by Georgian police whilst driving service cars between the villages of Khurvaleti and Dzukati-Kau. “The relatives have heard about their kidnap only today,’ Sanakoyev said, adding that nothing was known about the reason for their arrest or their place of detention so far. Sanakoyev accused international observers of inactivity concerning this case.



Kulakhmetov in hospital

General Marat Kulakhmetov, Commander of the Russian peacekeepers in Tskhinvali region, has been taken to Moscow Hospital in a serious condition, Rezonansi reports.

According to the official version the General is suffering from the after-effects of trauma received in an explosion in Tskhinvali on October 3, in which eleven people died. This occurred near the Russian peacekeepers’ headquarters. The General was also slightly injured in the explosion.

The details of Kulakhmetov’s stay in hospital will be kept strictly secret. He has quite an influential position in Tskhinvali nowadays, political analyst Mamuka Areshidze has noted, adding that Kulakhmetov managed to skilfully entice the Georgian side to mount its action in Tskhinvali when the war started.

“Eduard Kokoity can’t gain any profit from Kulakhmetov’s residence in Tskhinvali. He doesn’t need someone associated with the war there. Kokoity did his best for getting rid of Barankevich as he had been a direct participant in the war. Kulakhmetov got involved in the war later,” Mamuka Areshidze added.