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Compiled by Mzia Kupunia
Friday, February 25
First stage of Batumi rehabilitation finalised

The first stage of the Batumi Municipal infrastructure rehabilitation project has been completed, 24 Saati reports. According to the Ajara Autonomous Republic government, after completion of the water and canalization systems rehabilitation, Batumi residents now have a 24-hour supply of water. GHN news agency reported that the budget of the first stage of Batumi’s rehabilitation project was USD 20 million 60 000, including USD 17 million allocated by donors. For finalizing the second stage of the project, USD 45 million is needed, and for completing the third stage – USD 40 million. Completion of the whole project is scheduled for 2014.



Christian-Democrats voice new initiative

The Christian-Democratic Movement considers that, by allowing international organizations in Georgia’s occupied territories, the security of ethnic Georgians living on those territories will increase, 24 Saati writes. According to the leader of the parliamentary opposition, Christian-Democrat Giorgi Targamadze discussed this issue with the Council of Europe's Director General of Democracy and Political Affairs Jean-Louis Laurens. The Council of Europe is trying to promote dialogue between the Georgian and the Abkhazian societies and bringing together different professional groups. “Our wish is that as many international organizations have access to Georgia’s occupied territories as possible. This would enhance the security level of the ethnic Georgians remaining in these regions,” Targamadze noted “at the same time, in terms of educational and social issues, the situation on the occupied territories is dire and the Georgian state’s duty is to improve the conditions of the local population,” he added.



Documentary ‘The Soviet Story’ presented at Tbilisi State University

In the frames of Occupation Week, Deputy Georgian Education Minister Koka Seperteladze presented a documentary movie ‘The Soviet Story’, filmed by the Latvian film director Edvin Snore to the students of Tbilisi State University, 24 Saati reports. The creators of the documentary were the EU Parliament Members Girts Valdis Cristovsky and Inese Vaidere. The film compares the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, starting with symbols and ideology to the methods of mass execution.

The documentary features photo and video materials as well as interviews with the witnesses and well known professors and historians. According to the authors of the movie, the film is a warning and, to some extent, an accusation towards the leading states, the inactivity of which lead the USSR and Germany to such dominance and, to their victims, such devastation. The screening of the movie was followed by a discussion.