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The News in Brief

Tuesday, May 31
Georgian experts predict possible developments in occupied Abkhazia

Georgian political experts think the unexpected death of Sergei Bagapsh, the so called president of occupied region of Abkhazia might cause conflict between certain clans in the territory. The experts think public confusion may follow the death of the leader.

The analysts also believe that whatever happens, the course of the occupant regime will remain unchanged and Moscow is going to decide who will replace Sergei Bagapsh.

"Abkhazia may face the same as any similar entity that claims to be a state, but fails to become a state and faces difficult collisions in economic as well as political spheres", political expert Soso Tsintsadze said.

"Unlike the period of 6-7 years ago, when there was more or less an actual political battle between Bagapsh and Khajinba, everything is directly defined by Russian in Abkhazia today. Although small scale destabilizations might still be expected", Gia Nodia, the chairman of Caucasian Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development said.
(Rustavi 2)



Russian expert: Georgian diplomacy to be more active in Abkhazia

After the death of Bagapsh, at least 3 candidates are pretending for the post of a President, Alexei Vlasov, Director General of the Informational Analytic Institute investigating the post soviet area said.

"For the Russian Federation this is a serious problem, because of the unstable situation in nearby Georgia the snap elections of new president may bring provocations from Georgian side. This may cause serious headaches in Sokhumi as well in Moscow, "- Vlasov said.

He noted that at least three evident candidates for the post of presidency had already been announced since 2010 when the health condition of Bagapsh started to deteriorate. One of them is Sergey Shamba, Prime Minister since 2010. He has good relations with Turkey and is well respected in the West, not in terms of recognition of independence of the country but generally as a person. Another candidate may be Alexander Anquab, Vice President. The third is Raul Khadjinba, who has fewer chances for the post, Vlasov said.
(Interpressnews)



Kakha Kaladze made a statement in respect of recent events in the country

The captain of the Georgian national football team, Kakha Kaladze, has released a statement concerning the recent ill-tempered events on Rustaveli Avenue

He stated that it is not admissible for the country which made one step towards democracy and European values to now take two steps back to autocracy and dictatorship.

He called on the Holy Synod, international organizations and other organizations to conduct a fair investigation of repressive actions and violence committed on May 26 during the protest rally dispersal.
(Interpressnews)



Students Accuse Government and Opposition for May 26 Events

Students have launched a protest outside the parliament building saying that they accuse both the government and opposition for what happened on May 26.

As InterPressNews was told by a technical University student Nata Mujiri, they will not enable politicians to use the students’ tribune as they don’t represent any political organization.

“We are separate from the politics and condemn the actions of the government and opposition on 26 May. People were killed and hundreds arrested due to their fault”, she said.

Students of Tbilisi Art Academy, Ilia University, Tbilisi State University, and Georgian Technical University take part in the students’ protest in front of the parliament building.
(Interpressnews)



Irakli Alasania – International Commonwealth Supports Setting Up Investigation Commission

The International commonwealth supports setting up an investigation commission regarding May 26 events, Leader of Free Democrats Irakli Alasania told journalists after a meeting between Oppositional Eight and Diplomatic Corps representatives. He says that the meeting highlighted who gave the order to turn the breakup of the protest into a punishment exercise. As Alasania says, a parliamentary commission must be set up to investigate this. “It must be investigated to find out if the operation was planned correctly and why there were not corridors. Such detailed questions will be answered by the commission. We need support from the international commonwealth to find the missing people and provide humanitarian and legal assistance to the injured people”, Alasania said. The Leader of Free Democrats says that opposition MPs will raise the issue of creating a parliamentary-investigative commission during the bureau session. Alasania says the commission must be created to avoid such things in future, also to find the truth and punish the offenders.
(Interpressnews)



Spanish coach to train FC Dynamo Tbilisi

Dinamo Tbilisi will have a Spanish coach next season after they appointed Alex Garcia, a member of FC Barcelona's coaching staff .

The new coach will be introduced to the club staff on June 1 and he will then look to prepare his new squad for the forthcoming Europa League campaign.

It was also reported that two other representatives of the headquarters, Marc Hugget and Andreas Karasko will also work with Dinamo. The latter will chair the football Academy of the Dynamo Tbilisi. Karasko was involved in the process of searching talented sportsmen in Barcelona too.

The appointment of new coaches at FC Dinamo Tbilisi is part of a strategy to reform the club, using the model of Spanish and European champion FC Barcelona.
(Rustavi 2)