The Messenger
Wednesday, March 9, 2005, #042 (0816)

Georgian politics in brief:

Politicians and NGOs address electoral code
The National Democratic Institute (NDI) launched a two-day conference on
“Staffing of the elections administration and obligations” on March 1 in the
Marriott Courtyard.
The conference was organized to bring together political parties and NGOs to
discuss amendments to the Georgian electoral code prepared by Parliament’s
judicial committee, which have already been approved by Parliament at their
first hearing, alongside alternative drafts offered by other working groups
and political parties.
The organizers of the conference said they hoped it would assist the
transparency of the legislative process and will improve amendments to the
election code.
Acting chair of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association Anna Dolidze
explained that although Parliament had adopted the amendments at their first
hearing, “there are other, alternative proposals concerning this issue.”
Evaluating and discussing these alternative viewpoints was the main aim of
the conference, she added.

Noghaideli wins cargo agreement in Baku
Transportation of rail cargo between Azerbaijan to Georgia was renewed on
March 7 as a result of an agreement reached by the two sides while Georgian
Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli was in Baku last week, Black Sea Press.
The talks in Baku referred to the readiness of the Georgian party to provide
written guarantees that no goods received from Azerbaijan will then be
exported to Armenia.
Thorough Azeri inspections of cargo bound for Georgia at the
Georgian-Azerbaijani border to ensure that no cargo was in fact destined for
Armenia has meant hundreds of cargo trucks being held at the border since
November 2004.
Noghaideli discussed this issue while on a two-day visit to Azerbaijan,
during which he also met with Azeri President Ilkham Alyev and other senior
officials to discuss a wide spectrum of issues of bilateral cooperation,
especially in the economic sphere.
Within the frame of the visit Noghaideli also laid a wreath at the grave of
late Azeri president Heidar Alyev.

European Commission rep explains path to action plan
The European Commission is recommending a “significant strengthening” of
relations with Georgia through the development of an Action Plan under the
European Neighborhood Policy. Head of the Delegation of the European
Commission, Ambassador Torben Holtze, told a press conference on March 4
that this recommendation is based on the commission’s Country Report
published on March 2.
“This process has been under preparation for several years already, but has
become active only since last year,” he stated. In June 2004, Georgia along
with Armenia and Azerbaijan was included in the European Neighborhood
Policy.
Last Wednesday the Commission released a 32-page report on Georgia, which
gives a broad summary of the political, social and economic situation in the
country and the state of its bilateral relations with the European Union.
According to Holtze, the Neighborhood Program has much deeper targets than
the existing Partnership and Cooperation Agreement and offers the prospect
of a progressively closer relationship with the European Union, involving a
significant level of economic integration and a deepening of political
cooperation.

Protests result in Adjara TV’s leadership purge
Protests by journalists at the state-run Adjara TV have resulted in a purge
of the station’s senior leadership and the nomination on Saturday of a
one-time opposition candidate for the local legislature as the station’s new
chair.
On March 5 the chair of the autonomous republic’s executive government Levan
Varshalomidze nominated Evgeni Tavdgiridze, a reporter for Radio Liberty, as
the new chair of the station that once served as Aslan Abashidze’ official
mouthpiece.
According to local press reports, he made this decision after consultations
with the public and the NGO representatives.
The newly appointed station chief Tavdgiridze told reporters on Saturday
that nothing is complicated about the situation. “This problem in the TV
station can be solved easily and I am sure that this will happen in a near
future. We should hold negotiations and meet with all the employees of the
TV station,” he said. A local correspondent for the Georgian service of
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Tavdgiridze promised that he would do his
best to preserve freedom of speech in Adjara through TV.