Issue no: 1101
• NOVEMBER 16 - 19, 2018
• PUBLISHED TWICE WEEKLY
In this week’s issue...
FOCUS
Ruling GD Distrusts Edison Research Pre-Election Survey Results
ON GIFT
The 21st Georgian International Festival of Arts in Tbilisi closes with Hofesh Shechter. Tickets: www.biletebi.ge
PRICE: GEL 2.50
PAGE 11
NEWS PAGE 2
Controversy: Christina Pushaw on the Elections POLITICS PAGE 4
Re-Doing Justice
Kaladze’s Weekly Priorities:
Setting the Record Straight on Protests & New Year’s Decorations POLITICS PAGE 5
BY SAMANTHA GUTHRIE
Treatment for Patients with Metastatic Breast Cancer to be Available from 2019
E
ach week, the municipal government of Tbilisi holds a meeting at City Hall. Preceding this week’s meetings, Mayor Kakha Kaladze remarked on several topics of interest. "I want to address the population,” the Mayor opened, “we are ready to serve you. Have faith in us. We will do our best to make tomorrow’s Tbilisi better: more convenient and well-managed infrastructure, many green spaces, and ecologically clean, organized public transport. Every one of us will give their maximum effort, together with the inhabitants of our city, to this end.” Kaladze then addressed the ongoing protests by Zaza Saralidze and Malkhaz Machalikashvili in front of the old parliament on Rustaveli Avenue. The protests escalated earlier this week when City Hall wrote a letter to the protesters asking them to vacate the area by December 15 so the city could set up the annual Christmas tree. Kaladze insisted that Tbilisi City Hall is not prohibiting the protesters from setting up tents, and that City Hall’s actions were in line with the law and noted that they subsequently publicized all the documents to ensure society was properly informed. He called out the “slanderous propaganda” against
BUSINESS PAGE 7
Georgian Passengers Stranded in Milan Reveal Big Wizz Air Fail SOCIETY PAGE 8
Image source: Tbilisi City Hall
him, saying that claims that he and his staff were restricting expressions of protest on Rustaveli Avenue were “a very big lie.” He explained that he first received a letter from Saralidze in early November informing City Hall that they planned to continue the protest until December 31, and City Hall answered three days later with the December 15 deadline. He continued into an angry speech, blaming opposition media for stirring the pot before the runoff elections later this month. "For me, personally, and for our team, human dignity, human rights and freedom of expression, are the most important values, the protec-
tion of which will always be a priority [for us] among Georgian society,” Kaladze finished. Moving on, Kaladze drew attention to a meeting held earlier in the week with commercial banks on the topic of green initiatives. “I am very pleased that during the meeting, representatives from banks expressed their readiness to participate in the implementation of projects planned within the Green Tbilisi initiative in various forms. In the near future, the banks plan a complete replacement of their vehicle fleets with electric and hybrid cars,” Kaladze said. Continued on page 2