26.09.2014 / 11:20

Press Digest 26.09.2014

“The country, according to them, is in a state of anarchy and no one cares there about the lives of poor women and children… in a nutshell, 90 percent of the residents of Pankisi is against going to Syria”

Besides Saakashvili, members of his entourage also stand a big chance of losing their property

Europe seeking alternative sources of natural gas ***

Kists from Pankisi – Tarkhan Batirashvili (Abur Omar Al Shishan) and Muslim Margoshvili (Muslim-Al- Shishan) have reportedly been officially declared as terrorists by the U.S. and their bank accounts have already been frozen. Apart from these two leaders, about 50-70 young men from Pankisi have been involved in the war in Syria; one of them, a 16-year-old Beso Kushtanishvili was murdered in Syria two days ago. As Meka Khangoshvili from Pankisi says, several fighter have recently returned from Syria to the gorge. As he maintains, the young men have been disappointed by the terrorism policy from the Islamic State but the question is: can the people who have just returned from Syria pose any threats for Georgia?” reports the Rezonansi gazette.

“It will also be interesting to know whether or not they have been subjected to the persecution from MIA and what kind of information has the body managed to accumulate regarding them … whether or not they have been checked out thus far. The Rezonansi gazette has already contacted MIA to get answers to these questions; however, the only thing they have told us is that they will figure out the issue in full detail soon. Head of the Strategic Research Center Mamuka Areshidze does not see any kind of pending threats from the recently returned people. The fifth day has passed since the military-air forces of the anti-Islamic coalition have been carrying out air strikes against the Islamists. Yesterday, along with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, they attacked an oil refinery in Syria that is said to have brought $2 million to the Islamists every single day. In order to block financial sources to the Islamists, Washington has put Tarkhan Mouravi, who was born in Georgia, on the blacklist,” says the article.

“As the Radio “Tavisupleba” reports, as soon as official reports saying that 11 people poured financial resources in the “Islamic States” and their satellite organizations, were spread, all of them were placed on the global terrorist list instantly. They were considered terrorist shortly after it was officially confirmed that they channeled funds in different extremist organizations. Having been put on the blacklist, these people forfeited their right to run their financial affairs and freely move from one place to another,” informs the Radio Tavisupleba. As for associate scholar at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, Michael Cecire, he presumes that Tarkhan Batirashvili is not a very big bug or a big donor of the terrorist organizations; however, as per him, the fact that he was put on the blacklist, can put these extremist organizations in an extremely critical situation and can block all their financial sources,” reads the paper.

“The statement reads that Mr. Batirashvili has been enlisted in the ranks of the leaders of “Islamic States of Levant and Syria”, and he is also said to be an organizer of several raids. By his order, in June, 2014, the fighter of the “Islamic State” moved from Syria to Iraq to get hold of military vehicles, ammunition and explosives there. In May, 2013, Batirashvili was dubbed as commander-in-chief of the Islamic army by Islamic State Leader, Abu Bakar al Baghdad. As military expert, Vakhtang Maisaia, maintains, all their attempts to take air strikes will prove to be abortive, until they carry out ground attacks against the coalition. According to him, the residents of Pankisi play a crucial role in the Islamic Caliphate and unless the Government takes up the economic problems of the Pankisi Gorge, the situation will be even more aggravated,” writes the author of the article.

"Around 100 young men from the Pankisi Gorge, some of which have already lost their lives on the battlefields of another country, went to Syria. We are a very small nation and we cannot really afford to lose our “flesh and blood” every now and again. Why should we make them fight in someone’s war? Some young men who have already returned from Syria and whose names I am not going to give away, have claimed that for nothing on earth will they return to that land again. They have been bitterly disappointed … As per them, when they went there they hoped that they would have to assume the responsibility of protecting hapless women and children there; however, as soon as they crossed the border of Syria, they faced an absolutely different situation there. The country, according to them, is in a state of anarchy and no one cares there about the lives of poor women and children… in a nutshell, 90 percent of the residents of Pankisi is against going to Syria…,” maintains one of the locals of the Pankisi gorge, Meka Khangoshvili.

Besides Saakashvili, members of his entourage also stand a big chance of losing their property

As a source of the Prosecutor’s Office maintains, the Government’s move to seize the property of Mikheil Saakashvili and his family members is only the tip of the iceberg and much more is to come … In a very short run, the property which the Georgian President and his attendants guard so vigilantly in the offshore zones will be also seized. As the source informs, the Government has already appealed to the representatives of Interpol in Georgia and has urged them to use all levers that are in their hands in order to obtain detailed information regarding the bank accounts that Saaksshvili and his entourage have in the offshore zones,” reports the Alia gazette.

“As per the source, besides the offshore banks, Saakashvili and the leaders of the National Movement garner money in the ordinary banks (the founders of which are their staunch supporters) too. If the aforementioned information is corroborated by facts, a big scandal will break out instantly. Rumors swirl around that the Chief Prosecutor’s Office has already dug up some information regarding the bank accounts of Saakashvili and his advocates. As per the source, besides Saakshvili, Merabishvili, Adeishvili, Kezerashvili, Ugulava, Baramidze, the Akhalaias and others also opened accounts in the offshore zones long ago. Allegedly, several hundred million dollars was transferred on these accounts,” says the article.

“In addition, in the names of Vano Merabishvili, Kakha Bndukidze, Amiran Meskheli and Giuli Alasania, reportedly, are registered at different companies in the offshore zones, and these bodies also garner an astronomical amount of money. It’s obvious that all this loot has either been stolen or exhorted from the Georgian businessmen. The Prosecutor’s Office suspects that one of the companies registered on behalf of Adeishvili is in possession of the money that once vanished from MIA and the Prosecutor’s Office funds out of the blue. Adeishvili was one of the first businessmen who fled Georgia. Allegedly before going abroad, he transferred 30 million USD from the fund to one of the European companies first and later to one of the offshore zone bank accounts,” reads the paper.

“Obtaining information regarding these people’s offshore zone bank accounts is not an unattainable goal if the Prosecutor’s Office presents Interpol with strong evidence proving the guilt of these people. On this occasion, Interpol will force the banks to submit confidential information. However, a much more difficult task is to acquire information regarding the legal entities’ bank accounts; they will prove able to get hold of this information if they prove that these people are linked to the drug trade, arms dealing or trafficking. As per the source, Saakashvili’s loot is being kept in the banks of Albania, and precisely to gain a guarantee that his money will be safely guarded, the ex-President, has, allegedly, visited this country recently. As the source claims, the ultimate objective of the Prosecutor’s Office is to force Saakashvili and his comrades-in-arms to return all the loot to the state budget,” concludes the author of the article.

Europe seeking alternative sources of natural gas

"Europe plans to undercut Russia’s far-reaching ambitions of obtaining as many energy resources as possible trough Iran. This is only a plan, a rather ambitious one though. They are planning to transport gas from Iran to Europe via two sources Shah Deniz and Nabucco. And they intend to realize this goal through Georgia. According to Reuters, the EU plans to make concession with Iran by making this country a main supplier of energy. Iran is now viewed as a top priority of the EU that will help it in getting rid of Russia’s influence. From its part, Iran has repeatedly expressed desire to cultivate relations with the EU,” reports the Rezonansi gazette.

“Iran’s economic and political upper crust is already getting ready to get rid of the western sanctions. This country has already expressed readiness to provide Europe with gas and to rid it of Russia’s influence in this way,” announced Head of London’s Royal College Energy Market, Frank Umbakh. As for expert, Sandro Tvaltchrelidze, he alleges that the “reanimation” of the Nabucco project must be the most rational way out of this situation. According to him, the mountainous terrain will make it impossible to build a pipeline from Iran to Turkey as this area is vulnerable to earthquakes. The expert thinks that gas from Iran must be first transported via Shah Deniz,” says the article.

“Precisely due to this, I strongly hold that the Iranian pipeline must join Shah Deniz. It will be good if they realize this plan in the region of Akhaltsikhe. After building a 40 km pipeline in Turkey, it will reach Europe too. Executing this project is not really a big deal. By restoring the Nabucco project, they will prove able to get much cheaper and high-quality gas. As for the political situation between Turkey and Armenia as well as amiable relations between Armenia and Russia, levers to turn the tide by reassuring the Armenian leadership to help them are really in their hands today,” maintains Mr. Tvaltchrelidze.

"Two delegations from Europe aiming to hammer out a solution to the issue of providing Europe with natural gas have already visited Iran. Official Tehran thinks that the best way to realize this goal is to reinvigorate the Nabucco project. Before they resolve the issue of transporting gas via Georgia to Europe, they must start building the pipeline “Tanap” in the South Caucasus. The construction of the pipeline is planned to be wrapped up by 2017, while in 2018 it is intended to start functioning…,”concludes the author of the article.