Press Digest 04.11.2014
Should the issue of Georgian Defense Minister’s political accountability be raised?
Income disparity between the rich and the poor in Georgia – income of our wealthiest citizen is 70 times higher than that of the poorest
Non-stop military trainings in Georgia – Can NATO troops stifle Russia’s aggression?
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Should the issue of Georgian Defense Minister’s political accountability be raised?
"I don’t really think that the prospect of imprisonment shines on our Defense Minister at this point in time. However, it is strongly expected that this week this issue will hit the headlines and will remain the topic of heated discussions. On Nov. 8, the Democratic Party is expected to call for a congress at which a great deal of questions swirling round Alasania’s case is expected to be answered. Our Defense Minister is boldly certain of the fact that the integrity of his co-workers is above suspicion, and like Davit Kirvalidze, he is ready to not spare efforts to prove their innocence; in fact, the cases of tractors and cables has only this in common. We have seen how easily the scandal of tractors was lived down; however, when it comes to the case of cables, I think that on this occasion, raising the issue of Alasania’s accountability would not be rational at this time. This seems particularly unreasonable in the light of the fact that Alasania is a political figure and, on top of that, some threats can easily be posed for us from Russia in the near future,” declares expert in security issues, Vakhtang Maisaia.
“In the present state of play, raising the issue of our Defense Minister’s accountability can prove to be dangerous for us. As you know, the Defense Ministry has expressed full readiness to prove the innocence of these accused officials whatever it takes, and “if we translate this move from them into military political language,” this means that some silent threats are coming from the body. Davit Usupashvili was absolutely right when he emphasized that the Defense Ministry is a more influential body than other Ministries in Georgia, and, hence, this matter must be handled with kid gloves,” maintains the respondent.
“A request from the Prosecutor’s Office has not gone unheeded and the accused high officials have been sentenced to pre-trial detention. We cannot predict what the Court of Appeals will finally decide; clearly though the fact that it has left the already rendered verdict in force, strongly indicates that the Prosecutor’s Office and Court have strong arguments to corroborate their decision. However, if the Prosecutor’s Office still proves inapt to prove the guilt of the already apprehended officials then the Chief Prosecutor must undoubtedly bow out from his post,” stresses the respondent.
To the question what will happen if the body proves the aforementioned high-officials’ guilt, Mr. Maisaia answers:
“In my mind, Mr. Alasania will resign before the investigation is wrapped up since he has already expressed his solidarity to his co-workers. Once again I repeat the necessity of raising his political accountability has not surfaced though. His apprehension, even dismissal will only create further problems for the country. I am a security expert and I do hold strongly that in the present state of affairs this can really be dangerous for our country and people.
Income disparity between the rich and the poor in Georgia – income of our wealthiest citizen is 70 times higher than that of the poorest
"A middle class has never existed in Georgia, and our current day-to-day Georgia is not an exception in this regard too. As for the income disparity between the rich and the poor, Georgia tops all European countries in this regard as well. Income of the wealthiest of Georgians is 65-70 times higher than that of the average poorest citizen’s income. Despite innumerable social projects, the Government has failed to overcome poverty and ease the sufferings of our destitute compatriots thus far. As the specialist allege, this is the result of their irrational policy,” reports the Rezonansi gazette.
“As the official data from the National Statistics Office shows, around 10 percent of the Georgian population is poor that is around 430 thousand of our compatriots living in poverty. These 430 thousand Georgians permanently receive R-lift and their social level is assessed by 57 thousand points. As for our well-healed compatriots, no official statistics have been released regarding their number in our country so far. However, one fact has been known for a long time – according to income disparity between the rich and the poor we are ranked in the leading countries’ list not only in the post-Soviet countries but also across the world,” says the article.
“As expert in statistical issues, Soso Archvadze informs us, the income of the most affluent Georgian is 65-70 times higher than that of an average poor resident of the country. Annual income of an average American family runs up to around 50 thousand USD. Apart from America, no clear standards for middle class have been formulated yet. In America, a man with enough funds on his bank account to carelessly live for 18 months, with his private car and mansion is deemed to be a representative of the middle class. However, in Georgia, to enjoy this status, it’s enough to have only 2,804 GEL on our bank account. As for a mansion and car, a rather great deal of Georgians cannot enjoy this luxury, and thus, according to the internationally established standards they cannot be considered as the representatives of the middle class,” says the article.
“As a result of an empiric observation, we can conclude that only 10 percent of our population is immensely wealthy or simply rich. Out of this 10 per cent, 2-2.5 percent is immensely wealthy, while the rest are simply rich. The representatives of middle class also range between 8-10 percent. As for the other 80 percent of our people, their living standard does not meet with the norms of a developed market economy. Against this dark backdrop, we are obliged to fight against destitution that has become endemic in our country and not against our wealthy people,” stated Soso Archvadze in his interview with the Business Rezonansi.
Non-stop military trainings in Georgia – Can NATO troops stifle Russia’s aggression?
"A meeting between Georgia’s Defense Minister, Irakli Alasania and current Supreme Allied Commander of NATO Allied Forces, General Philip Breedlove that was held in Tbilisi on 22 October has drawn the attention of the West as well as Russia. Especially after non-declared war between Russia and Ukraine, Supreme Allied Commander, General Breedlove, has repeatedly expanded on the unceasing aggression coming from the Russian troops. It would be immensely auspicious for us if the General would have proven intrepid enough to incriminate Russia in directing overwhelming aggression against Georgia in the war of 2008. However, unlike some western political leaders that have not dropped the practice of playing political games with the Kremlin behind the scenes, General Breedlove has at least tried to bring the aggressor into the spotlight,” reports military-analytical journal Arsenal.
“An official visit of the top brass official has proven to be of such a paramount importance for Georgia because of the fact that after the Wales Summit, the Georgian side hopes that NATO-Georgia package will be fulfilled in the short run. Under the package, the Joint Training and Evaluation Center with the Alliance as well as the Logistic Infrastructure and Defense School is expected to be opened in Georgia. As they claim within the Defense Ministry, the timely founding of the three infrastructures is of vital significance for our country and its security today. The fact is that due to different objective and subjective reasons, opening its military base does not fall in the immediate plans of NATO; however, some other roundabout ways such as holding permanent and non-stop military training in Georgia can still be done,” says the article.
“The non-stop principle will guarantee us permanent presence of NATO military units in Georgia. We should not build castles in the air and should not hope that these military units will fend off the Russian battalions if the Kremlin subjects Georgia to its military aggression; however, if we look at this issue from a different angle, we can hope that the presence of the North Atlantic military units in Georgia can serve as a political tool deterring Russia from entering Georgia,” reads the paper.
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"On 16 September, a very important agreement was signed in Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius. As a result of this agreement, our country has become a contributor member of the NATO Energy Security Center…The Center works on military projects, and our military-scientific technical center “Delta” is expected to be involved in these projects from the Georgia side,” reports military-analytical journal “Arsenali.”
“This is a really unprecedented event if taking into account that from the non-member states of NATO, Georgia is the first country that has signed this type of an agreement. Along with Delta, Georgia’s Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development has made strenuous effort to join this organization. The NATO Energy Security Center is a relatively young organization. The body was founded in 2012 and 6 states of the North Atlantic Alliance (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, France, Italy and Turkey) were incorporated into it,” states Director of Military-Analytical Center Delta, Ucha Dzodzuashvili.
“The precise aim of the organization is to ensure the energy security of its member states and elaborate different technical projects that will meet the interests of NATO. The project list is extremely versatile. They focus on traditional as well as non-traditional energy sources… Georgia is expected to be involved in technical issues with the center; in Delta, it will have its own permanent representative who will monitor the process of working. Delta will receive orders from the Center; in the wake of this, it will manufacture different systems and equipment and will provide the customer with such equipment. Along with pecuniary benefits, this will widen the experience of Delta by enabling it to study new technologies. The work on rather large projects is already underway. And one of the NATO member country is expected to channel funds into these projects,” declares Ucha Dzodzuashvili.
To the question whether or not Delta plans to get involved in the exhibition IESMA-2014 by the Energy Security Center, Mr. Dzodzuashvili answers:
“Delta is not only a participant of this organization; it is a co-organizer of this exhibition too. IESMA makes a significant contribution in implementing different innovative decisions in the military sphere, and our company is also expected to present its own exhibits at this exhibition. This will by all odds popularize the company and its products. Prior to this event, a meeting between the member states of the organization is also scheduled in Vilnius. Despite the fact that some restrictions have been set for Georgia as a non-member country of NATO, the issue of holding the next session that is to be convened in spring, 2015 in our country has been pushed to the top of their agenda.”
