GEORGIA BI-WEEKLY UPDATE FEBRUARY 22

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TBILISI 000296

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM ECON KDEM GG
SUBJECT: GEORGIA BI-WEEKLY UPDATE FEBRUARY 22



1. This cable contains current items of political,
economic, and social interest concerning Georgia during the
weeks of February 9-22.

Prime Minister Unveils Anti-Poverty Plan
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2. The Georgian government has presented its long-term plan for
realization of President Saakashvili's election program "Georgia
without poverty," as well as a 50-day action plan aimed increasing
foreign investment, decreasing unemployment, and eliminating
poverty. The action plan provides for actions intended to lay a
foundation for further economic improvement and making the benefits
of economic reform tangible for ordinary citizens. Key components
of the plan include: launching a so-called cheap credit scheme that
aims at boosting exports; legislative changes to introduce a tax
rebate for new enterprises over the next ten years; constitutional
guarantees for property rights; increase of the state pension;
selling plots of land as part of a "100 new agricultural
enterprises" program; and distribution of fuel to farmers for spring
agricultural activities. Opposition parties were unimpressed by the
government's plan, and the newly created Christian Democratic
Movement staged a protest action against it outside the Chancellery.


Parliamentary Stalemate on Election Reforms
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3. On February 19 Parliament failed to reach a quorum that would
have allowed it to approve three constitutional amendments on the
agenda. The amendments -- reduction of the threshold for
proportional seats in Parliament from 7% to 5%; parliamentary
elections in spring; and changing the "winner-takes-all" system for
majoritarian seats -- had long been demanded by the opposition.
Nevertheless, opposition MPs continued their boycott of Parliament,
and enough MPs allied with the ruling National Movement were absent
for a variety of reasons that only 140 MPs were registered as
present, short of the 157 needed to pass constitutional amendments.
With the on-again, off-again negotiations between the government and
opposition seemingly deadlocked, each side blamed the other for the
lack of a quorum. Speaker Burjanadze postponed discussion of the
amendments until next week. While most National Movement and
opposition MPs favor the changes, a group of majoritarian MPs,
apparently hopeful of retaining their seats in the upcoming
election, have argued against replacing the current majoritarian
system.

Adjara Passes New Draft Constitution
--------------

4. On February 20, the Supreme Council of the autonomous region of
Adjara approved a new draft of the Adjaran Constitution by a vote of
23 to 1. Proponents of the new draft stressed that the previous
constitution has remained unchanged since 1978, and the new version
is in full conformity with the Georgian Constitution and is "based
on democratic principles." The new draft was not supported by the
opposition Republican Party, which said it limits the powers of the
regional government and makes it completely accountable to the
central government in Tbilisi. The draft will be submitted to
Parliament for consideration and approval in a few days.

Controversial Detention Facility to be Demolished
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5. In a meeting on February 18, President Saakashvili instructed
Justice Minister Gvaramia to start working on the elimination of
pre-trial detention facility No. 5 in Ortatchala, central Tbilisi.
Saakashvili said "The prison in Ortatchala is absolutely unsuitable
for placement of prisoners and does not meet the minimum
requirements." Saakashvili told Gvaramia to transfer all inmates
from the facility and demolish it within 50 days. The pre-trial
detention facility, located in a larger prison complex, currently
holds 2,650 inmates and according to the Council of Europe's
Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) 2007 report "in
pre-trial facility, prison number 5 in Tbilisi, living space per
prisoner was frequently below 0.5 square meters." The CPT report
also pointed out that the provision of health care to prisoners
remained problematic due to the shortage of staff, facilities, and
resources.

Georgian Consular Officers Receive TIP Training
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6. On February 5-6, IOM facilitated a training course for Georgian
consular officers to raise their understanding of trafficking in
persons (TIP) and how to assist Georgian victims of trafficking
abroad. Georgian anti-trafficking officials provided specific input
on issues related to Georgian anti-trafficking legislation and
victim assistance. The training was attended by fourteen officials
of the Consular Department of the Georgian MFA, including ten newly
appointed consuls, who soon will take up consular duties at Georgian
embassies around the world. Four current Georgian consuls stationed
in Turkey (Ankara and Trabzon),Greece, and Kuwait acted as resource
persons and shared their experience with the other participants.

Heavy Snow Causes Natural Disaster
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7. Heavy snowfall and strong winds rendered most of western Georgia

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a "natural disaster area" early this week, causing avalanches in
mountainous parts of the country and leading to at least one
confirmed death. Police closed off all roads connecting western
regions to Tbilisi. The Georgian Military Highway, which leads
north from the capital, was also closed February 18-20 because of
heavy snowfall. Snow has damaged power lines leaving hundreds of
households without electricity. On February 20 a tornado hit the
port city of Poti, damaging roofs and buildings. A storm in the
Black Sea washed ashore a ship carrying fuel oil near the village of
Makhinjauri, in Adjara. The government mobilized resources to clear
the roads and to deliver necessary services to the isolated
regions.

TEFFT