“I don’t want to introduce any regulations that would restrict citizens’ access to ruling the country,” Putin stated at the meeting with the leaders of Russian parliamentary factions on Wednesday. During the gathering, the leaders of the Communist and Liberal-Democrat parties suggested that additional requirements should be met by political parties taking part in State Duma and presidential elections.Their proposals included raising the minimum required number of party members, or setting the minimum number of signatures needed for a party to register in a race at 200,000. “And 90 per cent [of parties] will fail to get through this filter,” Liberal-Democrat party leader, Vladimir Zhirinovsky believes.Putin argued though that there is no need to create “artificial filters.”“I wouldn’t want to simply cut everyone off,” the president empathized. In any case, small parties will not be elected anywhere “unless they prove their efficiency,” he noted. At the same time, well-known political parties who have a strong supporter base have an “obvious competitive advantage” in elections, Putin observed.Russia’s political system should be absolutely transparent, flexible and democratic, the head of state believes. At the same time, he agreed with the MPs that it should also be efficient and stable.Last year, as part a large political reform, Russia passed a law that significantly simplified the procedure of registration for political parties. As a result, the number of officially registered parties that have legal rights and can take part in elections has rocketed from only seven to over 65. One technicality already highlighted is that such a number of participants could make the ballot paper over 1.5 meters long. … Read More
Georgia Seeks to Improve Russian Relations
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Prime Minister of Georgia Bidzina Ivanishvili delivered a keynote speech at the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) session in Strasbourg at the end of April. He wants Georgia to normalise its relations with Russia and, at the same time, expects to become a member of NATO in the near future.
Euronews reporter Natalia Richardson-Vikulina asked:
“You have come to Strasbourg to attend the PACE session where delegates from Georgia and Russia planned to meet for the first time since the 2008 conflict. Does this mean that the relations are gradually improving? Can we expect a “reset” of relations in the near future?”
Bidzina Ivanishvili replied:
“I hope really that the situation will develop in this way and I am doing my utmost to improve relations with our big neighbour. The current situation is in nobody’s interest. Georgia has lost 20% of its territory and we will do everything to regain it. At the same time, the current situation is not acceptable for Georgia or Russia. And as I have said we will regain this territory but I would like to emphasize that everything will be done by peaceful means and negotiation. Violence and force are not acceptable, so I reiterate that our goals will be achieved by peaceful methods and negotiations. We hope that the international community will support and help us to achieve this.”
Euronews: “Serbia and Kosovo have announced the normalisation of their relations and initialised an agreement in Brussels. Maybe this example will inspire Tbilisi on the normalisation of relations with Abkhazia and South Ossetia?”
Ivanishvili: “This is a very good example. It also reaffirms that the world is changing and the people who did not succeed in the past have now found a common language and have managed to somehow come to an agreement. So we should do our best and settle relations with our brothers, the
Ossetians, Abkhazians and of course with Russians.”
Euronews: “Recently an investigation of the conflict in 2008 was launched. And Mikhail Saakashvili called it as the Russian scenario. How would you characterise this investigation?”
Ivanishvili: “This is Saakashvili’s strategy. He blames everything he doesn’t like on Russia. And this has been his policy for nine years. It was this policy that actually led us to deadlock. And I think it is normal that the investigation has started.”
Euronews: “You expect NATO to commit to making Georgia a member. And your opponent Mikhail Saakashvili supports this. However, you think it’s possible to maintain good relations with both NATO and Russia. But Saakashvili does not agree. Why do you think it’s possible?”
Ivanishvili: “We have quite a few good examples from European countries. Some of them had strained relations with Russia. But they chose the way of Western development and relations improved.
“The best example is perhaps Slovakia. They didn’t spoil their relationship with Russia and acceded to NATO. And I think that this example is exaggerated by Saakashvili. It is possible to have good relations with both Russia and NATO. He was irritated by Russia.”
Euronews: “Is it possible for Georgia to become a member of NATO, let’s say, in the next decade?”
Ivanishvili: “Ten years is too long. I think that it can be accomplished much faster. We also need to take into account the dynamics of the changing world. The world is changing. Everything is changing. So in a year or two, Russia itself may change and it may have better relations with NATO.”
Euronews: “Do you expect that Georgia will become a candidate for EU membership?”
Ivanishvili: “We would like the European perspective of Georgia to be noted before the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius in November. Georgia is heading in this direction at a higher speed than before. Although our opponents say that this isn’t the case, we can say that in the next two years we can have a close association with Europe.”
Euronews: “Will Georgian athletes participate in the Winter Olympics in Sochi?”
Ivanishvili: “Certainly. We’ve mentioned that our athletes will take part in the Olympic Games. Sport and culture are the tools for improving the situation, for setting the scene, and specifically the Olympic Games. Take, for example, ancient Greece where even wars were stopped during Olympic Games. So sport and culture will help improve the situation. And we’re even ahead of the situation when it comes to trade. So it will help us in every way.”
Euronews: “O, sport; you are Peace!”
Ivanishvili: “Yes of course, o, sport, you are Peace, yes!”
For your information:
“O, sport, you are Peace!” refers to the poem “Ode to Sport” by Pierre de Coubertin which won the gold medal for literature at the 1912 summer Olympics.
More about: Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgia, Georgia politics, Prime Minister
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Pakistan – New York Times bureau chief ordered to leave on eve of elections
Reporters Without Borders deplores New York Times Islamabad bureau chief Declan Walsh’s expulsion from Pakistan on 12 May. Walsh was handed an interior ministry note on 9 May, two days before key parliamentary elections, giving him 72 hours to leave. The note said his visa had been cancelled because of “undesirable activities” but gave no other explanation. “Deporting a foreign journalist at the very moment when historic elections are taking place is a complete contradiction of the democratic (…) … Read More
Fake Bulgaria ballots seized
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Pakistan – Historic elections need strong support for freedom of information
Reporters Without Borders has written an open letter to Pakistan’s government and political party leaders on the eve of tomorrow’s parliamentary elections, voicing concern that reporting is becoming increasingly difficult in some parts of the countries and urging the next government to protect news providers. President Asif Ali Zardari Prime Minister Mir Khazar Khan Khoso Leaders of Pakistan’s political parties Paris, 10 May 2013 Dear President Zardari, Dear Prime Minister Khoso, Dear (…) … Read More
Queen’s Speech: UK government to crackdown on EU migrants
In her annual speech to parliament, Queen Elizabeth II began by saying the government’s priority is to “strengthen Britain’s economic competitiveness.” She also announced a cap on social care costs and a single state pension of £144 a week, in contrast to the cuts which have dominated government policy since coming to power.However, there was no mention of changes to Chancellor George Osborne’s controversial austerity program, despite comments on Wednesday from the Trade Union Congress (TUC) that the UK is facing a “lost decade of growth.”The Gracious Speech – as it is also known – takes place every year in Britain, and is part of the official State Opening of Parliament. It allows the government to set out its proposed bills and the problems it wants to address for the next parliamentary session. The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall were also present, which is seen symbolically as a sharing of the Queen’s duties now that she is growing older.In this year’s Speech there were a number of new measures aimed at curtailing immigration to the UK, especially from poorer EU nations such as Romania and Bulgaria.Private landlords will be required to snoop on their tenants and report those that do not possess the documents required to live in the UK. Landlords who do not will face fines running up into the thousands of pounds. The proposal has prompted criticism that ordinary people are being made to police the immigration system where the UK Border Agency (UKBA) has failed.There will also be measures enacted to prevent illegal immigrants from obtaining driving licenses and to make it harder to access the National Health Service (NHS) for those who aren’t entitled to use it, by making EU member-states pay for their citizen’s medical treatment.There will also be a six-month restriction to the jobseeker’s allowance, which will apply to all EU nationals who are not actively seeking employment and are unable to show they have a genuine chance of getting work.There will also be a new residence test requiring residents to have lived in the UK for at least a year before they gain access to civil legal aid.An immigration bill was also announced that will make it easier to deport criminal and terrorists, such as Muslim preacher Abu Hamza. Home Secretary Theresa May, who has been unable to deport Hamza despite repeated attempts, will make it impossible for such figures to use Article 8 of the Human Rights Act – the right to family life – to stay in the UK.May believes only a full change in the law will persuade UK judges not to defer to the Human Rights Act in cases such as Hamza’s. “We want to attract people who will add to our national life, and those who do not should be deterred,” the Queen announced.Other proposed bills include a cap in social care costs, a raise in state pensions from £107 to £144 per week, and the scrapping of means-tested top-ups.Preliminary funding of the second stage of the HS2 high-speed rail link between Birmingham and Leeds and Manchester was also announced, allowing funding to be made available for the early design stages.A bill to monitor mobile communications was dropped due to objections from the Liberal Democrats, the government’s coalition partners.Plans to impose a minimum charge on alcohol and to introduce plain packaging for cigarettes were also left out, although this does not mean they will not become law at a later date.Euroskeptics on the rise?The new laws designed to curb immigration will be viewed by many as a reaction to the rise of UKIP and their recent successes in local elections. However, the Speech was written before polling day.Cameron will also hope that the new tougher measures on immigration will help to quell the growing clamor in his backbenches for a referendum on EU membership in this parliament. Cameron has said this would be impossible because he has an agreement with pro-EU Liberal Democrats not to hold a referendum on the issue, although he has promised to hold one in the next parliament if the conservatives win the elections in 2015.The Prime Minster vowed he will be able to secure real changes in Britain’s EU membership terms by negotiating with the body. “I want to give people a proper choice between Britain remaining in a reformed EU or leaving that EU,” Cameron said on Tuesday at a London conference on the future of Somalia.The festering issue was given game-changing status by the intervention on Tuesday of 81-year old Lord Lawson, Margaret Thatcher’s longest-serving chancellor. In the Times, he urged Britain to completely quit Europe, saying it was a “bureaucratic monstrosity” which damaged the interests of the City of London. No-growth BritanniaIn a further blow to Chancellor George Osborne’s unwavering austerity program, the TUC warned the government that they are facing a “lost decade of growth,” and that the UK is lagging behind its rivals. A recent report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) showed that Britain was experiencing a slower economic recovery than 23 of its 33 rival economies.The TUC report comes as the IMF visit London on Wednesday for their annual report on the state of the UK economy. … Read More
Queen’s Speech: UK government to crack down on EU migrants
In her annual speech to parliament, Queen Elizabeth II began by saying the government’s priority is to “strengthen Britain’s economic competitiveness.” She also announced a cap on social care costs and a single state pension of £144 a week, in contrast to the cuts which have dominated government policy since coming to power.However, there was no mention of changes to Chancellor George Osborne’s controversial austerity program, despite comments on Wednesday from the Trade Union Congress (TUC) that the UK is facing a “lost decade of growth.”The Gracious Speech – as it is also known – takes place every year in Britain, and is part of the official State Opening of Parliament. It allows the government to set out its proposed bills and the problems it wants to address for the next parliamentary session. The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall were also present, which is seen symbolically as a sharing of the Queen’s duties now that she is growing older.In this year’s Speech there were a number of new measures aimed at curtailing immigration to the UK, especially from poorer EU nations such as Romania and Bulgaria.Private landlords will be required to snoop on their tenants and report those that do not possess the documents required to live in the UK. Landlords who do not will face fines running up into the thousands of pounds. The proposal has prompted criticism that ordinary people are being made to police the immigration system where the UK Border Agency (UKBA) has failed.There will also be measures enacted to prevent illegal immigrants from obtaining driving licenses and to make it harder to access the National Health Service (NHS) for those who aren’t entitled to use it, by making EU member-states pay for their citizen’s medical treatment.There will also be a six-month restriction to the jobseeker’s allowance, which will apply to all EU nationals who are not actively seeking employment and are unable to show they have a genuine chance of getting work.There will also be a new residence test requiring residents to have lived in the UK for at least a year before they gain access to civil legal aid.An immigration bill was also announced that will make it easier to deport criminal and terrorists, such as Muslim preacher Abu Hamza. Home Secretary Theresa May, who has been unable to deport Hamza despite repeated attempts, will make it impossible for such figures to use Article 8 of the Human Rights Act – the right to family life – to stay in the UK.May believes only a full change in the law will persuade UK judges not to defer to the Human Rights Act in cases such as Hamza’s. “We want to attract people who will add to our national life, and those who do not should be deterred,” the Queen announced.Other proposed bills include a cap in social care costs, a raise in state pensions from £107 to £144 per week, and the scrapping of means-tested top-ups.Preliminary funding of the second stage of the HS2 high-speed rail link between Birmingham and Leeds and Manchester was also announced, allowing funding to be made available for the early design stages.A bill to monitor mobile communications was dropped due to objections from the Liberal Democrats, the government’s coalition partners.Plans to impose a minimum charge on alcohol and to introduce plain packaging for cigarettes were also left out, although this does not mean they will not become law at a later date.Euroskeptics on the rise?The new laws designed to curb immigration will be viewed by many as a reaction to the rise of UKIP and their recent successes in local elections. However, the Speech was written before polling day.Cameron will also hope that the new tougher measures on immigration will help to quell the growing clamor in his backbenches for a referendum on EU membership in this parliament. Cameron has said this would be impossible because he has an agreement with pro-EU Liberal Democrats not to hold a referendum on the issue, although he has promised to hold one in the next parliament if the conservatives win the elections in 2015.The Prime Minster vowed he will be able to secure real changes in Britain’s EU membership terms by negotiating with the body. “I want to give people a proper choice between Britain remaining in a reformed EU or leaving that EU,” Cameron said on Tuesday at a London conference on the future of Somalia.The festering issue was given game-changing status by the intervention on Tuesday of 81-year old Lord Lawson, Margaret Thatcher’s longest-serving chancellor. In the Times, he urged Britain to completely quit Europe, saying it was a “bureaucratic monstrosity” which damaged the interests of the City of London. No-growth BritanniaIn a further blow to Chancellor George Osborne’s unwavering austerity program, the TUC warned the government that they are facing a “lost decade of growth,” and that the UK is lagging behind its rivals. A recent report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) showed that Britain was experiencing a slower economic recovery than 23 of its 33 rival economies.The TUC report comes as the IMF visit London on Wednesday for their annual report on the state of the UK economy. … Read More
