Thursday, February 03, 2005
Georgian PM Dead
Apparently from a gas leak. Am I the only one who is wondering if this wasn't an accident?
Update
Well I feel like less of a nut now that the Guardian is reporting that some in Georgia had the same thought (you're not crazy if others' agree with you. You may still be wrong, but you're not crazy.).
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Security guards broke through a window early Thursday when they heard no signs of life inside the apartment several hours after the prime minister arrived, Merabishvili said. Zhvania's host, Zurab Usupov, deputy governor of Georgia's Kvemo-Kartli region, also died.Why wasn't the security detail with Zhvania? If you're that high up the food chain, I don't think they ever leave your side. In light of Yuschenko and the fact that Zhvania was another reformer, I'm a little curious as to what's going on in the former Soviet Republics.
Update
Well I feel like less of a nut now that the Guardian is reporting that some in Georgia had the same thought (you're not crazy if others' agree with you. You may still be wrong, but you're not crazy.).
Georgia's interior minister said there was no reason to suspect foul play, but a lawmaker reportedly pointed the finger at ``outside forces.'' His remarks were aimed at Russia, which has ties with Georgia's separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and prompted a terse response from Moscow.In the comments, J.P. joins me on the grassy knoll.
The lawmaker, Alexander Shalamberidze, noted that the death of Zhvania, 41, came days after a car bombing that killed three policemen in Gori, the city nearest to South Ossetia. Zhvania, considered a moderate influence in the government of this former Soviet republic, had been trying to negotiate settlements with the separatist regions.
"The explosion in Gori and Zhvania's death have dealt strong blows to our state. Now our neighbors are going to take advantage of that, they are saying we are almost savages living in the cold," Shalamberidze said.
Asked whom he meant, he replied: ``Russia. They are trying to prevent Georgia from getting stronger. The entire Russian diplomatic activity regarding our country confirms that."
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