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• Azerbaijan launches localised anti-terrorist operation in Karabakh

  Baku/19.09.23/Turan: The Azerbaijani armed forces launched an anti-terrorist operation in Karabakh on 19 September, the Defence Ministry said at noon.

  Systematic shelling, mining of territories, strengthening of combat positions, growth in the number of trenches and dugouts by the Armenian armed forces in Karabakh has caused increased tensions, the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

  There is observed strengthening of combat positions with personnel, armoured vehicles, artillery and other firepower, bringing units to a high level of combat readiness, creation of additional mobilisation units, expansion of reconnaissance activities, penetration deep into the positions of the Azerbaijani armed forces to repeatedly mine cleared territories and civilian roads for sabotage and terrorist purposes, the statement said. 

  On 19 September in Karabakh, 6 people, including four policemen, were killed as a result of mines planted by Armenian saboteurs.

  Local anti-terrorist measures have been launched in the region "in order to ensure the provisions of the Trilateral Statement of November 2020, the suppression of large-scale provocations in the Karabakh Economic region, the disarmament and withdrawal of the armed forces of Armenia from our territories, the neutralization of their military infrastructure, ensuring the safety of civilians who have returned to the territories liberated from occupation and civil servants involved in the construction and restoration work and our military, as well as the restoration of the constitutional order of the Republic of Azerbaijan".

  Within the framework of the measures mentioned above, positions of the Armenian armed forces formations, their long-term firing points, as well as military means and military facilities are put out of action using high-precision weapons in the front line and in depth.

  We reiterate that the civilian population and civilian infrastructure are not targets, only legitimate military targets are taken out of action.

  The command of the peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation and the leadership of the Turkish-Russian Monitoring Centre have been informed about the activities," the statement said.

  Within the framework of the measures, positions of the Armenian armed forces formations, their long-term firing points, as well as military means and military facilities are put out of action using high-precision weapons in the front line and in depth.

  We reiterate that the civilian population and civilian infrastructure are not targets, only legitimate military targets are taken out of action.

  The command of the peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation and the leadership of the Turkish-Russian Monitoring Centre have been informed about the activities," the statement said.

• GLOBALink | China sees travel boom during May Day holiday

  China is witnessing a travel boom during this year's five-day May Day holiday, the first such holiday since the country optimized its COVID-19 response measures.

  Domestic travel bookings for the holiday, which starts on April 29 this year, have surged more than 700 percent from last year, the latest data from online travel agency Trip.com Group shows.

   Produced by Xinhua Global Service

• Prime Minister of Georgia meets Co-Rapporteurs for the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

  The key directions of cooperation between Georgia and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the agenda of Georgia’s ongoing and implemented democratic reforms were the main topics discussed at today’s meeting between Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Co-Rapporteurs for the Monitoring Committee of PACE.

  In the meeting held at the Government Administration, special emphasis was placed on the constructive work of the PACE Monitoring Committee’s Co-Rapporteurs for the monitoring of Georgia. The Head of Government thanked the Parliamentary Assembly’s delegation for productive cooperation.

  The conversation also touched on the security environment and challenges in the region and worldwide.

  The topics discussed included the situation in Georgia’s occupied territories. The role of support from the Council of Europe for peaceful conflict resolution was underlined. Irakli Garibashvili thanked PACE for firmly supporting Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

  The meeting was attended by Co-Rapporteurs for the PACE Monitoring Committee Claude Kern and Edite Estrela, also by Head of the Council of Europe Office in Georgia Natalia Voutova, Georgia’s Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili, and Head of the Government Administration Revaz Javelidze.
• THE PARLIAMENT HEARD THE ACTIVITY REPORT FOR 2022 OF THE PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION TO PACE

  At the plenary session, MPs heard the Activity Report for 2022 of the Parliamentary Delegation to PACE, introduced by the Head of the Delegation, Irakli Chikovani.

  “One of the acute issues for the PACE and for us was the devastation in Ukraine entailed by the Russian aggression and the decision made on the exclusion of Russia from the Coe and the preparation for a new Summit that is scheduled in May 2023 and that shall be dedicated to the planning of the further steps of the organization”, - he stated.

  According to him, the Georgian Delegation was one of the main Delegations that approved the exclusion of Russia at the emergency session convened by the CoE. As noted, sundry resolutions have been adopted in 2022 related to the situation in Ukraine, where the Georgian Delegation in full composition, including the Majority and the Opposition MPs, unanimously approved the documents except one resolution providing the record about the third President of Georgia.

  “This Resolution was connected neither to Georgia nor the situation in Georgia or the democratic reforms; it was an attempt, which by the way was quite successfully conducted by the EPP members and the rapporteur of the Resolution”, - he noted and added that the Resolution on Georgia initiated by the Monitoring Committee and adopted by the PACE reflects the immense progress achieved by Georgia in the democracy, rule of law and human rights protection directions.

  “This progress is clearly underlined and which is unambiguously confirmed by the CoE as a whole, though it also provides the challenges in Georgia being addressed by the Government”, - the reporter ended his speech.

• Georgian draft law on de-oligarchisation: Supporting the goal of limiting excessive influence of oligarchs, Venice Commission calls for systemic reforms

  Strasbourg, 14.03.2023 – In its interim opinion on the draft law of Georgia on de-oligarchisation published today, the Council of Europe’s body of constitutional experts, the Venice Commission, called on the Georgian authorities to adopt systemic reforms rather than targeting specific individuals, in order to achieve “de-oligarchisation”.

  “Oligarchisation” is the result of a combination of non-transparent exercise of political power without a political mandate, influence on parliaments, governments, political parties, judiciary and law enforcement bodies; ownership or influence on the media; decisive, if not monopolistic, influence on a number of areas, such as energy, mining, oil and gas, metallurgy, real estate. Eliminating such excessive influence of vested interests in economic, political and public life is a novel and very complex issue.

  The Venice Commission noted that while Ukraine was the first country to adopt specific de-oligarchisation legislation, the commitment to eliminate the excessive influence of vested interests in economic, political and public life was also the object of a specific European Commission recommendation to Georgia and the Republic of Moldova. Georgia has since prepared a draft law which is very closely modelled on Ukrainian Law. Each country, however, presents specificities.

  The Venice Commission supported the goal of eliminating or at least limiting the influence of oligarchs in political, economic and public life. It highlighted, however, that the choice of the means to achieve such a legitimate goal is of decisive importance if the system is to be effective while respecting democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights. Any such measures should be commensurate to the goal pursued of achieving a level playing field for all actors in society.

  The Commission stressed that de-oligarchisation should be ensured through a systemic approach, which has a preventative effect and targets numerous fields, such as legislation relating to media, anti-monopoly, political parties, elections, taxation, anti-corruption and anti-money laundering, etc.

  The Georgian draft law instead focuses on a so-called “personal” (punitive) approach, seeking to identify so-called “oligarchs” through specific criteria, such as wealth and media ownership, to publicly label them as “oligarchs” and to subject them to series of blanket limitations that include exclusion from the financing of political parties or activities, exclusion from privatisations of public property, etc. This approach, in the opinion of the Venice Commission, carries high risks of human rights violations and arbitrary application, potentially harming political pluralism. At the very least, the Commission recommended transferring the power to designate a person as an “oligarch” to another body than the Government, removing the broad discretion of the Government in interpreting and applying these criteria and providing strong guarantees for human rights, due process and effective remedies.

  The Venice Commission has prepared the current opinion as an interim one, with a view of pursuing its analysis of possible solutions to this matter and taking into account further legislative developments when they are available.