Saakashvili Personally Assumes PM Duties

Civil Georgia (Tbilisi)
2005-02-03

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said on February 3 that he will
assume the Prime Minister’s responsibilities in the wake of the death of
Zurab Zhvania early on Thursday.

`I, as the President of Georgia, will assume the leadership of the
executive authorities. I instruct the members of the government to
return to their work places and work in a usual regime. I, as the
Commander in Chief , instruct the law enforcement agencies and the army
to continue performing their functions,’ the President said after
visiting the newly built Holly Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi on February 3.

`It is very important to maintain order and discipline in the country. I
want to warn everybody that all those who violate order and discipline
will be answerable before the law. We fully control the situation, we
are a strong state, we are strong nation and we will manage to settle
the problems,’ President Saakashvili added.

FONAR Installs Upright MRI in Busy Long Island, New York Medical Complex

Neurosurgeon Says Upright MRI Provided an Explanation of Patients’
Symptoms and Other Possibilities of Treatment Not Possible without It

Business Wire
Thursday February 3, 2005

MELVILLE, N.Y.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Feb. 3, 2005– FONAR Corporation
(NASDAQ: FONR – News), The MRI Specialist(TM), announced today it has
installed an Upright(TM) MRI at Great Neck Stand-Up MRI, located at 600
Northern Boulevard in Great Neck, NewYork. The facility is located in
close proximity to three major hospitals, Long Island Jewish Medical
Center, North Shore University Hospital and St. Francis Hospital.

“We are delighted with the reception our new Upright(TM) MRI has
received,” said Michael A. Brisman, M.D., and his associates Stephen D.
Burstein, M.D., William J. Sonstein, M.D. and Jeffrey A. Brown, M.D.,
all neurosurgeons at Great Neck Stand-Up MRI.

“The Upright(TM) MRI is a unique product and technology that provides
the image quality that discerning physicians expect, as well as enables
neurosurgeons, like me, to see changes in pathology based on a patient’s
position,” continued Dr. Brisman. “Moreover, the Upright(TM) MRI is
patient friendly, allowing even the most claustrophobic patients to be
scanned without difficulty. As a result, using the FONAR Upright(TM) MRI
gives Great Neck Stand-Up MRI a competitive advantage in an area that
already has many MRI machines and facilities.”

Dr. Brisman continued, “The ability to scan patients in the flexion and
extension positions is very significant because it allows us to see the
‘complete picture’ of the patients’ pathology. For example, a cervical
(neck) exam of a 57 year-old female in the extension position showed
more pathology than an exam in the neutral or flexion position. The
stenosis at C3-4 and C4-5, not evident on the flexion or neutral
positions, provided us with an explanation of the patient’s symptoms
that we were lacking without the extension study. The extension images
exhibited stenosis at a higher cervical level than we would have
suspected from either the neutral sit or flexion exam.”

For MRI images of the Patients go to:

“Another example is that of a 40 year-old male with low lumbar (back)
pain who we scanned in the Upright(TM) MRI,” said Dr. Brisbane. “His
scan in the extension position displayed more pathology than the scan in
the neutral position. The neutral scan provided no explanation of the
patient’s symptoms or a possible treatment. The Upright extension exam
exhibited a significant stenosis at L2-3, not visible in the neutral
position, which a surgical laminectomy could relieve. Whether or not the
patient chooses surgery, the cause of his symptoms is now clear. Once
again, this additional information significantly impacted my decision
process with respect to his treatment.”

Raymond Damadian, president and founder of FONAR said, “We are pleased
to hear Dr. Brisman’s report. Dr. Brisman has had precisely the
experience FONAR’s Upright(TM) MRI was designed to achieve: a complete
picture of the pathology relative to the incomplete picture of the
recumbent-only MRI, and the opportunity to optimize surgical treatment
for a better surgical result.”

“Dr. Brisman represents another good example of why we believe that the
era of Upright(TM) imaging is truly here,” concluded Dr. Damadian.

Great Neck Stand-Up MRI is located at 600 Northern Boulevard, Great
Neck, NY 11021. To schedule an appointment, please call (516) 478-0004.

About FONAR

FONAR was incorporated in 1978, making it the first, oldest and most
experienced MRI manufacturer in the industry. FONAR introduced the
world’s first commercial MRI in 1980, and went public in 1981. Since its
inception, we have installed nearly 300 MRI scanners worldwide. FONAR’s
stellar product line includes the Upright(TM) MRI (also known as the
Stand-Up(TM) MRI), the only whole-body MRI that performs Position(TM)
imaging (pMRI(TM)) and scans patients in numerous weight-bearing
positions, i.e. standing, sitting, in flexion and extension, as well as
the conventional lie-down position. With over 100,000 patients scanned,
the patient-friendly Upright(TM) MRI has a near zero claustrophobic
rejection rate by patients. As a FONAR customer states, “If the patient
is claustrophobic in this scanner, they’ll be claustrophobic in my
parking lot.” Approximately 85% of patients are scanned sitting while
they watch a 42″ flat screen TV. Our latest MRI scanner is the FONAR
360(TM), a room-size recumbent scanner that optimizes openness while
facilitating physician access to the patient. FONAR is headquartered on
Long Island, New York, and has approximately 500 employees.

MRI Specialist, Stand-Up, Upright, Position, pMRI and The Proof is in
the Picture are trademarks of FONAR.

This release may include forward-looking statements from the company
that may or may not materialize. Additional information on factors that
could potentially affect the company’s financial results may be found in
the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contact:

FONAR Corporation
Daniel Culver or David B. Terry, 631-694-2929
Fax: 631-390-9540
or
Investor Relations:
The Anne McBride Company
Kathy Price, 212-983-1702, ext. 212

Source: FONAR Corporation

AUTHORITIES DECLARE GEORGIAN PRIME MINISTER’S DEATH AN ACCIDENT

EURASIA INSIGHT

EurasiaNet.org
Thursday, February 3, 2005

By Molly Corso

Zurab Zhvania, Georgia’s prime minister and a member of the triumvirate
that led the country’s 2003 Rose Revolution, was found dead in a Tbilisi
apartment February 3, the apparent victim of carbon-monoxide poisoning.
An initial investigation indicated that Zhvania’s death was accidental.
The tragedy comes at a particularly sensitive time for the Georgian
government, and deprives the country of its most experienced reformist
politician.

Zhvania’s death occurred at the apartment of Raul Usupov, the deputy
governor of the Kvemo-Kartli region, who also died in the incident. The
prime minister’s bodyguards discovered the bodies of the two men at
about 4:30 am, breaking down the apartment’s door after not receiving a
response to knocking and a cell-phone call, according to reports. The
two had apparently succumbed to carbon-monoxide fumes.

The motivation for Zhvania’s late-night visit to Usupov’s apartment
remains shrouded in mystery. A source told EurasiaNet that the prime
minister reportedly received a phone call around midnight, as he was
preparing to go to bed, prompting him to change his plans and depart for
Usupov’s apartment. Inside the apartment, investigators found an open
backgammon board. According to Vasil Maghlaperidze, a member of
parliament, Usupov had been seeking a meeting with the prime minister
for the past week.

Vano Merabishvili, the minister of internal affairs, announced that a
preliminary investigation ruled out criminal action in connections with
the deaths. Authorities fixed the cause on a faulty heating system,
which had recently been installed in Usupov’s apartment.

Nugzar Mkhedze, a representative of Tbilgazi, said the
Iranian-manufactured heater had not been properly installed causing
fumes to accumulate inside the poorly ventilated apartment. “The heater
consumes oxygen from the room. When there is no more oxygen, it poisons
the air,” he explained. “In the back, there was not a good connection.
Fifteen to 20 minutes is enough to start poisoning a person.”

Mkhedze added that Zhvania and Usupov could well have been unaware of
the poisoning danger, given that carbon monoxide is difficult to detect.
“You just want to sleep. You fall asleep and die,” Mkhedze said in a
statement issued after examining Usupov’s apartment.

Late on February 3, Deputy Justice Minister Levan Samkharauli announced
that forensic tests revealed that Zhvania’s body contained double the
lethal amount of carboxihemoglobin – a product of carbon-monoxide
inhalation — in his bloodstream. The build-up of carboxihemoglobin in
Zhvania’s and Usupov’s bodies cut the oxygen supply to their brains and
other organs, causing them to asphyxiate, Samkharauli indicated.

Zhvania’s death shocked Georgia’s political establishment. A visibly
shaken President Mikheil Saakashvili, speaking on Georgian television,
said Zhvania’s untimely death posed a significant challenge to the
government’s stabilization efforts. “This is a blow for our country and
for me personally,” Saakashvili said. “I call on everybody to be strong,
to stand together and continue to serve our country.”

Manana Nachepia, a representative of the New Right/Industrialists
opposition coalition, lamented Zhvania’s passing, saying the country has
lost a patriot. “Even though we were opposition, we considered him very
smart, very energetic and he fought for [Georgia],” she said in a
telephone interview. “I can’t say any thing concrete about what will be
next, but I hope everything falls unto place and goes well.”

The news of Zhvania’s death came on the heels of a February 1
car-bombing in the city of Gori. Saakashvili characterized the bombing
as a terrorist act, and it has heightened the tension surrounding the
Georgian government’s efforts to reintegrate the break-away regions of
Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The tragedy could also significantly impact
the country’s privatization process, one of Zhvania’s primary
responsibilities.

Saakashvili announced that, for the time being, he would assume
Zhvania’s duties, the Civil Georgia web site reported late on February
3. Earlier reports had indicated that Saakashvili had elevated Vice
Premier Giorgi Baramidze to serve as the provisional head of government.

Saakashvili reportedly convened a late-night session of the country’s
National Security Council on February 3 to discuss potential prime
ministerial candidates. Saakashvili indicated that he would nominate a
replacement for Zhvania within a week, a Civil Georgia report said.

Zurab Zhvania, who was 41 at the time of his death, had been prominent
in Georgia’s reform movement for over 15 years. Political analysts in
Tbilisi described him as the glue that held Saakashvili’s cabinet
together, serving as a bridge between economic reformers, led by
financial trouble-shooter Kakha Bendukidze and the nationalist faction
led by Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili. He was one of the few
members of the cabinet with extensive experience in positions of
authority. Zhvania leaves behind a wife, Nino, and three children;
Elizabeth, Bessarion and Ann.

A biologist by training, he got his start in politics in 1989, when he
was elected chairman of the Georgian Green Party. In 1992, Zhvania was
elected to parliament. The next year, he catapulted to national
prominence, becoming the secretary-general of the newly established
Citizens Union of Georgia (CUG), which was at the time envisioned as a
political support vehicle for then-president Eduard Shevardnadze.

The CUG swept the parliamentary elections of 1995, and Zhvania emerged
as the speaker of the legislature. He held that post until 2001, when he
resigned amid a government crisis. During his tenure as parliament
speaker, he led the so-called “Young Reformer” movement and was
instrumental in bringing Saakashvili into Shevardnadze’s administration
as justice minister. Like Zhvania, Saakashvili resigned in late 2001,
complaining about corruption.

In opposition to Shevardnadze, Zhvania and Saakashvili pursued different
political courses, with the present-day president favoring more
confrontational tactics. Saakashvili’s aggressiveness captured
publicity, enabling him to vault past Zhvania as the most prominent
figure in Georgia’s reform movement.

The two became close allies again during the aftermath of the November
2003 parliamentary election, which they denounced as rigged by
Shevardnadze’s administration. The two, along with incumbent Parliament
Speaker Nino Burjanadze, helped galvanize popular protests into what
became known as the Rose Revolution, forcing Shevardnadze’s resignation.

In the post-Shevardnadze era, Zhvania and Saakashvili appeared to
coexist well as the government pursued an ambitious program to
reintegrate the country and root out corruption. In televised comments
February 3, Saakashvili called Zhvania his “closest friend, closest
adviser and faithful ally.”

Editor’s Note: Molly Corso is a freelance journalist and photographer
based in Tbilisi.

Report Criticizes Oil-For-Food Program

Associated Press
February 3, 2005

By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer

UNITED NATIONS – Former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker says
his investigation of corruption in the oil-for-food program in Iraq
found that program director Benon Sevan engaged in “an irreconcilable
conflict of interest” by choosing the companies that bought Saddam
Hussein’s oil.

Volcker’s first report, as outlined to The Associated Press by an
official close to the investigation and by Volcker himself in an op-ed
article in Thursday’s Wall Street Journal, found the $60 billion program
“tainted” from top to bottom.

Volcker said in the article that program managers, auditors, contractors
hired to oversee the program’s operation and those who controlled U.N.
expenditures for it, all failed “to follow the established rules of the
organization designed to assure fairness and accountability.”

The 219-page report was scheduled to be released by Volcker Thursday
afternoon. He personally delivered a copy to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi
Annan on Thursday morning and spent about 45 minutes with the U.N. chief.

“We had some discussion of it,” Volcker said.

U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said Annan was “perhaps surprised” by
Volcker’s decision to preview his findings before giving the
secretary-general the report.

“We are currently studying the report,” Eckhard said.

Mark Malloch Brown, the secretary-general’s new chief of staff, would
hold a press conference after the report’s release to give Annan’s
reaction, he said.

The oil-for-food program, launched in December 1996 to help ordinary
Iraqis cope with U.N. sanctions imposed after Saddam’s 1990 invasion of
Kuwait, quickly became a lifeline for 90 percent of the population.

Under the program, Saddam’s regime could sell oil, provided the proceeds
went primarily to buy humanitarian goods and pay reparations to victims
of the 1991 Gulf War. Saddam’s government decided on the goods it
wanted, who should provide them, and who could buy Iraqi oil. But the
Security Council committee overseeing sanctions monitored the contracts.

The program ended in November 2003, after the U.S.-led war that toppled
Saddam. Allegations of corruption first surfaced in late 2000, with
accusations that the Iraqi leader was putting surcharges on oil sales
and pocketing the money.

In January 2004, the Iraqi newspaper Al-Mada published a list of about
270 former government officials, activists, journalists and U.N.
officials from more than 46 countries suspected of profiting from Iraqi
oil sales that were part of the U.N. program. Annan appointed Volcker in
April to lead an independent investigation.

Volcker made clear that the committee’s intention is to improve the
United Nations, not to destroy it, and he applauded Annan for opening
the world organization’s books, saying “few institutions have freely
subjected themselves to the intensity of scrutiny entailed in the
committee’s work.”

The interim report will not address questions about Annan or the
employment of his son, Kojo, by the Swiss company, Cotecna Inspection
SA, which had a U.N. contract to certify deals under the oil-for-food
program.

Critics have raised questions about nepotism and whether Kojo Annan
played any role in securing contracts for Cotecna – allegations he
denies. Volcker said the investigation of the secretary-general and his
son “is well advanced” and the person close to the inquiry told AP that
it will be addressed in a separate report later this winter.

Though Sevan has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, Volcker said “the
evidence is conclusive that Mr. Sevan, in effectively participating in
the selection of purchasers of oil under the program, placed himself in
an irreconcilable conflict of interest.” This violated both U.N. rules
and Sevan’s responsibility as an international civil servant, he said.

Volcker did not accuse Sevan of corruption. Annan has said he will lift
the diplomatic immunity of any U.N. official if Volcker finds evidence
of alleged involvement in criminal activity. Sevan has retired, but
remains on the U.N. payroll for $1 a year to help with the investigation.

The Financial Times reported Tuesday that Sevan personally intervened to
steer lucrative Iraqi oil contracts to Africa Middle East Petroleum, a
Swiss-based oil trading company. The contracts could be sold to
international traders for a markup of up to 35 cents a barrel, the paper
said.

Volcker said the procurement process was “tainted,” auditing of the
program was “underfunded and undermanned,” and its management was
“lacking.” Perhaps not surprisingly, he said, “political considerations
intruded” into procurement.

Last month, Volcker released more than 50 audits of the oil-for-food
program carried out by the U.N.’s internal watchdog office, headed by
Dileep Nair, who is also expected to be criticized in the report, the
official familiar with the investigation said, speaking on condition of
anonymity.

The audits detail how U.N. agencies working under the oil-for-food
program allegedly squandered millions of dollars through suspect
overpayment to contractors, mismanagement of purchasing and assets, and
fraud by its employees.

In a briefing paper that accompanied the release of the audits,
Volcker’s Independent Inquiry Committee questioned why the auditors
neglected the New York headquarters of the Office of the Iraq Program,
which Sevan headed. It said auditors also neglected the oil and
humanitarian supplies contracts, and transactions through the program’s
account at the French bank BNP Paribas.

Investigators say Saddam’s government used its control over contracting
to corrupt the program.

Expectations that the preliminary report will produce real evidence are
high, especially since Volcker has come under intense criticism for
comments downplaying his potential findings. He has said he intends to
provide a final report around midyear.

Annan told reporters Wednesday the United Nations is already taking
measures to strengthen some management practices and will implement
Volcker’s recommendations, saying there will probably be some “harsh
judgments.”

He added that he has already asked the General Assembly to review the
mandate of the U.N. watchdog office, which was created 10 years ago, “to
see how we can strengthen it and give it appropriate authority to do its
work.”

;cid=540&u=/ap/20050203/ap_on_re_mi_ea/oil_for_food_investigation_9&printer=1

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Prime Minister Zhvania Dies

Civil Georgia (Civil.Ge)
2005-02-03

Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania was found dead, apparently by
gas poisoning, in his friend’s apartment in Tbilisi on early hours of
February 3. Georgian Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili said Zhvania
was, apparently, poisoned by gas.

`We know that Zurab Zhvania came to his friend’s apartment
approximately at midnight on February 2. As Zurab Zhvania was not
responding to his mobile phone and no one was opening the door for a
long period, his bodyguard broke through the window at approximately
4:30 am [local time]. He [the bodyguard] found the dead bodies of
Zurab Zhvania and his friend in the apartment. It was a
misfortune. We can say that it was gas poisoning. An Iranian-made
gas-powered heating device was installed in the apartment,’ Vano
Merabishvili said.

He said that Zhvania’s friend, whom the Prime Minister was visiting,
was Deputy Governor of Kvemo Kartli Region Raul Usupov.

The bodies of both Zurab Zhvania and Raul Usupov had been taken to the
coroner’s office for examination. However, the results of this
examination is not known yet.

Merabishvili also said that Zurab Zhvania was found dead sitting on
the armchair, while his friend died in the kitchen.

President Saakashvili presented condolences regarding the death of
Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania.

`It is very hard for me to speak today. This is a blow for our country
and personally for me, as for the President and a person. Georgia lost
a great patriot, who devoted his whole life to serving our country,’
Saakashvili said at a special government’s session on February 3.

`I lost my closest friend I had, the most reliable adviser and the
greatest ally. Now, all my thoughts are with Zurab’s wife, his mother
and his children. In these hard times for the country and for us, I
call on everybody to be strong, to stand together and continue to
serve our country, despite any troubles and problems we face,’ the
President added.

Russian news agencies reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin
sent a letter of condolences to Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili
regarding the death of Zurab Zhvania.

Zhvania, who turned 41 last December, was the Prime Minister of
Georgia since February 2004. He entered the Georgian politics in late
80s when he chaired the Green Party. When Eduard Shevardnadze took
over the power in Georgia in 1992, Zurab Zhvania became his one of the
closest allies and a leading figure in by-then ruling party the
Citizens Union of Georgia and eventually took over the Parliamentary
Chairmanship in 1995.

In late 90s it became apparent that Zhvania started to distance
himself from Shevardnadze that eventually resulted in his resignation
from the Parliamentary Chairman’s position in November, 2001. Shortly
after resignation he established new political party the United
Democrats. Nino Burjanadze, who was elected as Parliamentary
Chairperson after Zhvania’s resignation, has latter jointed the
Zhvania’s party.

Zurab Zhvania and Mikheil Saakashvili became close political allies
after fraudulent November 2, 2003 parliamentary elections. After the
Rose Revolution Zurab Zhvania became the State Minister and after the
February, 2004 constitutional amendments Zhvania was appointed by
Saakashvili as the Prime Minister.

Saakashvili Comments on Zhvania’s Death

Civil Georgia (Tbilisi)
2005-02-03

President Saakashvili presented his condolences regarding the death of
Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania, who was found dead in his friend’s
apartment in Tbilisi early on February 3.

`It is very hard for me to speak today. This is a blow for our country
and for me personally, as for the President and a person. Georgia lost
a great patriot, who devoted his whole life to serving our country,’
Saakashvili said at a special government’s session on February 3.

`I lost the closest friend I had, the most reliable adviser and the
greatest ally. Now, all my thoughts are with Zurab’s wife, his mother
and his children. In these hard times for the country and for us, I
call on everybody to be strong, to stand together and continue to
serve our country, despite any troubles and problems we face,’ the
President added.

Abkhaz President-Elect Comments on Zhvania’s Death

Civil Georgia (Tbilisi)
2005-02-03

President-elect of breakaway Abkhazia Sergei Bagapsh expressed
condolence regarding the death of the Georgian Prime Minister Zurab
Zhvania and said `Zhvania’s death will not influence’ relations
between Tbilisi and Sokhumi.

`Conflict settlement process will continue in the manner as it has
been developing. Death of the Georgian Prime Minister will not and can
not have impact on our [Tbilisi-Sokhumi] relations,’ Russian news
agency RIA Novosti reported quoting Bagapsh as saying.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Putin Presents Condolences over Georgian PM’s Death

Civil Georgia (Tbilisi)
2005-02-03

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a letter of condolences to
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili regarding the death of Prime
Minister Zurab Zhvania, RIA Novosti news agency reported on February
3.

Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania was found dead, apparently by
gas poisoning in his friend’s apartment in Tbilisi on early hours of
February 3, Georgian Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili said.

Georgian Prime Minister Found Dead

Associated Press
February 4, 2005

By MISHA DZHINDZHIKHASHVILI, Associated Press Writer

TBILISI, Georgia – Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania, who helped lead
Georgia’s revolution that toppled the corruption-tainted regime of
Eduard Shevardnadze, died early Thursday in a friend’s apartment from
what officials claimed was an accidental gas leak from a heater.

Georgia’s interior minister said there was no reason to suspect foul
play, but a lawmaker reportedly pointed the finger at “outside
forces.” His remark appeared to be aimed at Russia, which has ties
with Georgia’s separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and
prompted a terse response from Moscow.

The lawmaker, Amiran 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.

“There is the impression that that these tragic facts didn’t occur by
chance but were the results of interference from the side of certain
outside forces,” Shalamberidze was quoted as saying by the ITAR-Tass
news agency.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, asked about the lawmaker’s
allegation, said in Moscow that “the statements of those who rush to
make judgments … will remain on their consciences.”

Georgia has a history of political intrigue that sometimes turns
violent. An autopsy was under way and the prosecutor-general’s office
said an investigation had been opened.

In addition to the talks with the separatists, Zhvania was trying to
crack down on corruption and crime.

The prime minister was visiting the Tbilisi apartment of his friend,
Zurab Usupov, deputy governor of the Kvemo-Kartli region, who also
died, Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili said on Rustavi-2
television.

Security guards broke through a window when they heard no signs of
life from inside several hours after the prime minister arrived,
Merabishvili said. Zhvania had entered the apartment about midnight
Wednesday, and the guards came in between 4 a.m. and 4:30 a.m.

“It is an accident,” Merabishvili said. “We can say that poisoning by
gas took place.”

A gas-fired heating stove was in the main room of the mezzanine-floor
apartment, where a table was set up with a backgammon set lying open
upon it. Zhvania was in a chair; Usupov’s body was found in the
kitchen. Police declined to give further details.

Zhvania was a key ally of President Mikhail Saakashvili in leading the
November 2003 protests against election fraud that came to be known as
the “Rose Revolution.” The demonstrations drove Shevardnadze to
resign.

Saakashvili created the post of prime minister shortly after his
election in January 2004, and he nominated Zhvania for the job.

Some critics said at the time that creating the post was essentially a
move to satisfy the ambitions of Zhvania, whose joining with
Saakashvili in the protests was seen as partly a marriage of
convenience.

In Georgia, the president wields most of the power. The prime
minister is approved by parliament and names a government, but the
president has the power to name the ministers of defense, security and
the interior.

On the day before his death, Zhvania had urged Georgians to hold back
from suspecting South Ossetian involvement in the car-bombing in Gori.

Zhvania’s government also was working to overcome Georgia’s endemic
corruption, which had enriched some Shevardnadze-era officials while
the country’s economy deteriorated.

Levan Chichua, a top official in Georgia’s National Bureau of Forensic
Medicine, said there were no signs of violence and that preliminary
examination showed both died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Deputy
Prosecutor-General Georgy Dzhanashia told journalists the heater was
installed “with serious technical violations … there was no
ventilation in the apartment.”

Central heating is scarce in Georgia. Many people rely on gas or wood
stoves in their homes and fatal malfunctions are often reported.

Saakashvili convened an emergency Cabinet meeting, which began with a
moment of silence.

“Georgia has lost a great patriot, who devoted his entire life to
serving the motherland. Zurab’s death is a great blow to Georgia and
to me personally,” Saakashvili said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (news – web sites ) sent a telegram
of condolence to Saakashvili, which said that Zhvania “was well known
in Russia as a supporter of the development of friendly,
good-neighborly relations between the Russian and Georgian peoples.”

A minister in South Ossetia’s separatist government, Boris Chochiyev,
expressed shock.

Zhvania was “among the Georgian politicians who favored a peaceful
settlement of the conflict. I can say that he represented the party of
peace,” Chochiyev told The Associated Press.

Zhvania is survived by his wife and three children.

;cid=514&e=5&u=/ap/20050203/ap_on_re_eu/georgia_prime_minister

RFE/RL Georgia: President Urges Team To Remain United After Prime
Minister’s Death

Thursday, 03 February 2005

By Jean-Christophe Peuch

Georgian authorities today announced that Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania
had been found dead in a friend’s apartment in Tbilisi. Officially,
the head of the Georgian government died of gas poisoning. Whatever
the exact circumstances of his death, his disappearance is likely to
seriously impact Georgia’s politics.

Prague, 3 February 2005 (RFE/RL) — Hours after the news of Zhvania’s
death was made public, cabinet ministers held an emergency meeting
under the chairmanship of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.

Looking unusually pale, his voice trembling with emotion, Saakashvili
said the loss of Zurab Zhvania was a major blow to Georgia.

“This is a major blow to our country, and to me personally, both as
president and as a man, just as it is probably to all of you. With
Zurab Zhvania, Georgia lost a great patriot, who had tirelessly
dedicated his entire life to serving his country. I lost my closest
friend, my most trusted adviser, and my greatest ally,” Saakashvili
said.

The 41-year old Zhvania was a key element of the youthful team of
Georgian leaders that took over from president Eduard Shevardnadze 15
months ago.

Following Shevardnadze’s resignation in November 2003, Zhvania became
the number two figure in the triumvirate that took over the reins of
power.

In February 2004, Saakashvili offered him the newly created post of
prime minister with broad powers over the economy and the upcoming
privatization program.

Pushing For Peace

Zhvania was not only involved in domestic issues. He was also a key
element in Georgia’s attempts at restoring control over its two
separatist republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Following last summer’s armed clashes in South Ossetia, Zhvania
initiated direct peace talks with separatist leader Eduard Kokoity.

The South Ossetian government today expressed its regret over
Zhvania’s death.

Boris Chochiyev, South Ossetia’s chief negotiator with Georgia, told
Russia’s RIA-Novosti news agency that “Zhvania represented that part
of the Georgian leadership which we can describe as ‘the party of
peace.'”

Chochiyev, in particular, credited the late Georgian prime minister
for putting an end to last summer’s tensions, saying: “We were
convinced that, unlike others, he was in favor of a peaceful
resolution of the [Georgian-South Ossetian] conflict.”

Hard To Replace

In Russia, too, some politicians expressed concern over the possible
consequences of Zhvania’s death.

For Konstantin Zatulin, a pro-government member of Russia’s lower
house of parliament, the State Duma, Zhvania was a “predictable”
politician. He said Zhvania’s death may affect Tbilisi’s relations
with both South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

The South Ossetian leadership has blamed last summer’s armed clashes
on Saakashvili and then interior minister Irakli Okruashvili. It was
on Saakashvili’s orders and under Okruashvili’s supervision that
troops entered South Ossetia last June, officially to combat smuggling
gangs active in the region. The operation eventually triggered armed
clashes with South Ossetian forces, bringing both sides to the verge
of war.

Georgian media have in recent weeks speculated about growing
disagreements between Okruashvili — who was appointed defense
minister in December 2004 — and Zhvania’s allies in the cabinet.

As evidence to reports of infighting, the Tbilisi-based “Rezonansi”
daily last month cited Okruashvili’s recent accusations of corruption
launched against top army officials who had been appointed at the time
that Giorgi Baramidze, a close associate of Zhvania, was defense
minister.

As if he foresaw further problems among his team, Saakashvili today
urged government members to remain united and “support each other.”

“At this difficult time for both the country and for us — and for me
personally — I would like to urge you all to remain firm and
persevering. At this difficult time for the Georgian government, you
can render no greater service to the country than to remain loyal
servants to your country, to Georgia, to our people. That is what
Zurab Zhvania devoted his entire life to and that is your most sacred
duty. However difficult it may be, we must continue to serve our
country, Georgia, every minute of our life and up until the end,”
Saakashvili said.

Saakashvili’s press adviser Medea Akhalkatsi later said that,
according to the constitution, the president has seven days to
nominate a new prime minister and ask parliament to approve his
choice.

Meanwhile, Zhvania’s daily duties will be temporarily taken over by
Baramidze, who is now a deputy prime minister and a state minister in
charge of Georgia’s European integration.

QUOTE: “At this difficult time for the Georgian government, you can
render no greater service to the country than to remain loyal servants
to your country, to Georgia, to our people.” — Georgian President
Mikheil Saakashvili