subtitles of this photo: (...) people putting this up have been arrested and accused of hooliganism... If this where the worst that happens in this town :( (...)so what have we heard in international media since the end of the state emergency announced by the government of georgia? not a lot. we do face this phenomenon of globalised media to only discontinuously report about developing countries. its the catastrophies and destruction which is the main focus of reporting. world's attention seems to pass by quickly: perseverating attention, jumping from one news to the other. maybe western media will be back to georgia short before the envisaged elections in January, unless no other catastrophies happen in the meantime.
so lets turn to Russian newspapers instead: the moscow times starts in todays issue to replace the term rose revolution by the one of a smokey rose revolution:
(...) White smoke drifted low across Rustaveli Avenue for the second time in a month. But this time it was not the tear gas fired by riot police as they broke up anti-government protests. These were clouds of dry ice, pumped out from smoke machines on a stage outside the Georgian parliament, as a band of aging, frizzy-haired British rockers called Smokie chugged through their back catalogue of 1970s hits.
It was St. George's Day and the fourth anniversary of the Rose Revolution. Despite all the shock and bitterness caused by the civil unrest of the past weeks, the show clearly had to go on. Despite the band's supposed popularity across the former Soviet Union, Smokie did seem a peculiar choice to soundtrack the celebration of President Mikheil Saakashvili's finest moment, while the profane chorus of their best-known song, "Who the [expletive] Is Alice?" did not immediately appear suited to the respectful commemoration of Georgia's patron saint. (...)
kommersant reports about a (peaceful) rally last sunday to guarantee press freedom in georgia:
(...) Opposition supporters gathered outside the Georgian parliament on Sunday in the first rally after the emergency rule was lifted in the country. About 30,000 people got back to the spot where authorities dispersed an opposition rally on November 7 to demand a fair election and the return of the Imedi TV channel (...)
