Georgia: Forest Fires
ForestFires in Georgia
Civil Georgia;September – October 2004
Government to Propose Draft Law to Boost Reserve Forces other
2004-10-10 17:29:37
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said on October 9, that he will submit a draft law to the Parliament, which will ban appointment on the official posts those who refuse to serve in the military service and avoid undergoing training in the reserve forces.
President Saakashvili, who visited training fields in Osiauri, central Georgia and in Sachkhere, the western Georgia, where two reserve battalions are undergoing training at the moment, said that Georgia will train more than 10,000 reserve troops by the end of 2005.
We do not need this reserve forces for attacking someone. When there was a forest fire in Borjomi [National Park, in western Georgia, that raged on September 26], these servicemen [referring to reservists] helped to contain it[fire]. So these troops are very much needed in emergency situations, Mikheil Saakashvili said.
He also slammed those, as he put it, so called politicians who have nihilistic and skeptical stance towards the initiative to build up strong reserve forces.
There are 360 servicemen in each of the two reserve battalions, which are currently undergoing training in Osiauri and Sachkhere. There are several Georgian parliamentarians in the battalion as well.
Turkey Assists Georgia in Forest Fire Fight other
2004-10-01 14:29:36
Three Turkish airplanes dropped water bombs on October 1 to help Georgian firefighters who have failed to control a blaze in the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park, in western Georgia, that has raged since September 26.
Turkey provided fire-fighting airplanes after upon a request by the Georgian side. The scale of the fire has already been reduced and the situation in under the control, the Georgian Ministry of Environment reported on October 1.
Georgia Fails to Contain Forest Fire other
2004-09-30 14:33:01
Somewhere between 7-8 hectares of forest have been ravaged by a four-day fire that began on September 26 and has raged through the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park ever since. However, firefighters have managed to localize the fire.
The Minister of the Environmental Protection Tamar Lebanidze left for the Borjomi region on September 29 in order to study the situation at the scene.
The cause of the fire is still unknown. Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania said on September 29 that the authorities are doing their utmost to quench the fire.
