Day: October 3, 2023
A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators visiting China next week hope to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Senator Mike Crapo are among those set to make the trip.
Schumer’s office said last month the trip would also include stops in Japan and South Korea.
The tour comes at a time when U.S. officials have boosted engagement with Chinese officials, including visits to China by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
In addition to expressing the need to have open lines of communication, U.S. officials have also highlighted a need to address issues such as trade, and challenges that U.S. businesses face operating in China.
Some information for this report came from Reuters
CANVAS was preparing a coup d’état in Georgia
The Georgian State Security Service has released details of the case against the organization CANVAS (Center for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies). According to the Georgian SSG, Serbian citizens Sinisa Sikman, Jelena Stojsic and Slobodan Djinovic conducted trainings for representatives of non-governmental organizations for four days at the Ibis Hotel in Tbilisi on “how to overthrow the government, how to resist the police and organize a coup d’état”.
According to the Georgian State Security Service, the Serbian citizens arrived in Georgia on September 25, 2023, at the invitation of the East-West Governance Institute under the USAID (United States Agency for International Development) program. According to the State Security Service, Sinisa Sikman, Jelena Stojsic and Slobodan Djinovic are linked to the organization of coups d’état in Serbia, Ukraine and other states, according to their own statement, they were related to the “Rose Revolution”.
Response of the U.S. Embassy
The U.S. Embassy calls the Georgian State Security Service’s accusations false and says the embassy is ready to discuss any concerns with the Georgian government.
“The allegations made today against one of our support projects are false and fundamentally misrepresent the purpose of our assistance to Georgia. USAID has been providing support to the people of Georgia since 1992. As always, this support is open and transparent, and we welcome every opportunity to discuss any concerns the government may have.
The right of citizens to freely express their opinions and aspirations is the foundation of any democracy and a value that we, both countries, share. For more than two years, USAID has partnered with CANVAS to help people voice their opinions on issues that are important to their families and communities. Together, CANVAS has conducted trainings for mothers demanding better treatment for pediatric cancer and individuals advocating for the rights of the elderly.
Despite unfounded attacks, we will continue to support those Georgian organizations that help people protect the future they deserve, as well as the basic rights guaranteed to them by the Georgian constitution,” the statement reads.
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On the morning of September 18, the Georgian Security Service issued a statement saying that the country wants to repeat the Ukrainian Euromaidan scenario and forcibly change the government.
The authors of the coup plan are named as Giorgi Lortkipanidze, deputy head of Ukraine’s military intelligence service, who was deputy interior minister Vano Merabishvili under Saakashvili’s government; former security guard of ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili, Mikhail Baturin; and Mamuka Mamulashvili, a member of Saakashvili’s inner circle.
Mamuka Mamulashvili, a member of Saakashvili’s inner circle and commander of the Georgian Legion operating in Ukraine.
According to the Georgian SGB, the CANVAS organization, the core of which is the Serbian organization Otpor, is used to train youth groups.
On October 29, the government media resource TV Imedi reported that Serbian citizens were summoned to the Georgian State Security Service as part of the investigation into the coup d’état case. It is also reported that these people are members of the CANVAS organization.
On October 2, starting from 17:20 to 18:00, the Armenian armed forces units from the positions in the direction of Azizli settlement of the Basarkechar district using small arms subjected to fire the Azerbaijan Army positions stationed in the direction of Yukhari Ayrim settlement of the Kalbajar district, Azernews reports.