(Tbilisi. April 24, 2003. Civil Georgia) – The Parliament voted today against the draft law on creation of the free trade zones in Georgia with 81 votes to 74.
However the Revival Parliamentary faction claims the voting was held with the procedural violations.
The draft law was proposed by the Revival faction, backed by head of the Adjarian Autonomous Republic Aslan Abashidze, which lobbies creation of the free trade zone in Batumi, Adjarian capital for a long time.
This was the Revival?s second unsuccessful attempt to approve the proposal. The initiative on free trade area was first discussed by the Parliament in 1997, but rejected following the strong objection of the central government.
The pro-governmental factions were categorically against the proposal. President Shevardnadze said last week that the creation of the free trade zones would ?trigger separatist tendencies in the country.?
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