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In honor of World Press Freedom Day May 3, 2009 the South Caucasus Network of Human Rights Defenders expresses its concern about the press freedom situations in Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Bans on independent and opposition media outlets, censorship, and harassment of journalists remain serious concerns in all three countries. In addition, in Azerbaijan, unlike Georgia and Armenia, defamation is a criminal offence.

In the city of Cherkessk, the capital of Karachaevo-Circassia, the longest shashlik (kebab) in the world was cooked. The length of the modular skewer with the shashlik made 120 meters. For cooking the meal, 80 shashlik cookers used 400 kilos of meat from 30 young lambs.

In Armenia, Lusine Saakyan, a well-known lawyer and wife of Argishti Kiviryan, hackneyed coordinator of the Internet edition "Armenia Today", who is in hospital in a grave condition, has stated that there are people who try to put the investigation into the attack on her husband onto a wring track.

Asad Gadirov, father of Fardy Gadirov, who committed a massacre on April 30 in the Azerbaijani State Oil Academy (ASOA) in Baku, has renounced his son.

Today, at a meeting with Peter Semnebi, Special Representative of the European Union in the countries of Southern Caucasus, the members of the Georgian parliamentary opposition have stated the need of a fundamental constitutional reform to be undertaken in the country with the aim to restrict the powers of the president in favour of the parliament.

Today, President of the Republic Eduard Kokoity has stated that in the near future South Ossetia will start rebuilding private houses for the funds allocated by Russia.

Today, Georgian mass media have disseminated information that this week additional subdivisions of Russian troops entered the Akhalgori District of South Ossetia. The information was confirmed by Grigol Vashadze, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia.

Leader of the oppositional Conservative Party of Georgia Zviad Dzidziguri has stated that the actions of the opposition with a demand of Mikhail Saakashvili's will last for 2-3 weeks more.

After the tragedy in the Azerbaijani State Oil Academy (ASOA) the Republic's authorities made a decision to strengthen security in higher educational establishments of the country, as stated today by Misir Mardanov, Minister of Education of Azerbaijan.

Sappers of the "Leader" Special-Purpose Centre of the Ministry for Emergencies (MfE) of Russia, who arrived in mid-April to Chechnya to clean the territory of one of the state farms from mines, shells and other explosives, have started using a special robotic complex in their dangerous work.

Today is the official start of the pre-election agitation campaign for the Mayor and Board of Elders of the capital of Armenia; the elections will take place on May 31.

The government of Serbia has made a decision not to send its soldiers to NATO exercises in Georgia to take place from May 6 to June 1; this is reported by the Serbian cabinet of ministers as a result of its regular sitting.

As noted by Tatiana Pshenisnova, representative of the press service of the administration of the city of Anapa, Anatoly Pakhomov, former Anapa Mayor, elected on April 26 to the post of the Mayor of Sochi, has "A pupil syndrome"; while Galina Snimschikova, head of the information department of the administration of Sochi, asserts that Pakhomov, being acting Mayor, made "a lot of good things for Sochi."

On April 30, 14 residents of Novy Sulak village, Kizil-Yurt District of Dagestan, including five children, were hospitalized with a preliminary diagnosis "food poisoning by potable water".

In the Shali District of the Chechen Republic, when two ATCs (armoured troop-carriers) of the Internal Troops of Russia's MIA were moving along the bridge, a powerful self-made land mine (fougasse) was blown up. As a result of the explosion, one of the soldiers was wounded and hospitalized.

In Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, a mass students' action under the motto "No to terror!" was held. Young people have also demanded to announce mourning in the country in memory of the victims of the bloody massacre in the Azerbaijani State Oil Academy (ASOA).

In the village of Troitskaya, Sunzha District of Ingushetia, unidentified persons shot dead point-blank Said-Ibragim Kalimatov, 32, a religious figure, near the gate of his house.

If the state fails to promptly settle a range of problems, which have arisen in recent months in the social and economic sphere, spontaneous discontent of certain layers of population can grow into a serious disruption. This was stated at a rally on May 1 by Levon Ter-Petrosyan, the first president of Armenia and leader of the Armenian National Congress (ANC).

Leaders of the opposition parties of Georgia have submitted an application to the Mayoralty of Tbilisi notifying that the actions demanding resignation of Mikhail Saakashvili will go on from May 8 till May 15.

In a suburb of Dagestan city of Khasavyurt, unidentified persons undermined an armoured special vehicle, which transported employees of local SIZO (investigatory prison). Fortunately, there were no casualties and victims.