Georgian minister slams Vancouver Sun, denies doctoring resume

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http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/31072010/74/bc-georgian-minister-slams-vancouver-sun-\

denies-doctoring-resume.html

Georgian minister slams Vancouver Sun, denies doctoring resume

2 hours, 21 minutes ago

By Katya Holloway

VANCOUVER -- Georgia's economy minister has reportedly lashed out at The

Vancouver Sun, calling it a Russian propaganda unit, after this newspaper

reported an apparent discrepancy in the 28-year-old's official biography.

In her official biography posted on a Georgian government website, Vera Kobalia

claims she has worked for Global TV and CBC in Vancouver as a producer. However,

as previously reported at The Sun, no one at the Global TV newsroom could recall

the name, and Petra Mehner at Global's Human Resources department said there is

no record of Kobalia ever having been on the payroll.

Upon further investigation, The Sun has discovered that Kobalia had worked

several years for The Vancouver Global ComedyFest -- an independent event in

which Global TV is a title sponsor.

" [Global TV] buys the title of the event, and that's the extent of it, " said

ComedyFest's artistic director, Will . " By no means are we on the CanWest

payroll. [Vera] never worked for Global, she worked for us and we are the

ComedyFest. "

Kobalia denies doctoring her resume, which is posted on a Georgian government

website. She blames the " rumours " as Russian propaganda designed to throw her

off her mission of developing Georgia's economy.

In an interview with Georgian news website Civil.ge, she is reported as saying:

" I understand it very well, that Russia, the Russian authorities and those who

support the Russian authorities do not want the Georgian economy to develop and

do not want Georgia to become a strong country. They are wrong if they think

that they will obstruct me doing my job by disseminating disinformation and

rumors of this type. "

" Yes, of course I've worked " in Global TV, she added.

The online biography also says Kobalia graduated from BCIT in 2004, where she

studied business administration and informational technologies. BCIT would not

confirm or deny whether she graduated from a program, saying it has a policy to

protect students' privacy.

Kobalia was appointed minister of economy and sustainable development this

month. According to her father, Kobalia met the Georgian president in Vancouver

during the Winter Games in February.

Kobalia came under international fire this week after a racy photograph of her

posing next to some scantily clad women surfaced in the Russian media, accusing

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili for appointing " strippers " to his

cabinet.

Kobalia, who is Georgian, denies claims that the photo - which was pulled from

her Facebook page - was taken at a Vancouver strip club, insisting it was

snapped 10 years ago in Florida. If true, she would have been 18 at the time

(the legal drinking age in the U.S. is 21).

kholloway@...