Press Scanner
Compiled by Sopo Datishvili
Wednesday, July 1
Objective speaks out against raids and illegal actions
Sakartvelos Respublika reports that the Objective union of journalists is going to begin an independent journalistic investigation into the recent assaults on journalists.
Objective’s official statement says: “The investigation group will consist of Georgian and foreign journalistis’ colleagues. They have expressed their wish to take part in this investigation.
“During the raid on demonstrators outside the police headquarters so-called Zonder Brigades smashed three cameras belonging to Objective. The video of the police violence against the demonstrators was also destroyed. For the last two weeks we have several times appealed to the official representative of the Interior Ministry, Zurab Gvenetadze, for the return of our cameras. He has told us that the three cameras they have taken weren’t found at the demonstration site at all, but this isn’t true. It is well known to everyone, including both the demonstrators and the police who were there, that journalist Irma Inashvili was working on a documentary film on that day and was collecting materials for this in the area. Two cameramen were also with her,” the statement says.
Peter Semneby interested in the refusal to make Salome Zourabichvili Deputy Interior Minister
The representative of the EU in the South Caucasus, Peter Semneby, is interested in knowing why the Government has refused to appoint Salome Zourabichvili as a Deputy Interior Minister, Rezonansi reports.
Zourabichvili, leader of the Way of Georgia, has told journalists: “The Government was put in a difficult situation when I accepted Saakashvili’s suggestion. They didn’t know what to say. The President says one thing and his MPs another one.
“I have found out that even Peter Semneby discussed this issue with Government representatives during their last meeting. Gia Baramidze and Davit Bakradze told him that it was a complex suggestion and therefore they couldn’t discuss the willingness of only one opposition leader to accept the proposal,” explained Zourabichvili.
Salome Zourabichvili was the only opposition leader to accept the President’s suggestion that they take up Deputy Ministerial posts. She didn’t consult her colleagues first. She added that she wouldn’t stop taking part in opposition activities if she were appointed.
Government trying to discredit National Forum
Sakartvelos Respublika reports that the National Forum has developed a 10-day working plan. The Forum will be divided into two groups, which will hold meetings with the people in Adjara and then Imereti and Guria. The idea behind this is that when the new wave of protest begins, the people living in these regions will have been informed about the issues beforehand and therefore be able to get more actively involved from the start. Consequently it will not be only Tbilisi residents protesting this time.
It is not certain whether the Forum be able to fulfill its plans completely because it says the Government has attacked its members. Irakli Melashvili said at the briefing about the working plan that the Government is going to fabricate a case against the National Forum. “People from the Constitutional Security Department came to our member Zaza Oqiashvili and tried to force him to state publicly that the Forum is financed by Russian money and he was leaving in protest, but Oqiashvili stayed with us,” says Melashvili.
It looks like the Government is going further and intends to say that we were behind the Mukhrovani coup attempt,” added Melashvili. “They are putting pressure on the detainee Levan Amiridze to try and make him say this. We have asked the Constitutional Security Department to make known any information they have about this as fast as possible and to stop violating and pressurising people. The scheme of trying to force people to say we are financed with Russian money will fail,” Melashvili concluded at the briefing.
Sakartvelos Respublika reports that the Objective union of journalists is going to begin an independent journalistic investigation into the recent assaults on journalists.
Objective’s official statement says: “The investigation group will consist of Georgian and foreign journalistis’ colleagues. They have expressed their wish to take part in this investigation.
“During the raid on demonstrators outside the police headquarters so-called Zonder Brigades smashed three cameras belonging to Objective. The video of the police violence against the demonstrators was also destroyed. For the last two weeks we have several times appealed to the official representative of the Interior Ministry, Zurab Gvenetadze, for the return of our cameras. He has told us that the three cameras they have taken weren’t found at the demonstration site at all, but this isn’t true. It is well known to everyone, including both the demonstrators and the police who were there, that journalist Irma Inashvili was working on a documentary film on that day and was collecting materials for this in the area. Two cameramen were also with her,” the statement says.
Peter Semneby interested in the refusal to make Salome Zourabichvili Deputy Interior Minister
The representative of the EU in the South Caucasus, Peter Semneby, is interested in knowing why the Government has refused to appoint Salome Zourabichvili as a Deputy Interior Minister, Rezonansi reports.
Zourabichvili, leader of the Way of Georgia, has told journalists: “The Government was put in a difficult situation when I accepted Saakashvili’s suggestion. They didn’t know what to say. The President says one thing and his MPs another one.
“I have found out that even Peter Semneby discussed this issue with Government representatives during their last meeting. Gia Baramidze and Davit Bakradze told him that it was a complex suggestion and therefore they couldn’t discuss the willingness of only one opposition leader to accept the proposal,” explained Zourabichvili.
Salome Zourabichvili was the only opposition leader to accept the President’s suggestion that they take up Deputy Ministerial posts. She didn’t consult her colleagues first. She added that she wouldn’t stop taking part in opposition activities if she were appointed.
Government trying to discredit National Forum
Sakartvelos Respublika reports that the National Forum has developed a 10-day working plan. The Forum will be divided into two groups, which will hold meetings with the people in Adjara and then Imereti and Guria. The idea behind this is that when the new wave of protest begins, the people living in these regions will have been informed about the issues beforehand and therefore be able to get more actively involved from the start. Consequently it will not be only Tbilisi residents protesting this time.
It is not certain whether the Forum be able to fulfill its plans completely because it says the Government has attacked its members. Irakli Melashvili said at the briefing about the working plan that the Government is going to fabricate a case against the National Forum. “People from the Constitutional Security Department came to our member Zaza Oqiashvili and tried to force him to state publicly that the Forum is financed by Russian money and he was leaving in protest, but Oqiashvili stayed with us,” says Melashvili.
It looks like the Government is going further and intends to say that we were behind the Mukhrovani coup attempt,” added Melashvili. “They are putting pressure on the detainee Levan Amiridze to try and make him say this. We have asked the Constitutional Security Department to make known any information they have about this as fast as possible and to stop violating and pressurising people. The scheme of trying to force people to say we are financed with Russian money will fail,” Melashvili concluded at the briefing.