Maestro TV: UNM member told lie at European Council debate

Tbilisi-based Maestro TV has accused a member of Georgia’s opposition United National Movement (UNM) party of "telling a lie” at the European Council media freedom debate on January 29.

Maestro TV issued a written statement and said UNM member Giorgi Kandelaki lied when he said a group of journalists had left the TV channel in protest against the fact that the Government Administration constantly interfered in their editorial policy in December last year.

"Maestro TV claims that this information spread by the UNM member is a lie,” the statement read.

"[The TV channel] calls on all politicians not to use the processes that are going on in media for their own interests. Maestro TV is ready to cooperate with the Council of Europe in case of interest, as well as with other international organisations and provide them with the accurate information about the current processes.”

The statement also said Maestro hoped the Council of Europe would not make its conclusions based on only one source.

Meanwhile, a large group of journalists and producers quit Maestro TV on December 22, 2014 after its senior manager and journalist in charge of newsroom, Nino Zhizhilashvili, was sacked.

Meanwhile, Zhizhilashvili, a long-time journalist, former deputy director of Maestro TV overseeing political and news programs and former anchor of the TV station’s flagship news program at 9pm also said Kandelaki’s comments at the European Council’s debate did not correspond to reality.

"The information given by us certainly provides the basis for analyzing of undesirable media trends, but we still ask you not to compose versions based on your own imagination while citing us,” Zhizhilashvili said following Kandelaki's speech at the debate.

Meanwhile, Georgian Members of Parliament had a confrontation at the Council of Europe during the debate on freedom of media on January 29. The UNM representatives said the Georgian Government pressured media, while Georgia’s ruling party representatives said media were free in Georgia.