Ruling party head: European Parliament resolution on media freedom “not worth a dime”

Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday criticised the European Parliament resolution on violations of media freedom and the safety of journalists in Georgia by saying the document was “not worth a dime”.

The Georgian official called “extremely disturbing” the fact of “such a high-ranking institution” of the European Union “falling a victim to fakes” in its approval of the resolution, and added the resolution had “nothing to do with European values”.

The resolution that calls for the release of the enemies of the Georgian democracy and media freedom [imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili and Director General of Mtavari Arkhi channel Nika Gvaramia], and [...] declares Bidzina Ivanishvili as the main problem of the Georgian democracy and demands his sanctioning, has nothing to do with European values - such a resolution, to put it bluntly, is not worth a dime”, the GD official said.

In rejecting the resolution, Kobakhidze noted Ivanishvili, the former Prime Minister of Georgia, was “completely distanced” from politics, and called him “the person who restored democracy, media freedom and media pluralism” to the country with the election victory of the Georgian Dream party in 2012.

It was after the defeat of Saakashvili's regime by Bidzina Ivanishvili that Georgia's integration into Western structures resumed: the Association Agreement and the Free Trade Agreement with the European Union were signed [in 2014], a visa-free travel [with Schengen Area countries] was established [in 2017], a joint NATO training centre was created [in Georgia]”, he noted.

Kobakhidze also cited reforms implemented by the Georgian Dream Government, crediting them with placing Georgia “ahead of Ukraine, Moldova and many other EU member or candidate countries” in terms of democracy and the rule of law, the fight against corruption, and trade and economic cooperation with the Union.

It is a fact and they [European partners] know very well that thanks to Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgia has made fundamental progress in the direction of democracy, human rights and media freedom since 2012”, the Chairman of the ruling party said.

The European Parliament resolution noted the “increasing number of cases of intimidation, violence against and persecution of journalists” in Georgia and called on the country’s authorities to “thoroughly investigate any case of violence and to prosecute those responsible”.

It noted the assault on reporters by right-wing groups in Tbilisi on July 05, 2021, ahead of a planned Tbilisi Pride event, and pointed to a “persistent lack of diligent investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the violence”.

The resolution also urged Georgian authorities to “refrain from interfering in media freedom or pursuing politically motivated judicial cases against media owners or representatives”, and noted the case of Gvaramia, who was sentenced to three years and six months in prison last month for causing financial damage to Rustavi 2 channel through advertising deals between 2015-2019, during his time at the helm of the company.