Parliament Speaker says “ball in opposition's court” on depolarisation after President pardons TV channel head
In his remarks over the pardoning of Gvaramia, who had been convicted in May of 2022 of improper commercial deals during his time at Rustavi 2 channel, Papuashvili said Zourabichvili had noted “pressure from outside” for the decision. Photo: Parliament of Georgia
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Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Friday said calls for President Salome Zourabichvili to pardon Nika Gvaramia, the head of the Mtavari Arkhi TV channel, for the benefit of depolarising the domestic political environment meant the authors of the urges should now “take responsibility” for actually ensuring the outcome after the President pardoned the channel founder on Thursday.
In his remarks over the pardoning of Gvaramia, who had been convicted in May of 2022 of improper commercial deals during his time at Rustavi 2 channel, Papuashvili said Zourabichvili had noted “pressure from outside” for the decision.
[T]he President herself talked about it - that there was pressure on her from outside [...] we publicly saw appeals addressed to the President [to pardon Gvaramia]. It is pressure when you give advice to the President of an independent country and interfere too much with her specific powers”, Papuashvili alleged.
“All those who called on the President to pardon Nika Gvaramia for depolarisation - [...] thereby making a wrong connection on the issue of integration with the European Union - all these people today [should] take responsibility that depolarisation should happen after this step”, he noted.
President Zourabichvili, without giving explanation, pardoned Nika Gvaramia, convicted for legally proven crimes. He has now spent only a fraction of his time in prison. There have been some positive comments, welcoming the decision, from some Western politicians and diplomats.…
— Shalva Papuashvili ???????? (@shpapuashvili) June 23, 2023
The Parliament Speaker also said the ball was now “in the opposition's court” following the pardon, and also called on “people from abroad” who had allegedly put pressure on Zourabichvili for the outcome to “take responsibility”, adding “let us see to what extent the opposition will change its radical agenda”.
The President of the European Council Charles Michel on Thursday said a “positive momentum to reform" had been created by last year's decision by the European Council to grant Georgia a European perspective, and noted the the country’s future was in the European Union.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on Thursday pardoned Nika Gvaramia, the imprisoned head of the domestic Mtavari Arkhi channel, who was convicted last year for improper commercial deals in 2015 and 2019 during his time at the helm of the Rustavi 2 channel.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday said president Salome Zourabichvili would “insult” her office by pardoning Nika Gvaramia, the imprisoned head of the Mtavari Arkhi TV channel, following calls by opposition politicians for the move.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on Friday denied intentions to pardon the imprisoned former President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili or the recently imprisoned Director General of Mtavari Arkhi channel Nika Gvaramia.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Saturday said pardoning of Nika Gvaramia, the head of the domestic Mtavari Arkhi TV channel, by President Salome Zourabichvili was a “step taken against” the country’s efforts to fulfil the 12 priorities outlined by the European Union last year for granting Georgia its membership candidate status, including the depolarisation of the political environment in the country.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Sunday said the fulfilment of one of the priorities outlined by the European Union for granting Georgia its membership candidate status - depolarisation - depended on the domestic opposition’s “willingness to take steps for deradicalisation”.
Officials of the ruling Georgian Dream party on Friday slammed plans by Nika Gvaramia, the former official under the United National Movement Government and former head of opposition-leaning TV channels, to launch a new political party ahead of general elections in the fall.