OPINION:
Imagine the Obama administration is finally so fed up with Fox News Channel that — with court approval — it simply announces the broadcast company is a “propaganda machine,” seizes its assets and shuts it down.
That is precisely what is happening in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia, where the ruling Georgian Dream government seized the assets of the popular station Rustavi 2, and is still locked in a bitter battle over ownership. The widely seen programming (it currently reaches around 84 percent of the country’s population, as well as Europe, the European part of Russia and the Middle East via satellite) regularly bashes the current government, which swept into power in 2012, led by the reclusive billionaire Bdzina Ivanishvili.
Born into poverty, Mr. Ivanishvili amassed his $5.2 billion fortune in Russia. He was initially elected prime minister, but stepped aside a year later. He lives in an Oz-like glass castle with a menagerie of zebras, sharks and penguins and is indeed the man behind the curtain, ruling from within, much to the displeasure of the Georgian people. Stung by media criticism, he has accused Rustavi 2 of “agitating” for his government’s downfall.
The pro-Western independent station has been closely aligned with the opposition United National Movement (UNM), and the timing of the media crackdown is raising eyebrows as Georgia heads into the 2016 parliamentary elections. Georgia’s prime minister, Irakli Gharibashvili, called the UNM “a criminal organization” that has “no right to remain in politics.”
It was just announced that the 59-year-old Ivanishvili will become the head of the coalition Georgian Dream in the parliamentary elections in the country next year.
The Georgian Dream has turned into a nightmare, with the party’s approval rating sinking from 60 percent in 2012 to it current 14 percent, according to a newly released poll by the National Democratic Institute (NDI). Disturbingly, the poll showed that a majority of Georgians are so disenchanted they are unlikely to vote.
The lofty promises Mr. Ivanishvili made to oust his predecessor, the disgraced Mikael Saakashvili, never materialized. Since 2012, unemployment has increased to more than 17 percent. News reports cite homeless children begging for money, and the currency (lari) has plummeted with a 30 percent devaluation. As a result, Georgia is again embroiled in political turmoil. Protests are increasing and Tbilisi’s citizens are deeply concerned with deteriorating media freedom.
The Ivanishvili-Sakkashvili feud found its way to Washington where millions lined the pockets of influential lobbyists. (Mr. Saakashvili was represented by the Podesta Group, Mr. Ivanishvili by Patton Boggs and now Pillsbury.) When Hillary Clinton’s emails were released, it also showed shadow adviser Sidney Blumenthal secretly working back channels on behalf of the oligarch. Mr. Ivanishvili was eager to meet with then-Secretary of State Clinton, but found himself snubbed during a state visit in June 2012. In September 2012, Mr. Blumenthal prepared a long, official-looking memo for Mrs. Clinton on the subject of the Georgian election and the reasons why Mr. Ivanishvili and the Georgian Dream should win the election.
This past spring, another NDI poll revealed that 31 percent of Georgians favor joining the Russia-led Eurasian Union over the European Union, a stark change from years past when Georgia appeared more anxious to turn away from the Kremlin, culminating in Mr. Saakashvili’s disastrous 2008 war with the country. But tensions are thawing. This week, Mr. Putin announced he would end the visa restrictions for Georgians wishing to travel to Russia, which had been in place since the war.
Freedom of speech continues to remain a Georgian dream. In the 2015 Reporters Without Borders annual assessment on press freedom, Georgia was listed in 69th place out of 180 countries, between Mauritius and Hong Kong.
The Rustavi 2 tug of war began in August when former majority shareholder Kibar Khalvashi (now an ally of Mr. Ivanishvili) claimed he was forced to sell his interest in 2006. The court froze the station’s assets and tried, but failed, to oust its leadership.
The lawsuit is widely regarded as politically motivated, and media watchdog groups are starting to raise serious questions, saying it would eliminate any dissent in Georgia and end freedom of speech.
The authorities deny any involvement, but both the State Department and European Union have weighed in on the attempted censorship. Still waiting to join NATO, Georgia got a slap on the wrist from the EU who issued a statement saying, “We expect that the principles of rule of law, independence of judiciary and media freedom are applied in practice in Georgia at this important moment.”
The U.S. is “concerned about any steps that might lead to the closure” of Rustavi 2 TV, State Department deputy spokesperson Mark Toner said, and also added “the closure or potential closure of a major TV station would shrink the media space in Georgia significantly, and that’s a cause for concern. We take seriously any actions that would give the appearance of compromising media pluralism.”
Even more disturbing is the fate of Rustavi 2’s director, Nika Gvaramia, who became the target of the country’s secret services, which taped his phone conversations, blackmailed him and threatened his wife and two children. On Oct. 21, the newly established Georgian State Security Service questioned Mr. Gvaramia in Tbilisi.
Supporters of Rustavi 2 continue to watch the political battle unfold. Shutting down or crippling Rustavi 2, especially in the period preceding next year’s parliamentary elections, would do irreparable harm to its fledgling democratic institutions. Mr. Ivanishvili’s government needs to answer their critics, not muzzle them, if Georgia is to become a real democracy.
Ironically, the eccentric billionaire is fighting back, launching his own television talk show on a competing channel, aiming to “help society see developments correctly.”
The gray cardinal selected GDS, an MTV-style station owned by his rapper son, Bera — for his daily, 90-minute talkathon, which features Ivanishvili delivering mind-numbing, rambling lectures while co-hosts nod in approval.
Reportedly, the ratings are zero.
• Tsotne Bakuria is a consultant in Washington D.C., and a former member of Parliament from Georgia.
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