Categories
Journalistic Survey
Articles
Reportage
Analitic
Photo Reportage
Exclusive
Interview
Foreign Media about Georgia
Editorial
Position
Reader's opinion
Blog
Themes
Children's Rights
Women's Rights
Justice
Refugees/IDPs
Minorities
Media
Army
Health
Corruption
Elections
Education
Penitentiary
Religion
Others

“Kavkasia” TV allows Rusudan Sharadze to present live & on-the-air statement

February 15, 2008
Rusudan Sharadze, daughter of Professor Guram Sharadze, late MP, blamed TV Company “Kavkasia” for ignoring his father’s murder and now demands that she be allowed to make a live on-the-air statement. Ms. Sharadze was finally allowed to make her statement but this was done without the assistance of  Davit Akubardia, anchor of  the TV program “Spektri”. He refused to anchor the interview in providing a forum where she could answer questions and the statement be openly discussed.

The family members of Guram Sharadze feel that TV Company “Kavkasia” has intentionally ignored what they adamantly consider o have been the political assassination of Guram Sharadze. In trying to draw greater attention to this fact, immediate family members and other relatives of the murdered person collected together in front of the TV Company back on 8 February. At the time Guram Sharadze’s daughter was holding a poster with a statement “Bullet - Called “Silence”. She demanded to be allowed to make live on-air statement on “Kavkasia” TV and to personally speak with Davit Akubardia.

However, this did not happen, and Nino Jangirashvili, head of the TV Company then spoke with Rusudan Sharadze.  Nino then told that that Rusudan Sharadze’s accusations were groundless. Sharadze’s daughter told how she went to all lengths to draw attention to what happened to her father, what she considers to have been a political killing.

Rusudan Sharadze told how she took extreme measures after having called Davit Akubardia, and based on this experience, which would not have been surprised to experience something similar from other TV Stations in the future, as they almost all support the government. However, similar attitude from the person who considers himself “as a model of patriotism and impartiality” and who claims to be “Beacon of Democracy” in the country, [really makes our skin crawl] – irritates us

“People call up and takes many notes, and spend time taking. However, as Davit Akubardia, he pretends not to listen to anything as he does react to the situation. I spoke with him on phone and asked why he did not answer on-air questions presented by people that were calling in or those that appeared live.  He only responded that he “didn’t want to share any details” and then he hung up the phone.  It was as if he didn’t want to know anything. He told me that was uninformed about the situation and does not want to know anything. I was then advised to approach a newspaper to write about my father’s murder and to then to hold press conferences. If he thinks that I don not work with newspapers, it means that he does not read them. He did not explain the reason for his lack of comment over my father’s murder.   
   
Since I could not get the answers over the phone I decided to visit the TV station. Nino Jangirashvili, his wife and the head of TV Company met me instead of Akubardia. 
Rusudan Sharadze says that she has two reasons to come to the TV station “Kavkasia”: to make on air statements and to personally speak to Davit Akubardia. She was allowed to make live on-air statement but Davit Akubardia, the anchor of the TV program “Spektri” still refused to speak to her. So Rusudan Sharadze had to speak without TV an anchor being present to help lead the discussion.

“I do not TV experience and it would have been useful to have had an experienced journalist to ask questions about the investigation of Guram Sharadze’s murder, and about jailing Giorgi Barateli, the alleged murderer who has been sentenced to 27-year-imprisonment, and it appears that he is totally innocent; all that I want to learn in my father’s death is how to get the complete answers to what really happened on that tragic evening”. 

Nona Suvariani, Tbilisi

News