Davit Gamkrelidze: “The Government Starts to Destroy Printed Media By Closing Printing Houses”

“This group has subordinated all kind of business, they control the outdoor advertising business as well as TV-advertisements; they also control household goods, food products, etc. This time, Ugulava (City Mayor) and Kezerashvili (former defense minister) started to oppress printing houses. They established their own printing house and in parallel to it, for various grounds they started financial control on their rivals,” said leader of the New Rights Davit Gamkrelidze in his interview with the newspaper Alia in the article with title “Is Government Starting to Destroy Printed Media by Closing Printing Houses?!”

“Sezan” has stopped working. As far as I know several other printing houses also stopped working and they intend to stop everybody to make the owners to sell their businesses in order to achieve monopoly in it. On the one hand, they will get hold of profitable business, and on the other hand they will control the printed media too. Besides that, they will try to control editorial policy too,” said Davit Gamkrelidze in his interview and replied to the question - “What is the way out?” “The way out is to take part in the elections and to protect every vote to change the current government – first of all we should remove Ugulava from the Tbilisi budget and then from the fields he controls. After that, we will send Saakashvili away together with his supporters. It is the way out.”

“I will draw my attention to one more issue; it is already clear that one group of the government has started to fight for the power; they expect Saakashvili to resign not only in 2010 but earlier; now they try to control finances and media because money and media are key sources to win elections. Nowadays group of Ugulava-Kezerashvili-Kodua is very active in this direction. They control serious funds and try to control printed media too. I do not say anything about electronic media. Rustavi 2 is controlled by this group. Furthermore, the new magazine “Tabula” also has very interesting editorial board – representatives of the Liberty Institute are all there. The founder and editor-in-chief of this magazine is Giga Bokeria’s wife, the deputy foreign minister. This group initially targeted the business of distributing newspapers; who is the owner of the new booths in the city? Kezerashvili is. Now they have got hold of Lottery business too. I wonder where else a private person owns lottery in the country. The lottery belongs to national companies or to the state in every country. Here we have unprecedented case because Kezerashvili owns it. I assure you, as soon as elections finish, if they win, the situation will get even more complicated in every direction.”

According to Interpressnews