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Gori Administration Board Stalls on Releasing Information to the Public

May 23, 2007

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Although the government is trying to build a democratic state, the problem of getting public information is still unsettled in the country. The current Georgian Prosecutor General enacted the perfect General Administrative Code where the chapter III deals with independent and transparent public information.

We can claim that nobody follows the Code at the Gori Municipality. It is impossible to get public information from the Administrative Board on time. Certain officials are appointed to issue public information to applicants at the Gori Municipality. Unless you petition to the Governor or the Chairman of the Municipality for public information, you cannot leave the letter at the Municipality Chancellery. Moreover, the letters may be registered after the Governor of the Municipality Chairman appends instructions to the letters.

Nino Dalakishvili, journalist for the “Khalkhis Gazeti” (People’s Newspaper) has demanded information from the Regional Administration for two years already. The journalist appealed to the court because the deadline was surpassed. Gori District Court passed verdict in Dalakishvili’s favor but the Regional Administrative Board appealed to the Regional Court, which also satisfied Dalakishvili’s appeal. However, the Administration still refuses to give public information to journalist and has appealed to the Supreme Court. The General Administrative Code regulates when and where public information can be withheld.

Aleksi Jalabadze, an official from the Regional Administration who is in charge of public information, said that “Gori District Court and Tbilisi Regional Court did not take certain circumstances into consideration.” Jalabadze appeared at the last court hearing at the Regional Court. He stated that he did not know that Dalakishvili had petitioned the Regional Administration for public information.
Dalakishvili demanded explanations to the following questions: 1. Who installed expensive decorative street lighting, and who was paying the electricity bills?; 2. Who had painted building facades in the city center?; 3. Who had installed a monitor in the city center?

It is obvious that the Regional Administration had information about the questions because nothing can be done in the city without the Regional Governor’s permission.

“In Gori the controversy between journalists and authority is caused by officials who cannot tell a lie, yet fail to answer any questions. It is another issue whether their replies are true or not; but the local officials categorically avoid contacts with journalists and society. Such a thing never happened during the previous government. Nowadays, governmental officials have poor intellect and do not know how to express their ideas,” said Nino Dalakishvili.

Journalist for the Radio Tavisupleba, Goga Apciauri, said that the representatives of the authority placed themselves in complete isolation. “Based on my job, I mainly bother officials for over-the-phone comments. However, I never get comments from Misha Kareli, the President’s Representative in Shida Kartli and Municipality Governor of the same region, because they never answer my phone calls. There are some officials at the Administrative Board who are ready to comment on various situations, though they are few. Certain officials are ordered by Kareli not to answer our calls. I cannot name them because I know they will have problems. In addition to that, their competence is under question when we interview them. It is strange that local governmental officials do not want to make any comments with us either,” said Goga Afciauri.

Representatives of the TV Company “Trialeti” speak about the campaign the local government started against their company.

Nino Chibchiuri, a journalist for “Trialeti”, said that they are not allowed to enter the building of the Gori Administration.

“We do not have information when meetings are held. They do not let us in the Administrative Building. We think representatives of the local authority are ordered by Kareli not to give any comments to us. As for me, I have been threatened lately. They called my mother at home and warned her that unless I give up preparing critical subjects on Kareli and Marlen Nadiradze, the Municipality Chairman, they would kill me,” said Chibchiuri, who has already appealed to the Gori Police Department regarding the incident.

According to journalists of the television Company, they are often suppressed. It is impossible to get any information throughout the Shida Kartli region, at every Municipality.

In April, “Trialeti” journalists demanded to receive public information about Municipality meetings. However, they still have not received any reply.

Most journalists in the Shida Kartli cannot interview Kareli or other high-ranking officials in the region. Separation of the society and the local authority is widely discussed by Gori based NGOs. Representatives of the authority almost never attend the presentations of non-governmental organizations and it results into the isolation of the society from the government.

Human Rights Center tried to get in touch with Mikheil Kareli several times, as well as with Vasil Makharashvili, the Gori Municipality Governor. However, neither answered their personal or office phones.

Thea Tedliashvili, Gori  

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