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US Ambassador’s Curious Trip in Guria Region

April 20, 2010
Shorena Ghlonti, Guria

On April 16, US Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador to Georgia John Bass visited Guria region. He had to meet local journalists in the regional TV-station “Guria” at 3:00 pm. The Ambassador, together with journalists, was invited to the TV-program. The journalists of the newspapers “Lanchkhuti Plus”, “Guria News,” “Alioni” and “Yes and No” waited for the Ambassador for one and half hour. Then, they left the TV-Station in protest.

Later, John Bass met representatives of only TV-Station Guria and newspaper “Guriis Moambe”. Journalist Mamuka Kantaria said director-general of the TV-Company “Guria” Avtandil Gvelebiani called him on the phone and invited him to the meeting with the ambassador.

“He said I could ask him questions during the meeting. Otherwise, the meeting with the Ambassador would not have sense,” said Kantaria.

He said, having arrived at the place, the journalists learned they would not be able to ask questions. “Although we felt ourselves insulted for such an unethical behavior (not to speak about the joruanslits who arrived at the meeting from Lanchkhuti, 60-kilometers away), we could not change anything.

“The head of the TV-station apologized to us immediately in the name of the Ambassador for being late for 15 minutes. But one more hour passed and nobody apologized to us for the delay,” said the journalists who left the TV-Station one and half hour later in protest.

“We doubt they collected regional journalists in one place and simultaneously took the Ambassador to the tea-factory which was opened two times but still does not work. They are careful after we reported about simulated meeting of the president with the actors of the Drama Theatre in Tskhemliskhidi for the New Year. Apparently, they did not want the ambassador to learn that the factory was opened two times and despite that it does not work yet,” said the editor of the newspaper Alioni Nugzar Asatiani.

As we learned from the national TV-Channels, the Ambassador really visited the tea-factory “GeoPlant Ozurgeti” which was opened during the pre-election campaign of the last parliamentary elections by the president Saakashvili; however, the factory was soon closed.  Then John Bass was taken to the native village of the Guria regional governor Valeri Chitaishvili where he saw rehabilitation activities on the gas-supply system. After that, the ambassador met journalists of the TV-Company “Guria” and newspaper “Guriis Moambe” in the office of the TV-station. Those journalists work for the National TV-Station; the Ambassador gave “exclusive” interview to them.

After that, John Bass “exclusively” met the directors of the non-governmental organizations. Leader of one of the NGOs was director of the GeoPlant Ozurgeti and chairperson of the Young Scientists Club Gocha Shanidze who was single mandate candidate of the National Movement at the medieval elections. The second representative of the NGOs was head of the Guria AgroBusiness-Center Alika Memishvili who will be candidate of the chairperson of the Ozurgeti municipality board from the National Movement.

Photo of “GuriaNEws” is used in the article

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