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Attempts of Censorship in Adjara TV

November 14, 2005

Attempts of Censorship in Adjara TV

The head of the newsroom of ‘Adjara TV’ accuses the legislative majority of Adjara of pressure.

Several members of the majority criticized ‘Ajara TV’ at today’s session of the legislature, complaining that the channel does not allocate an appropriate amount of time to them.

For Avtandil Bedjanidze, member of the fraction ‘Won Adjara’, “television may have its own positions but when this television is financed by us, it should not be against us and should not show the opposition first. There must be opposition as well but the majority must also have the opportunity to make comments”.

“If deputies think that people are interested in the amendments taken in this or that legal act, they are wrong. People are interested in those amendments that affect them directly. Deputies should not interfere with the work of journalists. This is an attempt pressurize us and we are not going to heed to these warnings”- said Natia Zoidze, head of the newsroom of Adjara TV.

NGOs working in Adjara estimated the instance as serious. “It seems that the deputies of the Adjara High Council need a seminar on what freedom of speech means” – said Aslan Chanidze, chairman of the Adjaran branch the Young Lawyers’ Association.

According to the head of the newsroom of ‘Adjara TV’, the deputies used to express their dissatisfaction by phone earlier.

A few months ago, the former head of the newsroom of Adjara TV Nata Imedaishvili, protested against attempts to put censorship on the TV Company. After that fact, Adjarian government dismissed the head of ‘Adjara TV’ Zaza Khalvashi, after which the new head Evgeni Khalvashi on his turn dismissed Nata Imedaishvili.

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