Criminal Attack or Premeditated Provocation?!

Who stole technical equipment for Gali TV Studio?

Based on Ruslan Kishmaria’s statement, personal representative of Abkhazian De-facto President, Sergei Bagafsh, in Gali District, on September 20 armed people attacked the car at Enguri River and seized technical equipment for Gali TV Studio. According to Abkhazian side, the incident occurred in the village of Rukhi near the block post controlled by the Georgian Internal Ministry. Ruslan Kishmaria stated that four masked people attacked the car that was driving from Zugdidi in the direction of Abkhazia. There were TV equipments in the car. The robbers initially pushed out people from the car, seized their mobile phones, then ordered them to lie on the ground and moved all the equipments in their cars.

Kishmaria said that the total price of the apparatus was 6 000 USD and British non-governmental organization “Reconciliation Resources” apportioned that money for them. “The attack occurred by day-time on the crowded motor-way. However, no cars were moving along the road during the accident and they appeared only after everything had already finished. I do not doubt that the robbery was arranged by Georgian Special Forces because Georgian government does not want to have Abkhazian TV in the region that will spread unbiased information about current events. Officials from Tbilisi are particularly concerned about the fact that the news program will be presented in Megrelian language,” said Bagafsh’s personal representative.

Ruslan Kishmaria cannot tell the names of the people who were in the car and were transporting the equipment to Abkhazia. He considers that Georgian law enforcers carried out organized violent demonstration against them. “Those people who helped us to transport the equipment were blamed for High Treason by Georgian law enforcers. Despite the fact, TV Company will start its activities.”

Gali TV Company does not have any official name yet; though it started its activities on September 24. They have already shown some movies and video-items. News programs will be presented in Russian, Abkhazian and Megrelian languages from September 27.

Officials from the Samegrelo-Zemo-Svaneti Regional Police Department do not confirm the information. Tengiz Gunava, the head of the department, stated that neither attack nor robbery has taken place in Zugdidi district recently. Abkhazian Division of the Department for Constitutional Security within the Georgian Internal Ministry stated that the information was next provocation from Abkhazian side.

Nana Fazhava, Zugdidi