Several television channels opted for full and fair coverage of the recent Opposition Movement, which resulted nearly days and nights of occupying the steps of Georgian Parliament.
Non-stop coverage was at times provided by all stations capable of news gathering and broadcasting, which conveyed a sense of urgency.
The press was actually operating as it should, up to the point when 1) journalists were attacked on the afternoon of Nov. 7, 2) Imedi TV was ransacked by Special Forces units, 3) a ban on the free flow of information was imposed, along with a state of emergency, 4) a government campaign was launched against the Opposition leaders, playing snippets of their conversation over mobile phone devices, and fabricating Russian-backed conspiracy theories.
Now with no independent news outlets, the Saakashvili Administration was free to run its own agitprop over the few remaining governmentally controlled or influenced TV stations, until the state of emergency was lifted. The semblance of any real News coverage on Georgian stations ground to a halt on Nov.7-8, 2007. Real detailed and critical news coverage has always been in short supply in Georgia.
Moreover, this begs the question as if scrutiny of the actual backing of different stations is needed, specifically focusing on ownership and political agenda; how it is woefully lacking at this point. Such coverage should under normal circumstances hold one of the keys for a free and fair media, where a diverse range of views in a highly political landscape can flourish.
This phenomenon of mass media repression is obviously an unhealthy manifestation, and symptom of a much greater societal malaise. The process by which the governmental itself controls and manipulates mass media in Georgia, deserves far greater scrutiny.
Who exactly orchestrated the campaign against opposition leaders, and what elements of the mass media collaborated with the President’s Office to ensure A) a news blackout, B) the rapid spread of false and distorting, compromising information regarding the activities of the Opposition?
The Saakashvili government’s contention is that IMEDI TV will not be allowed back on the air, prior to verification that the station will not be used as a weapon against the current regime, [at least until after the presidential election].
In a truly democratic society, such a break-in and pillaging of IMEDI TV would never have occurred, nor would their license to broadcast be lifted in such rapid fashion through a mysterious judgment procedure codified by both the Tbilisi City Court and the Ministry of Justice of Georgia.
The point is, all aspects of the Georgian government (esp. the Office of the President, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Justice) deserve far greater scrutiny than they have received to date.
Without a free press, functioning independently [without governmental review and threat of reprisal by SpetsNas forceds], there can be no liberty.
The present system of dissemination of information to the public more closely resembles an Orwellian state, where misinformation and disinformation are deliberately broadcast, in the form of a “Newspeak” language, which has been stripped bare of any political content.
Not only TV stations but many print houses and newspapers operate under fear – if they are now operating at all – or are functioning under the direct influence of the government. TV stations, especially Georgian Public Broadcasting and Rustavi2, are considered as official instruments for conveying the government perspective concerning the events surrounding the Opposition movement leading up to the crackdown on November 7, 2007.
An accurate assessment of what actually happened to the Saakashvili Administration internally cannot be made at the present time, due to governmental sleight of hand, and a paucity of information released to date by the government itself.
The fundamental question is how to compel the current administration to admit what actually happened in the build-up over several years time of the police, the military, special operations forces and intelligence services.
Concomitant with the Opposition crackdown was the equivalent of an internal governmental coup d’etat, and it now is evident that the Saakashvili Administration has effectively shanghaied its own Ship of State.
The funds lavished on the military/police/special forces/intelligence sectors for the better part of 4 years after the Rose Revolution, during a time of declared international war against terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan, resulted in the abridgement of freedom of the press, and curtailment of basic human rights, such as, the right to congregate in public places, demonstrate peacefully, the right to march, and the right to speak out and address wrongs in a time of perceived tyranny.
The media in Georgia has never been free, or played on a level playing field, where media has never been presented in a balanced fashion in the run-up to elections. However, the diversity of special interests and hired articles and documentaries is an unfortunate reality – one that does not allow one side to taking control.
The current balance is not as it once was, against a backdrop of on-going political considerations – and there continues to be legitimate fear that anyone who publishes or broadcasts something that is too governmental many find him or herself labeled as an instrument of Russian Foreign policy.
Non-stop coverage was at times provided by all stations capable of news gathering and broadcasting, which conveyed a sense of urgency.
The press was actually operating as it should, up to the point when 1) journalists were attacked on the afternoon of Nov. 7, 2) Imedi TV was ransacked by Special Forces units, 3) a ban on the free flow of information was imposed, along with a state of emergency, 4) a government campaign was launched against the Opposition leaders, playing snippets of their conversation over mobile phone devices, and fabricating Russian-backed conspiracy theories.
Now with no independent news outlets, the Saakashvili Administration was free to run its own agitprop over the few remaining governmentally controlled or influenced TV stations, until the state of emergency was lifted. The semblance of any real News coverage on Georgian stations ground to a halt on Nov.7-8, 2007. Real detailed and critical news coverage has always been in short supply in Georgia.
Moreover, this begs the question as if scrutiny of the actual backing of different stations is needed, specifically focusing on ownership and political agenda; how it is woefully lacking at this point. Such coverage should under normal circumstances hold one of the keys for a free and fair media, where a diverse range of views in a highly political landscape can flourish.
This phenomenon of mass media repression is obviously an unhealthy manifestation, and symptom of a much greater societal malaise. The process by which the governmental itself controls and manipulates mass media in Georgia, deserves far greater scrutiny.
Who exactly orchestrated the campaign against opposition leaders, and what elements of the mass media collaborated with the President’s Office to ensure A) a news blackout, B) the rapid spread of false and distorting, compromising information regarding the activities of the Opposition?
The Saakashvili government’s contention is that IMEDI TV will not be allowed back on the air, prior to verification that the station will not be used as a weapon against the current regime, [at least until after the presidential election].
In a truly democratic society, such a break-in and pillaging of IMEDI TV would never have occurred, nor would their license to broadcast be lifted in such rapid fashion through a mysterious judgment procedure codified by both the Tbilisi City Court and the Ministry of Justice of Georgia.
The point is, all aspects of the Georgian government (esp. the Office of the President, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Justice) deserve far greater scrutiny than they have received to date.
Without a free press, functioning independently [without governmental review and threat of reprisal by SpetsNas forceds], there can be no liberty.
The present system of dissemination of information to the public more closely resembles an Orwellian state, where misinformation and disinformation are deliberately broadcast, in the form of a “Newspeak” language, which has been stripped bare of any political content.
Not only TV stations but many print houses and newspapers operate under fear – if they are now operating at all – or are functioning under the direct influence of the government. TV stations, especially Georgian Public Broadcasting and Rustavi2, are considered as official instruments for conveying the government perspective concerning the events surrounding the Opposition movement leading up to the crackdown on November 7, 2007.
An accurate assessment of what actually happened to the Saakashvili Administration internally cannot be made at the present time, due to governmental sleight of hand, and a paucity of information released to date by the government itself.
The fundamental question is how to compel the current administration to admit what actually happened in the build-up over several years time of the police, the military, special operations forces and intelligence services.
Concomitant with the Opposition crackdown was the equivalent of an internal governmental coup d’etat, and it now is evident that the Saakashvili Administration has effectively shanghaied its own Ship of State.
The funds lavished on the military/police/special forces/intelligence sectors for the better part of 4 years after the Rose Revolution, during a time of declared international war against terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan, resulted in the abridgement of freedom of the press, and curtailment of basic human rights, such as, the right to congregate in public places, demonstrate peacefully, the right to march, and the right to speak out and address wrongs in a time of perceived tyranny.
The media in Georgia has never been free, or played on a level playing field, where media has never been presented in a balanced fashion in the run-up to elections. However, the diversity of special interests and hired articles and documentaries is an unfortunate reality – one that does not allow one side to taking control.
The current balance is not as it once was, against a backdrop of on-going political considerations – and there continues to be legitimate fear that anyone who publishes or broadcasts something that is too governmental many find him or herself labeled as an instrument of Russian Foreign policy.
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