Ruling Party Attacks Tycoon after Okruashvili’s Testimony
A senior lawmaker from the ruling National Movement Party said Badri Patarkatsishvili, a business tycoon and co-owner of Imedi TV, should “stop plotting intrigues.”
Ex-Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili said in taped video testimony released on October 8 that his earlier accusation that President Saakashvili had wanted to kill Patarkatsishvili was a lie. Okruashvili said he had lied so that both he and Patarkatsishvili could “gain political dividends”. Okruashvili also said that he had wanted Patarkatsishvili’s Imedi TV to provide him with favourable coverage for political purposes.
“Mr. Patarkatsishvili, it is unacceptable to plot intrigues and slander using others, and to hide behind their backs,” Giga Bokeria, an influential lawmaker from the ruling party, said. “It is shameful to continue in this way. We are building a free and democratic state. If Mr. Patarkatsishvili has political ambitions, he can come out and participate normally in political life. He can get involved in open political competition and canvass political support openly, if he wants to enjoy political influence.”
“Badri Patarkatsishvili is a strange phenomenon in our political life,” Maia Nadiradze, the parliamentary majority leader, said. “Formally he is not a politician, but he constantly tries to undermine this country [Georgia]. From time to time he disseminates information that causes damage to the country.”
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