Maestro TV May Receive Political Programming License
Parliamentary Chairman Davit Bakradze said that “a comprome” had been found to allow Tbilisi-based TV station Maestro to air political programs.
Bakradze made his remarks after consultations with lawmakers from the parliamentary minority and Giorgi Arveladze, the chief of the Georgian National Communications Commission (GNCC), on October 10.
“On the one hand, we should act within the law and according to procedures, as the Communications Commission used to do previously, but this issue has another side as well, since it is related to the development of freedom of speech and democracy in the country,” he told reporters after the talks.
Bakradze said that the new proposal envisaged modifications to the existing license to enable Maestro TV to air political programs.
On April 4 the GNCC refused to issue a license for political programming to Maestro. The station subsequently appealed the decision in Tbilisi City Court, but the court upheld the original judgement.
On October 6 seven opposition parties demanded that the authorities meet five conditions to secure media freedom, one of which was a license for political programming to Maestro. Later MP Gia Tortladze of the parliamentary opposition also demanded that Maestro TV be allowed to show political debates.
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