Opposition Politician Focuses on Imedi TV in NY Times Op-Ed

Salome Zourabichvili, a former foreign minister and a leader of opposition Georgia’s Way party, wrote in her opinion piece published by the New York Times on April 3, that the U.S. and EU should “push Georgia… back on the path toward democracy.”

She wrote that “an ideal starting point” would be the case of Imedi TV station.

“Demanding that the Georgian leadership returns Imedi to its rightful owners, thus restoring its independence and permitting a voice of balanced journalism to again be heard, would be a clear signal that U.S. policy in Georgia will insist on development of the basic democratic institutions we so fervently seek,” Zourabichvili says.

Zourabichvili’s party is among the group of opposition parties, which are planning to launch street protest rallies from April 9 to demand President Saakashvili’s resignation. The group has just recently rejected the authorities’ proposal to engage in a dialogue on economic, national security and democratic reforms. The opposition politicians from that group were saying that the authorities should make a first step to show that the call for a dialogue was not a mere PR campaign; some of them even suggested that giving up control of Imedi TV by the authorities could have been such first step.

In the article Zourabichvili also says that under President Saakashvili Georgia had become “an authoritarian state” with “restrictions on media freedom, political interference in the judiciary and the erosion of private property rights.”

“Georgia is now a country where everything — from business to sports to culture — falls under government control,” she wrote.

“The Bush administration must bear some responsibility for giving priority to stability and turning a blind eye to the Saakashvili government’s increasingly authoritarian tendencies,” she continued. “We hope the Obama administration will take a stand that reflects America’s principles in aiding the development of truly democratic institutions in Georgia rather than simply supporting individual leaders.”

“I have called for new elections in Georgia that would be free and fair so that the people can begin to rebuild a truly democratic society. What we need, however, is uncompromising international commitment to the basic institutions of democracy, not simply foreign support for individual leaders. Democracy must have a fresh start in Georgia — and a fresh stance from our genuine friends abroad.”

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