Who Owned Georgia English.pdf
Who Owned Georgia English.pdf Who Owned Georgia English.pdf
On October 5, Maestro TV and Global TV were informedthat 38,000 and 100,000 satellite dishes, which authorities hadillegally seized from the two companies over vote buying andillegal party financing allegations, would be returned. Theprosecutor’s office lifted the seizure following a decision by theTbilisi City Court on October 2, the day after the elections. 403On October 9th, the Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB)Channel 1 cancelled two current affairs talk shows and firedthe editorial staff. Controversy around GPB intensified afteremployees of Kanal PIK, the GPB’s Russian language newschannel, aired a silent protest in a newscast on October 15th,after the station’s signal had recently been yanked off the Hotbirdsatellite. They demanded to know whether the station would beshut down, why they hadn’t been paid their salaries, why hadthe station’s budget been spent early, and where did that moneygo. PIK was subsequently shut down. On November 15th, theGeorgian Revenue Service launched a probe to find out whythe GPB accumulated a 3.8 million GEL debt in unpaid taxes.Lawmakers from the UNM complained the probe was an attemptto pressure the GPB, while Georgia’s finance minister stated hehas a right to learn why the station hadnot been able to pay itsdebt. 404On November 26th, former UNM lawmaker, Koba Bekaurilevelled serious allegations against Maestro TV that the 2005arrest of 202 TV owner, Shalva Ramishvili, was mastermindedby government members in advance, including interior ministerVano Merabishvili, justice minister Zurab Adeishvili and chiefof the constitutional security force, Dato Akhalaia. He statedPresident Saakashvili was personally interested in getting the TVcompany off the air. 405 To date, no charges have been filed.403 Maestro and Global TV-owned Satellite Dish Antennas Unseized. Media.Ge http://www.media.ge/en/stories/maestroandglobaltvowneds Accessed on04/12/2012404 Revenue Service Launches Public TV Tax Probe. Civil.ge http://civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=25426 Accessed on 04/12/2012405 Koba Bekauri: Shalva Ramishvili’s Case Masterminded by Adeishviliand Merabishvili. Media.ge http://www.media.ge/en/stories/kobabekaurishalvaramishv Accessed 04/12/201298
TV 9, which is essentially Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili’swife’s company 406 , started terrestrial broadcasting on October 8,2012 on Stereo+’s frequency and technical infrastructure, eventhough it appears to lack the general analogue broadcastinglicense required for such broadcasting. This would mean it isbroadcasting illegally. Earlier this year, the GNCC fined TV9 for asimilar violation. 407 On October 16, the GNCC stated Stereo+ wasfacing a 10,000 GEL fine for an illegal transmission. 408 Georgianbroadcasting regulations ban political parties and public officialsfrom holding broadcasting licenses, but this ban does not extendto their immediate family members.As the television landscape settles we can expect to see moreof the same kind of polarized news broadcasting that definesGeorgia’s concept of media freedom. Rustavi-2 and SakartveloTV/Tabula, firmly owned by friends of Mikheil Saakashvili,will likely focus on unbalanced coverage of the GeorgianDream. Prime Time, a weekly broadsheet with ties to UnitedNational Movement officials, has said that it plans to focus moreon political coverage and will provide space for investigativereporting. Investigative reporting had been absent from pro-UNM stations under the previous administration. Meanwhile,Ivanishvili friendly stations, like his wife’s TV9, will likely stressthe excesses of the former government and successes of the new.Much of the business community supports Ivanishvili.They see him as a self-made billionaire who understands thatgovernments are not supposed to dictate to businesses. Inthis regard, they no longer fear visits from the tax police as ameans for manipulation. Ivanishvili’s plan to introduce antimonopolylaws means there will be more competitive markets406 Public Registry. Ministry of Justice of Georgia 16/01/2012 https://enreg.reestri.gov.ge/main.php?c=mortgage&m=get_output_by_id&scandoc_id=369086&app_id=425615 Accessed 05/12/2012407 Stereo+ was imposed sanction. Georgian National CommunicationCommission http://gncc.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=110&info_id=112609 Accessed on 05/12/2012408 Stereo + to Face GEL 10,000 Penalty for Transmitting TV 9 Signal. Media.Ge http://www.media.ge/en/stories/stereotofacegel10000pena Accessed on05/12/201299
- Page 50 and 51: Delta Holding, the football (soccer
- Page 52 and 53: A PHARMACEUTICAL OLIGOPOLY“Why ar
- Page 54 and 55: to construct manufacturing sites an
- Page 56 and 57: A loan from the European Bank for R
- Page 58 and 59: People’s Pharmacy, a small pharma
- Page 60 and 61: the large import/distributors and r
- Page 62 and 63: that the decrease could be their sh
- Page 64 and 65: Kvadimax, Enozid H, Musitroli, Amta
- Page 66 and 67: 64IT’S CALLED DEVELOPMENTIn 2002
- Page 68 and 69: uling party leader in the region wa
- Page 70 and 71: Federation. The Georgian prosecutor
- Page 72 and 73: went to Argilstone Investment and 4
- Page 74 and 75: (10%). 290 Like Lemise, Interplast
- Page 76 and 77: then buying it back from that group
- Page 78 and 79: elonged to Kapital Vostok, a Swiss
- Page 80 and 81: a fantasy settlement just south of
- Page 82 and 83: made quite a profit, as Sairme is i
- Page 84 and 85: and the Tbilisi Development Fund, t
- Page 86 and 87: land from the Fund along Aghmashene
- Page 88 and 89: On December 24th, the economy minis
- Page 90 and 91: had never been properly notified. 3
- Page 92 and 93: In 2009, Stanton was renamed GeoPro
- Page 94 and 95: Tkibuli is a derelict post-Soviet i
- Page 96 and 97: POSTSCRIPTWhen Georgians went to th
- Page 98 and 99: While Rustavi 2 was passing through
- Page 102: and further reasons why foreign inv
TV 9, which is essentially Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili’swife’s company 406 , started terrestrial broadcasting on October 8,2012 on Stereo+’s frequency and technical infrastructure, eventhough it appears to lack the general analogue broadcastinglicense required for such broadcasting. This would mean it isbroadcasting illegally. Earlier this year, the GNCC fined TV9 for asimilar violation. 407 On October 16, the GNCC stated Stereo+ wasfacing a 10,000 GEL fine for an illegal transmission. 408 <strong>Georgia</strong>nbroadcasting regulations ban political parties and public officialsfrom holding broadcasting licenses, but this ban does not extendto their immediate family members.As the television landscape settles we can expect to see moreof the same kind of polarized news broadcasting that defines<strong>Georgia</strong>’s concept of media freedom. Rustavi-2 and SakartveloTV/Tabula, firmly owned by friends of Mikheil Saakashvili,will likely focus on unbalanced coverage of the <strong>Georgia</strong>nDream. Prime Time, a weekly broadsheet with ties to UnitedNational Movement officials, has said that it plans to focus moreon political coverage and will provide space for investigativereporting. Investigative reporting had been absent from pro-UNM stations under the previous administration. Meanwhile,Ivanishvili friendly stations, like his wife’s TV9, will likely stressthe excesses of the former government and successes of the new.Much of the business community supports Ivanishvili.They see him as a self-made billionaire who understands thatgovernments are not supposed to dictate to businesses. Inthis regard, they no longer fear visits from the tax police as ameans for manipulation. Ivanishvili’s plan to introduce antimonopolylaws means there will be more competitive markets406 Public Registry. Ministry of Justice of <strong>Georgia</strong> 16/01/2012 https://enreg.reestri.gov.ge/main.php?c=mortgage&m=get_output_by_id&scandoc_id=369086&app_id=425615 Accessed 05/12/2012407 Stereo+ was imposed sanction. <strong>Georgia</strong>n National CommunicationCommission http://gncc.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=110&info_id=112609 Accessed on 05/12/2012408 Stereo + to Face GEL 10,000 Penalty for Transmitting TV 9 Signal. Media.Ge http://www.media.ge/en/stories/stereotofacegel10000pena Accessed on05/12/201299
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