This week, the first tent with defenders of the TV channel appeared in the courtyard of Rustavi-2. They expressed their readiness "to defend freedom of speech in the country in a physical way,’’ if the authorities try to implement the decision of the Tbilisi City Court and return Rustavi-2 to its ex-owner, businessman Kibar Khalvashi. He is a close friend of the founder of the ruling Georgian Dream coalition, Bidzina Ivanishvili. On the initiative of Ivanishvili, his sister Khalvashi was elected to the parliament on the list of the coalition.
Now Rustavi-2 belongs to former President Mikheil Saakashvili’s classmate, Giorgi Karamanishvili, and his brother Levan.
Realizing the importance and power of Rustavi-2, Mishiko didn’t let it pass. In 2004 his team forced three founders of Rustavi (Erosi Kitsmarishvili, Dzhardzi Akimidze and David Dvali) to sell the TV channel to Khalvashi, who was protected by Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili at that time.
But already in 2006, when the all-powerful head of the Defense Ministry fell into disgrace, the then president of Georgia forced Khalvashi to sell the TV channel to his classmate.
Involuntary sellers were convinced that the price of the company was much more than they actually received. The founder of Rustavi-2, its permanent leader since 1994, as well as one of the leaders of the ‘Rose Revolution’, Kitsmarishvili, committed suicide a few months ago under unknown circumstances. He was found with a bullet wound in his car.
Both parties consider the TV channel as an important political resource. Rustavi-2 is the best Georgian national broadcaster, which is popular and influential in the country. In fact, the struggle for Rustavi-2 is a struggle for power. During its twenty-year-history, Rustavi 2 often became the reason of acute political confrontation. In 2003 this channel played a crucial role in the overthrow of President Shevardnadze as a result of the ‘Rose Revolution’ led by Saakashvili.
Two other founders, Akimidze and Dvali, continued to struggle. Realizing that they won’t succeed without the authorities’ support, they concluded a settlement agreement with Khalvashi and divided the shares of the company in an equal way: 50% to Khalvashi and 50% to the founders of the television company.
But the agreement still needs to be implemented. So it is necessary to take the company away from classmates, the current governor of the Odessa region. This is not easy, because not only the leaders and activists of the former ruling party, but also the majority of the pro-Western NGOs, as well as a significant part of the public, defend the television channel.
It is almost impossible to enforce the court’s decision without serious conflicts, including a physical confrontation. A recording of a telephone conversation between Saakashvili and the Director General of Rustavi-2 Nika Gvaramia appeared on the Internet recently. The ex-president recommended the head of the TV channel to barricade himself into iron constructions, attract hundreds of militants and be ready even to shoot. "If blood is shed, so be it. Otherwise we won’t attract attention to ourselves," Saakashvili said, and instructed his former chief bodyguard to protect Rustavi-2.
The authorities have found themselves in a difficult situation. The court returned the TV station to its owners, considering that it was extorted in 2004-2006 with the help of administrative resources. If the authorities don’t enforce the judgment they will be looking weak during the short period of time before the new parliamentary elections. Voters do not like weak and indecisive representatives.
On the other hand, Western countries, with the help of their ambassadors, demand that force not be used against journalists, or attempts to suppress the opposition television channel. It is obvious that if Rustavi-2 will move to the previous owners it will cease to be oppositional.
Minister of Justice Thea Tsulukiani, responding to a threatening warning from US Ambassador Ian Kelly, said that the special mission unit won’t do it if the Director General of the TV company Nika Gvaramia obeys the court’s decision on the appointment of the Rustavi-2 interim manager (David Dvali). A criminal case will be initiated against Gvaramia.
Saakashvili's party membes have to turn the epic around Rustavi-2 into an almost ‘geopolitical confrontation between Russia and the United States.’ They claim that the three other Georgian national TV channels are "either under Russia’s controlled, or belong to Russia."
The Imedi company was owned by the late Russian businessman with Georgian roots Badri Patarkatsishvili. The Maestro channel is owned by Georgian businessmen living in Moscow. At the same time, the chief information officer of Georgian Public Television, Gregory Gvimradze, has recently supported debates on the country's accession to the Eurasian Union.
