Press Digest 10.02.2014
Sandro Tvalchrelidze -- media is a tool which grants the public the chance to control the government
Sandro Tvalchrelidze -- media is a tool which grants the public the chance to control the government
"By setting up NGO “Citizen” Bidzina Ivansihvili laid the foundation for an organization which will be viable without foreign donor assistance as it will be “equipped with” its own financing source; thus, the foundation of this organization is paramount for us. Personally I am absolutely ready to get involved in cooperating with this body without any material compensation as I am deeply convinced that this organization can contribute to our future well-being”, declares Alexandre Tvalchrelidze in his interview with the Kviris Palitra gazette.
“Ivanishvili alleges that his NGO will assist the Georgian media to boost its qualification; however, at the same time, as per the ex-PM, the organization will exercise control of the journalists. It goes without saying that the Georgian media, which is only 20 years-old, is in desperate need of assistance; and I’m boldly certain of the fact that Mr. Ivanishvili will provide our journalist with all due support and provide them with all necessary recourses. As for me, I totally share his position as per which precisely the media is a tool which grants the public the chance to control the government. Hence, I do welcome any initiation which will in any way promote our media”, states Mr. Tvalchrelidze.
“The former government left its heirs in our country – even today the National Movement is in possession of a number of affiliated NGOs; and it is out of the question that Ivanishvili’s organization nags them. Although fortunately, in Georgia we have such organizations as “Just Elections”, “Young Lawyers Association”, “Transparency Georgia” and so on and so forth; these organizations are completely ready to get involved in a prolific collaboration with “Citizen”, the leader of which has set a great deal of goals for himself; as far as I know, the body intends to channel funds in training programs for our analytical experts; and, frankly speaking, the decision to prepare consummate experts is an important move from Ivanishvili; today, our country simply abounds with the quasi-experts; we are truly in need of consummate professionals and not of newly-born “experts”, the respondent says.
“Now I’ll focus on the next topic and say that the Sochi Olympics has nothing to do with politics, and a party which, in order to cater to its political interests, will attempt to manipulate the people by raising different political issues will make a really outrageous mistake. Putin has already blundered by casting the light on the topic of Abkhazia and Ossetia; and if in the future some strongmen and political figures don’t drop the adopted practice, voluntarily or involuntarily, they will deal a really huge blow to Olympics 2014 --in the short run, the Sochi Olympics will not be a far cry from the Berlin Olympics held in Nazi Germany.
As for the statement from Dmitri Peskov , the Russian President’s press secretary , saying that within the Olympics, Putin was expected to hold the meeting with the Presidents of Georgia and Ukraine, it is nothing more than a travesty! This statement has only one goal – to cast bait to the Georgian side and in this way find out what kind of reaction Russia’s ostentatious readiness to engage itself in dialogue with us will trigger among the Georgian public”, concludes the expert.
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