Despite the Russian occupants again moving signposts marking the “border” with South Ossetia 800 meters forward just a few days ago, the Rustavi 2 TV company and the legal processes developing around it remain the hottest topic of Georgian media. We remind our readers that on August 5th, the company’s entire property was seized and its owners were forbidden to assume responsibility, conduct reorganization, change regulations or manage public property on the company’s behalf. The city court made this decision based on a lawsuit filed by Kibar Khalvashi, a businessman.

According to current information, the owners of Rustavi 2 are: Levan Karamanishvili with 23 percent of shares, Giorgi Karamanishvili – 18 percent, TV company Sakartvelo – 50 percent and Nino Nijaradze – nine percent.

A Bit of Insight Into the History of Rustavi 2

The senior management of Rustavi 2 has changed many times, with each change somehow related to or reflective of the political situation in the country. In the mid-90s, the station saw a conflict between its founders _ Erosi Kitsmarishvili, Jarji Akimidze and Davit Dvali and the broadcasting license holders, Pikria Chikhradze and Niko Nikolozishvili. Back then, Rustavi 2 had to stop broadcasting for a year, but it was glaringly obvious for everyone that the “fight” for ownership was merely an excuse for Eduard Shevardnadze’s regime to crack down on independent media.

In the end, a yearlong dispute ended with Erosi Kitsmarishvili’s victory, owed mainly to his intensive support by the then-Parliamentary Chairman, Zurab Zhvania. After that, Kitsmarishvili went for his partners: First he subverted Jarji Akimidze, then did away with Davit Dvali and finally emerged as sole owner of the company.

After the Rose Revolution, Saakashvili’s government decided that owning the country’s most popular TV channel endowed the politically ambitious Erosi Kitsmarishvili with too much power, especially considering that he was aiming to become prime minister. Hence, the highest-ranking officials of the National Movement urgently began trying to persuade him to sell the company. Eventually, Kitsmarishvili caved and sold Rustavi 2 to Kibar Khalvashi, a friend and partner of then-Interior Minister Irakli Okruashvili. Kitsmarishvili sold it for a rather hefty sum as well as a share in the rail transit of oil, at least according to rumors.

Soon afterward, the winds of trouble began blowing in the company’s direction once again.

Irakli Okruashvili resigned from his post and left the National Movement, which automatically meant that Kibar Khalvashi also became a persona non grata for the ruling party. However, he was allowed to keep his shares and, as rumors claim, he was also paid a sum equal to the company’s estimated total price. Following that, Rustavi 2 became owned by a company connected to Davit Bezhuashvili’s Georgian Industry Group, but the endless changing of hands didn’t stop. The company kept getting bounced from one owner to another, including some obscure offshore companies. After the 2012 elections, former Defense Minister Davit Kezerashvili also was among those who owned the company’s stock.

Long story short, after all these twists and turns, it – perhaps deliberately – became very hard to determine the company’s real owner. Neither Khalvashi nor Dvali nor Akimidze had any hitches to grab on for the simple reason that all power shifts and changes in the company happened through private agreements, and those who yielded their shares always received something in return.

The Double Standard

At the moment, the main questions are whether the government is meddling with the court processes and whether the lawsuit against Rustavi 2 is connected to former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili – there have been speculations that the ex-PM and Kibar Khalvashi are long-time friends. One should also keep in mind that Kibar Khalvashi’s sister, Pati, is currently a majo¬rity MP.

Naturally, the government denies any connections with the Rustavi 2 affair, but the suspicion remains: Despite numerous attempts, a TV channel of Rustavi 2’s caliber had never emerged in Georgia, again so it is only natural for the acting authorities to try and “sink” it. This is especially true considering that the parliamentary elections are approaching, and the Georgian Dream party is hardly comfortable being opposed by a top-rated channel with open sympathies towards the National Movement.

If this is true, the government should understand that historically, protecting freedom of speech in Georgia was always considered far more honorable than trying to forcefully silence a media outlet – no matter how biased or politically-oriented it may be.

And finally, there is the blatant double standard of Nika Gvaramia, the acting director of Rustavi 2, who is currently parading himself as a vocal fighter for freedom of speech and considers the developments surrounding the company to be of existential importance to Georgian democracy. Now this existential assertion regarding Georgian democracy may very well be true; the problem is not necessarily the allegation being made but that Gvaramia is the one making it. You see, this is the very same Nika Gvaramia who called the armed raid on the headquarters of Badri Patarkatsishvili’s TV company Imedi a “perfectly justified action”. This occurred in 2007 – back when Gvaramia occupied the post of vice prosecutor general. There is a sad irony somewhere in this mess, but worse is that Georgia’s cycle – nay, tradition – of using political power to manipulate and weaken the media has not missed a beat.

Nika Gvaramia, the director of Rustavi 2, attributes the sequestration of the company’s property to the coming elections and to the auth orities’ exerting pressure from behind the scenes: “The most Kibar Khalvashi will get out of this is compensation paid either by the state or the person who expropriated his property, but even this prospect is subject to debate. The authorities are slipping into totalitarianism, but I hope the court won’t become part of that process and make an illegitimate decision. Encroachment upon Rustavi 2, the biggest independent television outlet of the country, will yield no results. I warn the authorities that the whole world will get detailed information about their actions. We will inform every single embassy and international organization about this state of affairs. We won’t lose this battle!”

Paata Salia, Kibar Khalvashi’s lawyer:

“Businessman Kibar Khalvashi has been requesting an investigation into the expropriation of private property. What do they mean by ‘collaboration with the authorities,’ when we have a lot of claims towards the ruling team as well? The authorities, for example, can’t fulfill their pre-election promise to restore justice and restitute illegally expropriated property. Besides, in his hands, the TV company will be absolutely independent.”

Author: Rusudan Shelia