Beans to Rescue ‘Trialeti”…

The Human Rights Center tried to find out the real reasons for the last disagreement between Governor Shida Kartli, Mikheil Kareli, and former MP Badri Nanetashvili.

Badri Nanetashvili, former MP and owner of the Shida Kartli TV Radio Company, accuses the Shida Kartli Regional Administrative Board of threats. He said that Marlen Nadiradze, chairman of the Municipality, and former deputy governor, threatened him in the name of Irakli Okruashvili (former Defense Minister) and Mikheil Kareli. Nanetashvili has recorded the telephone numbers from which he was threatened.

Nanetashvili said that Nadiradze was annoyed by TV reports against Kareli which were shown by Trialeti on January 3, 2007. The reports spread information that Kareli offered 400 000 GEL for the TV Company, which Nanetashvili considered an attempt to seize the company. 

Sozar Subari, Public Defender, condemns the act of threatening; however, he pointed out that since the case had not been investigated thoroughly, he would not be able to comment on the issue.

The case is that in June 2006, Nanetashvili announced he was going to leave his company and Giga Bokeria, leader of the parliamentary majority, and MP Khatuna Gogorishvili wanted to get control of it. At that time the Procedure Committee of the Parliament was discussing the Public Defender’s report. The report dealt with the difficulty of combining Nanetashvili’s business activities with his membership in the parliament. The legislative body considered that their colleague, Nanetashvili, was interfering in the TV Company’s activity and was additionally violating journalists’ rights. Journalists worked without employment contracts and salaries and were insulted by Nanetashvili as well.

Finally, the parliament deprived Nanetashvili of his power of MP. However, Nanetashvili himself explained that Bokeria and Gogorishvili did not like the information spread by his company and had retaliated against him.

Journalists stated during their visit to Gogorishvili that Kareli controlled the information before it was highlighted by Trialeti TV. Moreover, one of the journalists said that “if Kareli did not invite Nanetashvili to a party, the latter would order us to spread degrading information about the governor.” 

Nanetashvili categorically denied accusations and considered that journalists were supporting the police and prosecutor’s office. Tiniko Vachadze, editor for the newspaper Trialeti, accused the regional prosecutor of sexual assault. Nanetashvili thought that since Trialeti had spread such information, the prosecutor’s office and the authority retaliated against him.

Approximately seven months have passed since the aforementioned events. Former and present journalists for the Trialeti have opposed each other. Nanetashvili did his effort to turn these journalists into rivals. Seven months later, Nanetashvili has fired Sofio Rezrichenko (former head of the information service department), Tiniko Vachadze and some more journalists, all of whom had supported him. As the Human Rights Center found out, these journalists were dismissed without any explanation. However, seven moths ago, they were speaking loudly that everything was well in the company. Former journalist for Trialeti, Shalva Nuskhelidze, said that Nanetashvili violated those journalists’ rights and then got rid of them.

Rezrichenko did not want to comment on the situation with the journalists. Trialeti prepared a piece against her which stated that she was a member of Kareli’s team.” At present Rezrichenko works in the press service department of the regional administrative board,” said present chief of the information service department for the TV Company, Nino Chibchiuri. We could not find Rezrichenko in her new office and at home we were told that she was ill and could not stand up.

Vachadze was also fired. Although she does not want to comment on the situation, unofficially the center learned that Nanetashvili demanded journalists to hold briefings to make the statement that the charges against the prosecutor were false.

What has caused Nanetashvili to take such a step? The Shida Kartli Financial Police Department is investigating the case of the Trialeti Company, which has supposedly avoided some of its taxes. The prosecutor is carrying out a separate investigation, as well. Law Enforcement Bodies fined Nanetashvili’s company a large amount and Nanetashvili could not pay it alone. Thus, he was forced to sell part of his property - a car, flats, etc.

Present employees for Trialeti said that Kareli had offered Nanetashvili to buy out part of his share in the company in exchange for the fine. It is obvious that Nanetashvili wanted to pay the fine without selling his share but the governor did not give in. Moreover, Kareli banned every state organization of cooperating with the TV Company; those organizations were paying Trialeti money for various services.

In November 2006, journalists asked Kareli some questions. “Why do district councilors in Shida Kartli Region no longer transfer money to Trialeti?” Nanetashvili was also very curious in the answer to this question. Kareli’s answer was heard while opening the stadium in the village of Shindisi in the Gori district; he said that money would be transferred to the TV Radio Company again. However, several minutes later the governor regretted his words and ordered his guard to follow the journalists and seize their camera.

All in all, the disagreement between the governor and former MP has a marketable nature. All state organizations ceased to fund the Trialeti. Nanetashvili found a new way to survive and ordered his journalists to walk in every village of the district in order to collect money for charity if they wanted to keep their jobs. A strange thing happened in the village of Zerti; a family could not understand the real reason for their visit and gave them beans, bread, herbs and black wine for charity like simple beggars...

Saba Tsitsikashvili, Gori