TV and Radio Company "Trialeti" Accuses Head of Georgian National Communications Commission of Pressuring
TV and radio company "Trialeti" calls on the public to help it in its dispute with the GNCC. According to the December 15 statement made by TV and radio company "Trialeti's" Director General John Nanetashvili, "The pressure from GNCC started from the very first day of Dimitri Kitoshvili's appointment. Our dispute concerns the 34th TV channel.
While Mr. Vakhtang Abashidze headed GNCC that agency decided give 34th channel to "Trialeti". but after Kitoshvili was appointed Head of GNCC, the Commission made cancelled that decision. As a result TV comapny "Trialeti" filed a lawsuit against GNCC."
The new wave of the dispute started after GNCC decided to transfer the right to use 34th channel to another TV company - "Shida Kartli Television". That decision was made on September 9, 2005.
According to Nanetashvili: "The hearing of the case in Tbilisi district court was postponed many times. Kitoshvili used the delay in hearings to give 34th channel (the dispute over which is still taking place between us in the court) to "Shida Kartli TV Company Ltd."
His actions were illegal because GNCC couldn't give the abovementioned frequency to another TV company until the court issued its final ruling."
"Trialeti" is currently using the first metric channel, which covers Gori district including the Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone. 34th channel also covers the same geographic area.
"Trialeti's" potential audience is 450,000 people. According to the TV company's Director General the whole issue is about limitation of freedom of speech as "TV company "Trialeti" tries to cover all the events taking place in the region objectively".
GNCC has refrained from commenting on the subject.
media.ge