Georgian government welcomes top rating on media freedom as it seeks closer EU ties TBILISI, Georgia, 05 September 2013 – Georgia on Wednesday welcomed the country’s top rating for media freedom among six East European countries as an important sign of the success of the new government’s efforts to encourage a freer press and reach an Association Agreement with the European Union this year. In a study released Wednesday by Media Freedom Watch, an EU-funded organisation monitoring the media, Georgia ranked as “the leader in the field of media freedom among the countries of the Eastern Partnership,” which are seeking to develop closer ties with the European Union. The six EU Eastern Partnership countries include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. Government spokesperson Tamar Chugoshvili said the study shows that the reforms and policies of the new government elected in October 2012 under the leadership of Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili have been effective in ending past official interference by the previous government. “Our government has encouraged a vibrant news media and sought the greatest possible transparency, open to media scrutiny,” said Chugoshvili. “Without a truly free press, there can be no real democracy and we recognised that even before last year’s elections.” The study confirms independent civil society reports from earlier in the year, noting significant improvements in media freedom in Georgia. Freedom House did not find an increase in media freedom from 2010 through 2012, but noted improvements after the October 2012 parliamentary election, notably as regards increased political diversity in the television media.[1] Transparency International Georgia has reported a decrease in partisan bias in the media.[2] During last year’s parliamentary election campaign, journalists were among those physically attacked during opposition rallies broken up by authorities. The Saakashvili government had also seized more than 100,000 TV satellite dishes to impede a private broadcaster critical of the government. “Georgia is far freer and more democratic than ever before,” said Chugoshvili. “We believe this study helps support our efforts to initialise an Association Agreement with the European Union, at the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius in November.” Among the new government’s pro-media policies since coming to power, the independent TV channel Imedi, which was unlawfully and violently expropriated by the previous government from a political opponent, was returned to its rightful owner. The Georgian government has opened its reform process to civil society, seeking input from NGOs such as the Coalition for Media Advocacy throughout the legislative process. Consulting NGOs, the government secured legislation shifting from the president to the Parliament, the power to choose the Georgian Public Broadcaster’s Board of Trustees. The OSCE media freedom representative, Dunja Mijatović, applauded the reform. The Parliament has adopted the mandatory must-carry/must-offer principles for cable operators in Georgia, after some broadcasters were barred during last year’s campaign. Work is also under way to ensure transition to digital broadcasting that would make it easier for smaller broadcasters to transmit their programming. To further increase transparency, the government has passed legislation welcomed, among others, by the European Commission in its March 2013 progress report, and carried out the “Open Governance Project.” As part of the project, senior government leaders regularly meet with media and civil society representatives from across the political spectrum. In particular, at least two cabinet ministers meet with the media for an extended Q&A twice a week. Similarly, the Prime Minister holds regular press conferences. -/-
Posted on: Fri, 06 Sep 2013 11:21:36 +0000
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