08 December 2005, 19:07
Speaker's pledge questioned
The newspaper Alia has today published a list of the most apparent human rights violations in Georgia's provinces. At the same time, the newspaper reminds that Georgian parliament chairwoman Nino Burjanadze has more than once claimed that she will always protect the rights of journalists in spite that representatives of the press often publish knowingly untrue information about her and her family.
So far though, promises have remained promises, the newspaper concludes. In fact, the parliament speaker has not yet proved to be a defender of the media.
This is in spite that there are serious violations of the rights of journalists, especially in the provinces.
Thus, the rights of journalists with Imedi newspaper have been violated repeatedly in Gurjaani, Eastern Georgia. Imedi's correspondent Gela Mtivlashvili, beaten twice, has had it especially rough.
Besides, other newspaper employees have also been physically abused; they have been threatened by anonymous phone callers and senior officials.
Journalist Saba Tsitsikashvili, a correspondent of People's Newspaper in Gori, has been beaten twice too, one time by the local governor's security guards and in the governor's presence.
Alia also mentions a problem such as difficulty in obtaining information. Government members and MPs do not provide information to the media they dislike, although they have no right to choose media as they see it fit.
"We have not yet heard a single statement by the Georgian parliament speaker Burjanadze concerning all these facts," the Centre for Extreme Journalism quotes Alia as saying.
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