The most popular Georgian TV channel, which is owned by a UK company, is a Russian “propaganda arm”, an MP has said.
In an interview with Sky News, Labour MP Blair McDougall, a member of the foreign affairs select committee, described Imedi TV, which is owned by Hunnewell Partners, as having “cheered on” the violent crackdowns in the country.
The country held a parliamentary election on 26 October that led to Georgian Dream, the ruling party, tightening its grip on power in what the opposition called a blow to the country’s EU aspirations and a victory for Russia.
The opposition also alleged the vote was rigged with Moscow’s help.
Georgian president-elect Mikheil Kavelashvili greeted at the Georgian parliament. Pic: AP
Protesters have repeatedly taken to the streets since the announcement of Mikheil Kavelashvili, 53, a former Manchester City striker, as president, with the outgoing president and main pro-Western parties boycotting parliamentary sessions and demanding a rerun of the vote.
On 28 November, the government announced the suspension of EU accession talks, furthering tensions.
Amid the ongoing upheaval, Labour MP Mr McDougall warned that Imedi TV, the country’s biggest TV channel, was acting as a cheerleader for Georgian Dream – something the UK company behind the station denied.
He told Sky’s Gareth Barlow on Breakfast: “The situation in Georgia is a government that has been backsliding on democracy and the rule of law for some time and is engaged in an increasingly brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters.”
He called for a debate in parliament on Imedi TV, alleging it supported the crackdown and that the station’s owners said their job was to “destruct the opposition”.
Hunnewell Partners denied Mr McDougall’s claims, with a spokesperson calling the allegations “absurd”.
It said the MP’s call for an investigation “has no basis either in law or in fact”, adding: “[Imedi TV] has put its support for Georgia’s EU membership on the record repeatedly.
“Imedi has extensively covered incidents of violence against both protesters and police, and deplores any violence.
“Under the previous Saakashvili regime, its offices were ransacked live on air by armed police amid a crackdown on media independence.
“Today, Imedi TV is once again facing physical attack, as well as damaging propaganda, from people who claim to support democracy.”
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Georgian protesters sit in the street in front of police.
Pic: AP
Police block a street during a rally outside the Georgian parliament. Pic: AP
Mr McDougall acknowledged that Imedi TV had played a role in Georgia’s efforts to achieve democracy, but that it, and Georgian Dream, had changed in recent years.
He told Sky News: “In previous years that’s absolutely true but they’ve come a long way since then. Georgia Dream, the party they support, and they’ve explicitly said that is their job, used to be a pro-Western, pro-democracy party but it has dramatically shifted under the influence of oligarchs there to a completely different position.
“They are taking Georgia on a journey, cheered on by Imedi TV, which undermines those human rights which that TV station and party were part of the struggle to win.
“The trouble with the owners of this TV station is that their statement is completely at odds with what they’re claiming to do.”
He warned in previous instances, like Ukraine, “we wished we acted earlier to stop this backsliding”.
Protests in Tbilisi, Georgia on 14 December.
Pic: AP
‘Unequivocally rejected’
In full, a spokesperson for Hunnewell Partners said: “Any suggestion of wrongdoing by Hunnewell Partners is absurd, and unequivocally rejected. Hunnewell Partners has longstanding investments in businesses spanning a number of sectors, including banking and heavy industry as well as media. Blair McDougall’s call for an investigation has no basis either in law or in fact.
“Imedi TV is the largest and by far the most popular TV station in Georgia with higher ratings than the next four channels combined. Georgian viewers can choose from dozens of TV channels, some of them directly owned and managed by parties opposing the government. Imedi, though, is independent from any political party. It is not pro-Russian or anti-
Western – quite the opposite.
“It has put its support for Georgia’s EU membership on the record repeatedly. Imedi has extensively covered incidents of violence against both protestors and police, and deplores any violence. Under the previous Saakashvili regime, its offices were ransacked live on air by armed police amid a crackdown on media independence. Today, Imedi TV is once again facing physical attack, as well as damaging propaganda, from people who claim to support democracy.
“Blair McDougall’s registered interests indicate that he has been paid to work for an organisation in Georgia, as well as political NGOs in Eastern Europe. He needs to be candid with viewers of Sky News about these financial interests, because he appears to be using unverified claims to assist Georgian opposition parties in their efforts to get the country’s most popular TV station shut down. If Mr McDougall believes there is no conflict of interest in his position, he needs to explain why.”
In response, Mr McDougall told Sky News: “Before I was elected, I worked with Georgian civil society and I’m very proud of that.”