Georgian PM Responds to Civil Society Leader’s Criticism

In an article published by the International Herald Tribune on December 11, Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania denounced the criticism offered by Georgian civil society leader Tina Khidasheli as “misleading” and “flatly inaccurate.”

In her article, also published by the International Herald Tribune, on December 8, Tina Khidasheli, chairwomen of the human rights advocacy non-governmental organization Georgian Young Lawyers Association and a current fellow at the Yale University World Fellows Program, criticized Georgia’s government for its role in human rights abuse and for mounting pressure on media.

Tina Khidasheli, who was one of the staunchest ideological critics of ex-President Eduard Shevardnadze, also criticized Georgia’s new authorities for failing to deliver on their key political commitments undertaken after peacefully ousting the previous leadership in last November’s Rose Revolution.

However, Khidasheli also adds: “We must hold our leaders accountable and begin the arduous work of building democracy from the ground up. I believe [President Mikheil] Saakashvili is able and willing to do this, if pushed.”

Khidasheli voiced the concerns of many other civil society leaders in Georgia, thus prompting Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania to respond with a short article published in the same media outlet, on December 11.

“The government of Georgia welcomes all forms of criticism. We believe all citizens have a right, and indeed a responsibility, to voice their opinion… At the same time, some of the claims presented in Tinatin Khidasheli’s recent article are misleading and at times flatly inaccurate, and warrant clarification,” Zurab Zhvania writes.

“The government of Georgia is strongly committed to protecting and supporting a free media – that we have five national and 25 regional television channels for a country of five million people is both an achievement and a source of pride,” the Georgian Prime Minister adds.

Tina Khidasheli’s article is not a first case when the representatives of the civil society blow the whistle against the government’s failure to deliver many of its earlier promises. In a letter published in the Georgian daily 24 Hours on October 18 fourteen civil society leaders and representatives from the Georgian expert community openly addressed President Mikheil Saakashvili protesting against perceived limitation of the freedom of expression and political opposition.

But it is a first case, when the Georgian civil society leader voices concerns through the foreign media outlet. The response by Zurab Zhvania was quite anticipated, as the Georgian authorities are extremely sensitive to the media coverage about the Georgian government’s performance, especially, when it concerns a foreign media source.