Officials Denounce Tycoon’s Criticism as Blackmail

Influential MP from the ruling National Movement party Giga Bokeria described accusations by media and financial tycoon Badri Patarkatsishvili on March 29 as an attempt by “oligarchs” to “blackmail the Georgian authorities.”

MP Bokeria was speaking at a news conference convened shortly after Patarkatsishvili voiced his criticism over two major issues: mounting pressure on his television station, Imedi TV, and the illegal practice of extorting money from businesses.

“I want to thank Mr. Patarkatsishvili because he has finally come out from a shadow; as a result we saw a real leader and, probably, a sponsor of the opposition. I want to thank him especially for his frankness. Mr. Patarkatsishvili directly explained to the society what the real reason of his discontent was. He said frankly that his discontent was caused by those decisions which were made by the Georgian authorities, by the fact that he fails to enjoy certain privileges and by the fact that he fails to establish himself as the Don Corleone of Georgian business,” Giga Bokeria said on March 29.

Bokeria said that at the end of 2005 and at the beginning of 2006 Patarkatsishvili lost several tenders, including the lease of the 9th and 10th piers of the Poti port.

“Afterwards he decided to use the Sandro Girgvliani murder case to mount pressure on the authorities and launched attacks on the authorities through his own television. This is what he says,” Bokeria said.
 
“It appears that he [Patarkatsishvili] cannot forget his past – Russia during [ex-President Boris] Yeltsin’s presidency, when he and his friends controlled everything – the authorities, business and seized huge amounts of property. However, present-day Georgia is not Yeltsin’s Russia. At the same time, present-day Georgia is not [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s Russia, where political opponents are persecuted or arrested, where televisions are closed down. I want to stress that television, freedom of speech is untouchable. Mr. Patarkatsishvili can be engaged in politics, business – but he will not be able to blackmail the authorities through his own television or influence,” Bokeria said.
 
Bokeria also said it has become clear that “currently, Moscow, oligarchs and criminal bosses are fighting against the Georgian authorities.”

“They will lose this struggle, but the Georgian authorities will not sacrifice human rights, freedom of speech or business to this fight,” Bokeria continued. 

Commenting on Badri Patarkatsishvili’s calls for resuming dialogue between the business sector and the authorities, MP Bokeria said that “if this dialogue means that someone will patronize businesses and the authorities will not undertake steps without his [Patarkatsishvili’s] consent, than this kind of dialogue cannot be launched. But another kind of dialogue is absolutely acceptable.”

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