Influential media and financial tycoon Badri Patarkatsishvili said in an interview with the Russian daily Kommersant, published on April 17, that although being in business is “more pleasant” for him, it does not mean that he will not go into politics “tomorrow, or even today.”
Patarkatsishvili, who owns the Kommersant Publishing House in Russia and Imedi television station in Georgia, was interviewed by the Russian daily in London less than a month after he unleashed criticism towards the Georgian authorities over pressure on business and on his television station.
“I keep supporting the course which has been declared by the [Georgian] authorities after the [Rose] Revolution. But the forms and methods resorted to by the authorities to achieve these goals do not inspire hope that these [goals] will be achieved,” he told the Kommersant.
He once again criticized the authorities for an attempt “to cover up” the high-profile Sandro Girgvliani murder case. “If the authorities are not capable of protecting the life of a citizen and, moreover, are trying to cover up a crime, for me these are no longer the authorities in whom I, together with millions of Georgians, believed two years ago,” Patarkatsishvili said.
Patarkatsishvili said that he had good relations with Georgia’s current authorities, adding that “[late Prime Minister] Zurab Zhvania largely contributed to this.” He also said the Georgian business community “was one of the major driving forces behind the Rose Revolution.”
He said that his protest started to accumulate after the “mysterious death” of late Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania and added that the murder of Sandro Girgvliani and “an attempt to cover up” this crime was a critical point.
Patarkatsishvili said that one of the reasons behind the disagreements between him and the Georgian authorities is that “they do not want me to be engaged in politics.”
He also said that “the authorities want Imedi television to cover-up events, as this is preferable for them.”
“The fact that I own [Imedi] television, which at the same time influences the formation of public opinion, already means that I am involved in the political life of the country. Politics do not give me the kind of pleasure that business does. But it does not mean that tomorrow, or even today, I will not go into politics and no one has the right to prohibit me to do this,” Patarkatsishvili said.
He also said that he is not “afraid of [Mikhail] Khordokovsky’s experience,” referring to the former chief executive of the Russian oil firm Yukos who is currently serving eight years in Russian prison after being convicted of fraud and tax evasion.
“It [Khordokovsky’s experience] rather helps me,” Patarkatsishvili added.