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Georgia The Media
The 1992 Law on the Press nominally reversed the rigorous
state censorship of the Soviet and Gamsakhurdia periods and
guaranteed freedom of speech. In 1993 Georgian law contained no
prohibition of public criticism of the head of state, and
Shevardnadze was subjected to accusations and comments from every
direction. Three television channels are in operation; one,
Ibervision, is run independently. Numerous independent newspapers
are published; Sakartvelos Respublika (The Georgian
Republic) presents the official government view in the daily
press.
Despite some liberalization, in 1994 national security
remained a rationale for media restriction. During the crisis of
September 1993, two pro-Gamsakhurdia newspapers were closed and
the office of an independent weekly were attacked by gunmen. The
Free Media Association, an organization including eight
independent newspapers, blamed a progovernment party for the
attack. After his controversial decision in October to join the
CIS, Shevardnadze threatened to close hostile newspapers, and no
television channel discussed the widespread disagreement with the
head of state's CIS initiative.
Data as of March 1994
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