Ivanishvili: Everything To Be Settled In a Year
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Thursday, October 25
Founder and Chair of the Georgian Dream ruling party, former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili responded to the questions of journalists on Wednesday when he promised Georgians that “everything will be settled and will be given its name in a year time.”
Ivanishvili, who invited three journalists from top three TV channels of Georgia- Rustavi 2, TV Pirveli and Imedi TV - to ask him questions on 22 October, says that he will take more effective steps to strengthen the ruling team and its management.
During the interview, ex-PM particularly attacked the opposition-minded Rustavi 2 TV channel and said that it is only spreading the false and negative information.
“If not the Rustavi 2 TV, the deeds of the Georgian Dream party would be more obvious as we have done much more than the previous state leadership,” Ivanishvili said.
He stated that the ruling team will conduct surveys and make ratings which will show the public how biased the channel is and how the channel leadership closes doors for the government representatives in their shows.
Ivanishvili stated that the audio recordings released by the TV channel about alleged pressure on business by the government are fabrications, as well as the recordings about the notorious teenagers’ murder case in 2017, in which one of the main figures of the case speaks about his agreements with the government to leave the prison as he has compromising materials against current officials.
GD founder also spoke about opera singer Paata Burchuladze, saying when he decided to defeat the nine-year rule of the United National Movement (UNM) in 2012 he offered Burchuladze to join his team and the latter demanded 9 million USD from him instead, as he would have to end his career on the stage.
“I was surprised and with a half-joke calculated his incomes from the stage that time and told him that it would be a bit more than 1 million USD. I also said that there was no need to end his career.
“On the next day, his wife came to my house and said that 2 million USD would be a sufficient compensation. I phoned in the evening and said that I would not pay the money,” Ivanishvili said.
Burchuladze responded that everything Ivanishvili said about him is a lie.
Moreover, operatic bass says that Ivanishvili is fighting against him and his recent summoning by the Prosecutor’s Office regarding alleged misspending of Burchuladze-founded charity organization Ivanana funds is the revenge as he created opposition movement in 2016.
In addition, GD head also spoke about the Russia-Georgia war and stated that former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili helped Russians in 2008 “to fulfill their centuries-long wish and occupy Georgian lands,” adding Saakashvili was provoked to open fire.
Ex-PM also talked about one of the most controversial issues in the country – bill on the cultivation of marijuana for export purposes.
Ivanishvili stated that he supports marijuana export for medical and cosmetic purposes, and was personally involved in the discussions of the bill before it was presented to the public about a month ago.
However, he said if the people and the church will be against the export, the changes will not be implemented.
The leader of the European Georgia opposition Gigi Ugulava said that Ivanishvili is “dangerously inadequate.”
The UNM presidential candidate Grigol Vashadze stated that Ivanishvili’s statements were “shocking.”
Ivanishvili, who quit politics in 2013 and promised “genuine changes in four years with Georgians having excellent lives for 2017”, returned in politics this year, as he “saw problems” in the Georgian Dream team.
