Society

With whom is Gvaramia creating a new TV channel: “Okuashvili is one of the important figures… I won’t name others”

“Even if I am imprisoned, the TV channel will be open by fall, the team is already there and they are actively working on this”, - The former general director of “Rustavi 2” – Nika Gvaramia tells the “Resonance”.

Regardless of the accusations from the procuratory, Gvaramia tells “Resonance”, that he will keep being active in multiple fields. According to him, whether he is imprisoned or not, he will still open up the new TV channel, which will be called “The Main Channel”.

According to Gvaramia, there already is a team, that is working on the future telecast and nothing can block this new media from launching this fall.

We asked if we will see well-known faces from “Rustavi 2” in his channel. Gvaramia says, that he doesn’t want to talk about this yet. Gvaramia also doesn’t specify if there are any negotiations conducted regarding this matter.

Gvaramia confirmed with “Resonance” that the owner of the “Omega Group” and the TV channel “Iberia” – Zaza Okuashvili will be one of his partners. Gvaramia noted, that besides Okuashvili, negotiations are held with different investors, however, he does not want to give away their identities yet.

“The core team of the TV channel already exist and everybody knows what to work on regarding each direction. Therefore, it really doesn’t change anything whether I am arrested or not. TV channel can’t be blocked from opening.

“Zaza Okuashvili is one of the important figures, who I am currently speaking with regarding the partnership. However, he is not going to be the only one. Of course, I won’t be naming others, just him. Negotiations are still being held and I don’t want to get ahead of myself.

“I can’t say anything about taking well-known faces from the “Rustavi 2”, or about the negotiation process. I will try to abstain from giving any information. However, I promise you, it will be a decent TV channel, and such TV channels, obviously, need great employees. People should be expecting to see this new channel around this fall”, - Gvaramia tells the “Resonance”.

He also confirmed, that he might go back to politics and he has been offered by couple of political parties. He says that one of the parties is the United National Movement.

Gvaramia says, that he has his own conditions when it comes to partnering with the opposition party and if any of them meet his criteria, he will accept their offers. He says he is still negotiation and we will hear about his decision in the nearest future.

“It’s been a long time I have been receiving offers from the different political parties to join them. However, I have my own terms and conditions regarding that. Let’s see, if I come to an agreement with anybody, I will probably cooperate. Now it is the time for me to use every possible platform against Ivanishvili. Whether it’s the United National Movement or any other opposition party. We will see about this”,- Nika Gvaramia tells the “Resonance”.

Regarding the accusations, he says he will either remain free or go to jail, he doesn’t even consider the third possibility. Gvaramia says, that he won’t be paying fee and won’t comply with any other prohibition, such as open arrest. He says we is ready to be imprisoned and he is not going to double think about anything.

“If the judge decides to make me pay the pledge, which, honestly, will be surprising, I will immediately say that I will not pay. I am also expecting the amount of money to be pretty big, so I will not pay it, just as much as I won’t be able to pay it. That’s why I am prematurely making this announcement. This is a very vulnerable matter, I think they should not be able to prove me guilty even if the contract was incorrect”,-Nika Gvaramia tells the “resonance”.

Analyst Vakhtang Dzabiradze tells the “Resonance” that Nika Gvaramia is already involved in politics and it doesn’t matter whether he is the director of a TV company, or a member of a political party. Dzaburadze says, that if he joins an opposition party, that will only be an official enter to politics, because he is already a politically active figure.

Regarding Gvaramias TV channel, Vakhtang Dzabiridze tells the “Resonance”, that there is just a little time left until the parliamentary elections. Therefore, Gvaramia will only be powerful, if he is with the journalists from the Rustavi 2. If he forms a brand new team, he will have less time and chances.

“There is a specific outlook about Nika Gvaramia among the society. Therefore, if now officially announces his enrolment into Georgian politics, I don’t think he will create an additional obstacle for the current government, or will gain his party lots of supporters. It does not really matter if he becomes a part of a TV channel, starts cursing the government, or becomes the face of any party.

“To speak about the new channel, which is announced to be open soon, I believe, that without the faces from the Rustavi 2, he doesn’t really stand a chance. He has such a little time for creating a popular television. He will have less chances if he creates a brand new team.

“The actions of the government against him still come across politically bias though. Everything that has been going on around the medias, their owners or directors, are being perceived as political actions by the society and even the government has hard time denying this. Now, it’s time for the Georgian Dream to decide – is it better for them to have Gvaramia in the prison, or in some TV show, cursing their names”, - said Dzabiridze.