PR technologies in struggle for Caucasus

Objective journalists call to study the reply from the Regulating Committee chairman Irakli Chikovani which reads that Alania TV's license was withdrawn in May 2008. The also call to bring the people who sanctioned unlicensed broadcasting in the country's TV space to responsibility.

The union of journalists applies to the parliamentary and non-parliamentary opposition asking them to use their resources in support of independent journalists and their fair demands.

The journalists call on Oleg Panfilov "to study the Objective investigation materials published in the press and draw the right conclusions. There have been no comments on the statement by the Objective yet. As for the GPB prospect of becoming "Caucasus herald" it has no sound confirmation either.

It was specified there that this is expansion of broadcasting to the North Caucasian region with the help of satellites. "Europe can view us, we are producing programs - on Caucasian issues too - and do not believe it impossible that in future we will be able to broadcast in neighboring regions via satellites - like Russian channels are broadcast in Georgia", - Gazeta.ru quotes a source in GPB. After all it is not that important on the basis of what TV company this pan-Caucasian channel will be created. This is a technical issue. It seems to be much more important what exactly Tbilisi will show. As Georgian media report the First Caucasian Channel will be primarily "ideological" aimed at rapprochement between peoples of Caucasus. But there is a different idea. The rumors that Georgia will have a pan-Caucasian channel have been on for a long time. A source that wished to be left unnamed told our correspondent a few months ago that Tbilisi was seriously working on creation of a Russian-speaking channel to boost anti-Russian sentiment. It was meant to be a satellite channel to cover all Caucasus. Allegedly the project has governmental support.

Then media reported that Boris Berezovsky, an oligarch in disgrace got interested in Imedi assets in order to support anti-Russian forces in North Caucasus. So the question what the purpose of the First Caucasian Channel is - to make peace or war between nations - is not at all rhetorical. After the August war official Tbilisi explicitly sympathizes with anti-Kremlin figures and looks forward to revival of separatist sentiment in Russia. As for media support Tbilisi is doing its best to be in the vanguard.

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