Georgian journalists left for Samtskhe-Javakheti region

The Messenger, Georgia
July 12 2006

As reported in Svobodnaya Gruzia, a group of Georgian journalists
>From leading national and regional newspapers left for the
Samtskhe-Javakheti region (Eastern Georgia) July 10. During the
five-day visit, journalists will become familiar with the political
and social problems of the local population. They will hold meetings
with representatives of local self-governance bodies, public and
non-governmental organizations and colleagues from the local media
in Akhaltsikhe, Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda.

This visit is part of the programme "Overcoming the information vacuum
in Samtskhe-Javakheti," which is being implemented under the aegis of
the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) with the financial
support of the OSCE. According to the coordinator of the project,
Shorena Ratiani, taking part in the project will help journalists get
information regarding the real situation in the region, and lead to
objective coverage of the issues.

"The Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda districts of Samtskhe-Javakheti are
over 90 percent populated by Armenians who do not know the Georgian
language. In terms of access to information they are in isolation
compared to other regions because they cannot read the Georgian
press. The situation is aggravated by the fact that the Georgian media
does not have representatives in the region, and they know almost
nothing about the problems of the local population," stated Ratiani.

Ratiani also said that this project is mainly directed to helping
journalists find out the cause of the processes which have been
taking place in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region. "All this will help
destroy the stereotypes which exist concerning Armenian areas, and
the integration of the region into the country," Ratiani noted.

Newspapers 24 Saati, Rezonansi, Akhali Versia, Akhali 7 Dghe,
Khvalindeli Dghe, Batumelebi, Akhali Gazeti, Samkhretis Karipche and
Panorama took part in this project.

The paper notes that the first visit took place in 2005 within
the framework of the same project. During that journey to
Samtskhe-Javakheti journalists met with representatives of local
government structures and the NGO sector, a first step toward
overcoming the information vacuum in the region. After the visit,
over 30 articles were published regarding the life and problems of
this region.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress