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When a news story gets a new interpretation

K. NARAYANAN

It is always interesting to go through readers’ comments on the contents of The Hindu. They give free expression to their pet likes and dislikes. Most of them are sweeping in nature — adulatory or condemnatory. I hope to deal with a few of these some time. Rare are those that analyse a report in detail and make important points. When that happens, it needs some detailed examination.

Such a one came from Dr. Bhamy V. Shenoy of Mysore, an international oil consultant and Chief Editor of Catalyst for Human Development, a periodical from Hyderabad. In a mail on January 11, 2008, he said (all communications have been edited for reasons of space):

“I was disappointed to read Vladimir Radyuhin’s article (“West’s double standards on Georgian vote,” January 11, 2008) on the recent election in Georgia. I always enjoyed reading his articles, partly because of the brand image of The Hindu which I have been reading since 1960. However after reading his article on Georgia, I am in a dilemma.

“I have been visiting Georgia since 1997 and have spent considerable amount of time there. I was involved in fighting corruption in that country and also served on the board of the national oil company. Thus I have first-hand knowledge of many things he has written about. His article is completely one-sided, biased by the Russian angle. Also it has several errors. It even sounds as though the article is written to show Russia in a better light against its former colony, Georgia, rather than discussing [the] Georgian election.

“Employees of TV Imedi went on strike not to show their anger against the government of Mikheil Saakashvili, but against their billionaire owner, Badri Patarkatsishvili, who is in exile in the U.K. He was one of the candidates in the election but dropped out when his planned clandestine operation was revealed. He had talked about his plans to mount a protest march against the President by calling on thousands of Georgians who are paid by him. Radyuhin writes just the opposite. According to him it was Saakashvili’s government which closed down Imedi (Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation has a stake in the channel).

“Radyuhin writes that Russia has nothing to gain or lose from the election as if Russia is a neutral observer. This is far from true. It was Russia which is directly involved in supporting the breakaway regions of Georgia in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. It was Russia which banned the import of wine from Georgia two years ago to put economic pressure on Georgia. There are many such unfriendly acts against a tiny and poor country by the more powerful Russia.

“It was the unkindest cut to indirectly hint that former Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania was killed by the government. There is more than enough proof to show that it was a freak accident of a faulty heating system. I was in Tbilisi when Zhvania died and went to his house to pay my respects.

“I am not implying that everything is fine with the government or the election was completely fair and free. But what Radyuhin has written about Mikheil Saakashvili and his government is an outright lie.”

* * * 

This was forwarded to Vladimir Radyuhin, and he responded immediately. I forwarded this to Dr. Shenoy.

“It was not an ‘error’ to state that the government had shut down the Imedi TV station and moreover smashed its equipment to muzzle this opposition mouthpiece.

“When Imedi went off the air a second time, its journalists issued a statement which I quoted, verbatim. This pointed to government ‘pressure,’ ‘blackmail’ and ‘hysteria’ as the prime reasons for halting broadcasts. The Imedi journalists did not voice any ‘anger’ against their owner. They only mentioned ‘misunderstanding, which is connected with the participation of the owner of the TV channel in the Presidential elections.’ I omitted that aspect as it would have required going into the controversy involving Badri Patarkatsishvili. (My story was not about the Georgian election as such, but rather about the West’s reaction to it.)

“Regarding the death of former Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania, there is [an] overwhelming body of evidence against the official theory of gas poisoning. Among the ‘some who have raised doubts,’ as you say, was the American FBI, which reported that Zhvania and his friend could not have died of carbon monoxide poisoning — ‘a freak accident of a faulty heating system,’ as you call it.

“Lastly, I really do not think it’s fair to call Georgia a ‘former colony’ of the Soviet Union. Georgia was by far the richest region in the Soviet Union. Its prosperity stemmed from fruit, vegetables and flowers that grow in its warm climate and which were sold at hefty prices in other parts of the Soviet Union. Once the Soviet Union collapsed and Georgian fruit had to compete against cheaper imports from all over the world, Georgia was overnight transformed into one of the poorest post-Soviet states. And that happened long before Russia banned wine imports from Georgia.”

* * * 

Dr. Shenoy thanked me for the “very responsible and quick response” and opened a second round. He referred to some articles from the Tbilisi English language newspaper Messenger. Though it had endorsed the candidacy of Saakashvili, Dr. Shenoy said, it looked to be more objective, reporting events from both the sides unlike Mr. Radyuhin’s “one-sided” article.

“It is true Imedi TV was closed down in November when Badri Patarkatsishvili’s intent was learnt. When later it was allowed to function, it was employees who decided to go on strike, as reported in Messenger. Mr. Radyuhin elaborated only on the highhandedness of Saakashvili’s government without giving any background to the whole episode.” He said his main purpose was to report on the West’s reaction. In that light, the reader asked, is there any point in bringing up the controversial and yet unsolved death of Zhvania now?

It is true that Georgia was one of the most prosperous parts of Soviet Union. My question, Dr. Shenoy said, was with respect to banning of wine and support given to secessionist areas. These show the direct interest of Russia in what is going on in Georgia.

* * * 

That I thought was time to end the discussion. Radyuhin concurred, since it had veered completely off the subject of his original story — contrasting Western reactions to the Georgian and Russian elections. But the discussion showed one thing — Georgia is in turmoil, and there are as many truths regarding the controversial situation in that country as there are viewers. That applies to individuals and governments, their preferences and prejudices influencing the perception.

readerseditor@thehindu.co.in

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