Georgia: Donors’ Conference shall assist Georgian Media As Well

Media.ge, Tbilisi, 20 Oct 2008 – Public Defender of Georgia, Sozar Subari is willing to address a Donors’ Conference with scheduled to be held on October 22 with a letter requesting support for different specific spheres, including Georgian media.

Subari talked about the issue in Akhali Droit program of Palitra radio station.

According to Public Defender, “media is experiencing a grave situation and needs help”. Economic crisis was reflected on newspapers as well. Benefits shall be given to press, as it is not an ordinary business’, – Subari declares.

According to him, “freedom of speech is a significant value and it needs help”.

The European Commission and the World Bank will co-chair and France (current EU president country) and Czech Republic (succeeding EU president country) will co-host the Donors’ Conference for Georgia on 22 October 2008 in Brussels.

EU Member States, third countries, international financial institutions and international organisations will participate in the conference.

The purpose of the conference is to mobilise external assistance to support the country in the reconstruction of damaged infrastructure, reintegration of internally displaced people and in accelerating Georgia’s recovery from the impact of the August 2008 conflict on its economy as well as improving the security of Georgia’s energy infrastructure.

At the invitation of the Georgian government a post conflict needs assessment was coordinated by international financial institutions and international organizations. The assessment developed estimates of the financial assistance required to address the losses caused by the conflict – $ 3¼ billion (€2.38 billion) is needed over a three year period.

Number of View: 7723