Giorgi Baratashvili to Lodge Complaint to Court

Giorgi Baratashvili, former Director General of the Georgian Public Broadcaster is going to deal with the Board of Trustees through court. Speaking at the March 5 press conference held in the lobby at GPB premises Baratashvili said the Board made an unjust decision in regard to his dismissal.

 “On December 28 the Board of Trustees declared trust to me through signing a contract with me under the same motive which said the broadcaster was facing a crisis and I am a good manager. Within the reorganization process 143 employees quit the television and when we started considering the transfer of a single person to another position, and not her dismissal, the Board of Trustees has got me discharged. The channel employs a good staff and only few people should not be deciding the fate of the television,” said Baratashvili who is going to appeal to the Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA) for legal aid.

The TV staff is supporting former Director General. Some of them gathered at the GPB lobby to demonstrate support to Giorgi Baratashvili holding press conference therein. The GPB employees demand the Board’s responsibility issue to be raised. Quite possibly the Board of Trustees will be requested to revise the decision on Baratashvili’s dismissal.

 “Neither Giorgi Baratahsvili nor Khatuna Berdzenishvili is not an issue. The thing is to determine what the public broadcaster is. Public broadcaster is an important tool in the hands of the society. The television should be managed though public opinion. The news policy to be applied shall not be oriented on scandal or any political group; it is to be guided by the only object of delivering information to the viewers instead of being managed from either office. Past two months have been promising to me, at least something seemed to be getting in order,” said Dodo Shonava, Director of GPB Channel 2.

On March 4 the Board of Trustees broke up the contract with Director General appointed two months ago.

Gela Bochikashvili, www.media.ge