“Created another hotbed of stress”: Rustavi 2 journalist who insulted Putin was suspended from work

The self-regulation body of the Georgian TV channel Rustavi 2 decided to remove leading journalist Georgy Gabunia from journalistic activities. On July 7, on the air of his authoring program PS, he made insulting remarks to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“According to the decision of the self-regulatory body, the powers of the journalist Georgy Gabunia were completely suspended for a period of two months. This restriction applies to all programs that he prepares / conducts, ”the statement said on the website of the channel.

According to the general director of "Rustavi 2" Nika Gvaramiya, the obscene language of Gabunia was "inappropriate and tasteless." He stressed that the presenter made a gross professional error, since the content of his speech was so unacceptable that it damaged the purpose of the statement.

“The obscene language of Gabunia was completely inappropriate in the context of the processes in the country and, in particular, in relation to Rustavi 2.” He created another hotbed of undesirable tension in an already tense situation, ”the Internet portal Georgia Online quotes Gvaramiya.

It should be noted that on the night of July 8, the channel “Rustavi 2” suspended broadcasting against the background of the protest action, which was organized near the television center building. The demonstrators called for the dismissal of the TV presenter and demanded that the Prosecutor General’s Office initiate an investigation into him. According to Georgian legislation, indecent remarks against public and private individuals are unacceptable.

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili and Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze called Gabunia’s behavior unprofessional and unacceptable. In their opinion, such offensive statements “serve only a split and increase in tension in the country, in relations with Russia,” and also contradict national traditions.

According to former President Mikhail Saakashvili, it was under the Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia Party of Bidzina Ivanishvili, who was in power, that Russian-Georgian relations "went to the end, and the flow of tourists and flights stopped."

“Once again I want to say about yesterday. So much time Ivanishvili said that he settled relations with Russia. So what did he do? One tasteless and thoughtless attack on Gabunia can cause Russia to start bombing us? ”He said on Facebook.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin also condemned insults to the Russian president, admitted on the air of Rustavi 2.

“Of course, what happened is a great shame for Georgians,” said Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

He also pointed out “all the new exacerbations of Russophobic seizures” in Georgia, which were the result of “the unwillingness of the state to rein in extremist thugs”.

In turn, the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, expressed confidence that the leadership of the Rustavi 2 TV company was aware of the intentions of George Gabunia.

“Therefore, what happened should be regarded as a carefully planned vile action by Georgia, unless the contrary is proved by the authorities of the country. Otherwise, after three days, all roads and paths leading to and from Georgia should be closed, ”he wrote in his Telegram channel.

The head of the Chechen Republic also expressed the need to initiate a criminal case "for statements insulting the highest official of Russia."

Preparation of statements by the State Duma

On Tuesday, July 9, State Duma deputies will have to make a statement regarding the response to the injection of anti-Russian hysteria in Georgia. This was stated by the speaker of the lower house of parliament Vyacheslav Volodin.

At the same time, members of the Council of the State Duma believe that the leader of “Rustavi 2” who insulted Vladimir Putin must be extradited to Russia so that “the court will determine the measure of responsibility in accordance with the legislation of our country”.

“It is necessary to prosecute a representative of Georgia who behaved rudely, inappropriate, insulting the head of state,” he said.

Volodin also called inadmissible insults and threats against Russia, its president and citizens of the country.

“In this regard, we suggest the government to consider the possibility of stopping supplies of wine and sparkling water from the territory of Georgia to Russia. They also discussed the termination of remittances from the territory of Russia, ”explained Volodin.

According to him, Russia ranks first in terms of money transfers to Georgia - in 2018 this figure was $ 641 million.

Later, a spokesman for the head of the Russian Cabinet of Ministers Oleg Osipov said that the government would consider these appeals.

According to TASS, Russian producers of mineral water are ready to replace Georgian products in the event of a ban on imports. At the same time, State Duma deputy, former chief sanitary doctor of the Russian Federation Gennady Onishchenko expressed confidence that Georgian winemaking would collapse under the Russian import embargo.

“We have a number of mineral waters that are similar in properties, composition and taste to Georgian Borjomi - these are Narzan, and Slavyanovskaya, and Nagutskaya,” said Sergey Lobanov, Director General of Holding Aqua.

We add that on Monday, July 8, a temporary ban for Russian and Georgian airlines on direct air passenger traffic between the two countries came into force. In this regard, the governor of the Krasnodar Territory Veniamin Kondratyev indicated that the Kuban is ready to accept everyone who failed to have a planned vacation in the neighboring republic.

“Our region is ready to offer not only rest on the coast, but also in the mountains, entertainment and cultural programs. Moreover, Kuban is famous for cultural, educational and Olympic tourism, ”the regional administration’s press service quotes Kondratieff as saying.