Georgia's Communications Commission compels "Imedi" to apologize for "special report"

Georgian communications regulator found the hoax report about invasion of Russian troops into Georgia broadcast by the "Imedi" TV Company to be a breach of journalistic ethics; however, decided not to cancel its license. The scandalous report was criticised by politicians and journalists in the West and in Russia, as well as the Georgian opposition.

As reported by a source in the Commission on Regulating Communications (in Georgia, this body regulates the work of mass media), its members had established a legal norm, which has broken by the "Imedi". It is point 5, Chapter 13, of the Behaviour Code of Broadcasters, which forbids broadcasting in social-political programmes "simulated reports without a respective caption on the screen," the "Kommersant" newspaper writes today.

Nevertheless, as the source asserts, "recall of license is out of question yet - we rely on moral effect."

"The Commission has obliged the broadcaster to publish a declaration, recognizing the violation, apologize before the public for the hoax, which caused public excitement," said Kakhi Kurashvili, head of the law department of the Commission, after the extraordinary sitting of this body.

"Besides, the TV Company shall consider, within the mechanism of self-regulation set up in the "Imedi", complaints of all the victims, make a reasonable decision and present information about all violations to the Commission," said the official.

The "NEWSru.com" adds that the chairman and members of the Commission have regarded the report in question as "the Company's mistake and irresponsible attitude to the Code provisions,"

The "Imedi" agreed with the Commission's verdict decision of the National under communications and is going to follow journalistic standards in the future, said Georgiy Arveladze, head of the TV Company and Director General of the Georgia Media Production Group. "We respect the decision of the Commission and agree with their estimate," he said.

At the same time Mr Arveladze, who earlier headed the President's administration, has stated that although he had apologized before the TV viewers for the "simulated report" he would not retire or dismiss any of the journalists who created the report. "We just wanted to warn the public about the danger threatening our country in case of further efforts of the pro-Russian opposition, which is already the Kremlin's fifth column," the "Imedi" boss said.

Earlier, President Mikhail Saakashvili had in fact supported his former administration head by calling the scandalous report plot "unpleasant but useful." According to his story, such reports will allow avoiding such scenarios in real life.

Western and Russian journalists and politicians condemn "Imedi" for the hoax

The Berliner Zeitung writes, in particular: "The list of dangerous follies of the Georgian President has reached its new apogee. Now it is clear that Saakashvili's regime cannot be the West's ally," the edition named "Channel One" quotes the news paper.

"After Herbert Wells urged America to believe in invasion of Martians, nobody could fool a whole country," wrote The Guardian.

Vsevolod Bogdanov, Chairman of the Union of Journalists of Russia, has resolutely condemned the act of the Georgian "Imedi" TV Company, which put on air on Saturday a simulated report about an imagined "Russian invasion". "I believe that it's an act absolutely monstrous for journalism. The most terrible is that it finally crushes the trust, and the negative attitude will exist for a very long time," Mr Bogdanov said. "Journalists should remember that the Globe is not so large for putting such notions like mutual understanding and trust under risk."

Dunya Miyatovic, the new OSCE representative on the freedom of mass media, has reminded the Georgian "Imedi" TV Channel of the must to respect the professional code.

Georgian opposition believes authorities were involved in making the "Imedi" report

The party "Democratic Movement - United Georgia" (headed by Nino Burdzhanadze), named the programme "humiliation of the population of Georgia" and promised in her statement to sue both the Georgian leadership and the "Imedi" TV Company for moral and other damage caused by the report.

Ms Burdzhanadze, ex-speaker of the Georgian parliament, believes that the actions of Mikhail Saakashvili, who, in her opinion, most likely, had authorized the programme of the Georgian "Imedi" TV Channel about "invasion" of Russian troops into the territory of Georgia, "endangers the fragile balance existing in the region."

In her opinion, as reported by the RBC, the only chance to avoid recurrence of the 2008 conflict in South Ossetia is hold dialogue with Russia.

The oppositional Labour Party (headed by Shalva Natelashvili) has moved a demand to close the "Imedi" TV Company and to return control over it to the family of the late Georgian billionaire Badri Patarkatsishvili. The statement of Labourites also demands from the United Nations to interfere into the situation and entrust their representative with the respective powers for bringing President of Georgia Mikhail Saakashvili and his retinue to responsibility.

The oppositional "Alliance for Georgia" (leader - Irakliy Alasaniya) has treated the actions of the "Imedi" TV Company as Georgian leaders' "manic imitation and information terror against own people." The Alliance finds the authorities of Georgia responsible for the incident.

The hoax report was also negatively treated by the activists of the National-Democratic Party (NDP) of Georgia. One of them - Deputy Guram Chakhvadze - said at a briefing held in the NDP office that "putting this report on air was an anti-state acts," and also imposed responsibility for the incident on the authorities of Georgia and managers of the "Imedi" TV Company.

"It's no wonder that Arveladze hasn't resigned, in fact he acted under the direct command of the President," said Koba Davitashvili, leader of the People's Party.

"The editorial activities and the policy (of the Company) are under complete control of the authorities of Georgia and Saakashvili. Nobody doubts of that in Georgia," said Georgiy Targamadze who headed the directorate of political programmes of the Georgian "Imedi" TV Channel before 2008.

Levan Gachechiladze, former main rival of Mikhail Saakashvili at the last Presidential election, believes that the TV Channel should be made responsible, for example, by suspending the license, while Salome Zurabishvili, ex-minister of foreign affairs, nowadays an oppositional politician, offers to take the license away whatsoever.

Paata Davitaya, vice-speaker of the parliament of Georgia and leader of the Movement "We Ourselves", demands to set up a special parliamentary commission on the broadcast by the "Imedi" TV Company on March 13. "This fact should be surely estimated both from the political and legal viewpoints," he told journalists.

Members of the parliamentary majority did not support the initiative to set up a commission. Pavle Kublashvili, Chairman of the Law Committee, believes that debates on such issues are not the MPs' prerogative. "If there were violations - the issue should be dealt with by the Commission on Regulation," he said.

Authorities deny participation in "Imedi" hoax

Petre Tsiskarishvili, leader of the parliamentary majority, has categorically refuted the information that the report was prepared with the knowledge of the authorities of Georgia.

Manana Mandzhgaladze, press speaker of President Saakashvili, said that the information that the President had been involved in creating the programme has nothing to do with reality, the "Gazeta.Ru" writes. "The information that the President knew about the prepared programme is complete absurdity, since if we think logically, the first victims of the broadcast were authorities of Georgia. If the media had been controlled, the simulated chronicle would have never appeared on air," she said.