Georgian TV Company Obiektivi to continue broadcasting in Russian
By Liza Mchedlidze
Tuesday, January 14
The manager of the TV company Obiektivi, Zviad Avaliani stated in an interview with Russian government-owned news agency Rossiya Segodnya’s media platform Sputnik-Georgia that Obiektivi will continue broadcasting in the Russian language for Abkhazian and Ossetian populations, despite the sanctions imposed against the TV company by the Communications Regulatory Commission of Georgia for broadcasting in Russian without the state language subtitles.
In an interview with Sputnik-Georgia, Zviad Avaliani said that due to the New Years Broadcasting Programs political broadcasting is temporarily canceled. Broadcasting in the Russian language will be restored as soon as New Year's theme is over, despite the sanctions.
“These programs are mainly aimed at the population of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. This is a very important direction and we will not deny it. Now, during the New Year holidays, political programs are almost out of order. After their restoration, we will leave these programs in Russian. However, the format is yet to be determined,” said Avaliani.
According to Article 381 of the Broadcasting Law, a national broadcaster authorized in Georgia should place programs in the state language. In Georgia, the state language is Georgian. The so-called Republic of Abkhazia’s state language is Abkhazian.
Avaliani has repeatedly voiced messages through Obiektivi, fueling skepticism about NATO. Avaliani reiterates the pro-Russian radical group Patriots Alliance's agenda of military reconciliation.
Media Development Foundation filed a complaint with the Georgian National Communications Commission (GNCC) about the Russian-language broadcasting of Obiektivi in December 2019. On January 9, the Regulatory Commission warned the channel and ordered Russian language broadcasts to be removed immediately.
According to Mythdetector, a few international organisations have acknowledged Obiektivi's editorial policy as anti-Western and pro-Russian.
