Palitra Media releases statement
Palitra Media expresses solidarity with all the media outlets, the journalists of which were affected by the tragic events of July 5, and expresses its deep sorrow over the death of cameraman Lekso Lashkarava. Among the persons injured on July 5-6 were 3 reporters of Palitra Media, including InterPressNews photo correspondent Giorgi Nikolishvili, who remains hospitalized with serious head trauma. He still has severe pains and his rehabilitation will unfortunately take at least a few more months (!)
“Palitra Media believes that the events of July 5, i.e. the mass attack on the journalists' corps and unspeakable violence should be investigated immediately. In addition, the law enforcement should identify not only the executors, but also the organizers. The improper actions of the police on July 5 should be the subject of a separate investigation, and those responsible should be held accountable for failing to provide security. We believe that there will always be a reason for fair dissatisfaction unless all the questions about the events of July 5 are answered. We also believe that people whose words have an impact on society or certain groups should feel more responsibility for each word they utter, so as not to lead the already tense situation to an aggressive development of events.
We have been in the media business for 27 years and we are committed to the development of free media, which we believe is crucial for the establishment of democratic values in our country, for its European future. Although we have faced many difficult challenges during this time, we have never deviated from our course of providing unbiased information based on facts and objective analysis to our readers, viewers and listeners, as we believe that objective information is critical to the Georgian people. This is the purpose of the media.
We think that the media, even without taking any political stance, can play an active role in the ongoing processes, including in terms of controlling the investigation of the events of July 5.
We believe that during the global pandemic, Georgia went through a 6-month severe political crisis, which significantly affected our country. Today we are in a difficult situation again and we are approaching a dangerous limit. We believe that chaos and destabilization, which we are, unfortunately, approaching slowly with endless fluctuations and deepening of polarization, are in the interest of the enemy of Georgia, which is trying to weaken the Georgian state and deprive the country of any prospects - be it economic development or European integration. If the enemy achieves its goal, we will all be defeated - the government, the opposition, the media, the society, regardless of political or religious views. We call on everyone to quickly return the country to its peaceful lifestyle”, reads the statement.
