GD Member Dismissed from City Council Majority after Insulting Post on Detained Georgian Doctor
Ruling Georgian Dream (GD) member in Tbilisi City Council (Sakrebulo), Erekle Kukhianidze has been dismissed from the GD City Council majority following an insulting Facebook post about the Georgian Doctor Vazha Gaprindashvili, who is in custody in occupied South Ossetia.
The decision to expel Kukhianidze from the ruling party majority in the City Council was made by the party on December 18.
Beka Davituliani, Chairman of the GD fraction, said Kukhianidze will also be dismissed from the post of Chairman of the Sakrebulo Environmental Commission but will retain his MP's mandate, as he can be deprived of the mandate only after making a personal decision to leave.
“We cannot force him to quit his mandate unless he chooses to do so,” Davituliani explained, adding that each member of the majority has “strongly and clearly” confirmed that they are distancing themselves from Kukhianidze's statement on Dr Vazha Gaprindashvili and his family.
“The decision was made unanimously and each majority member signed it. According to the procedure, a majority meeting must be convened within the scheduled dates,” he added.
Dr Gaprindashvili was detained by the Russian-occupied South Ossetia regime mid-November for “illegally crossing the border” under Article 322 of the Criminal Code of Russia, claiming “it was established that the Georgian citizen deliberately violated the state border of the Republic.” The Court in Akhalgori district ruled to keep him in two-months of custody on December 13.
Following the announcement of the decision, the family and friends of the doctor held a protest rally at the line of Russian occupation, near village Odzisi, adjacent to occupied Tskhinvali region, demanding his release. The demonstrators gathered near the Republic Square in central Tbilisi and went to the village of Odzisi close to the occupation line.
Gaprindashvili’s wife, Tamila Lapanashvili, thanked the protesters, which included members of the ruling Georgian Dream party and opposition, as well as civic activists, for their support.
“I would like to ask the Ossetian people who have lived together with us… I want to believe that those misunderstandings and problems that we had will be resolved through tolerance,” Lapanashvili stated.
She added that her husband before all serves the health and protection of people, and it is unbelievable that he be detained in his homeland because of his "humane mission".
Lapanashvili said their rally was “humane, nonpolitical and nonviolent” and that it was an appeal to Ossetian doctors to let Vazha Gaprindashvili fulfil his duties.
After the demonstration, Kukhianidze took to Facebook to comment on the case, calling the doctor a “provocateur” and his family “stupid.”
“This case smells like rotten provocation! I am saying directly- when you know there is an occupant but you still go there deliberately and you know your country has no power to oppose the occupant and your family confronts the state, you, the whole family, are either provocateurs or idiots. F**k you!” the post of the GD member Kukhianidze reads.
Following his post, Kukhianidze was strongly criticized by the ruling party and the opposition members and he apologized, saying the criticism towards him was “too harsh.”
“I believe that we should all apologize to each other,” he told TV Pirveli, adding that he is sorry for his “incorrect expressions.”
“The family of Dr Gaprindashvili has a positive attitude and is trying to release the doctor from custody as soon as possible,” he said, but emphasized his belief that Gaprindashvili knew the risks of visiting the occupied region.
Kukhianidze went on to say he will not quit his mandate in the City Council, and will continue working as an independent member.
“They [the GD majority] made the decision they wanted. They believe that my actions harmed the team...I will do everything to defuse the situation,” he said.
By Tea Mariamidze
Image source: netgazeti.ge