German Embassy Accuses Tabula Magazine of Distorting Ambassador's Words

The German Embassy in Georgia has sent the following letter to the editorial staff of Tabula Magazine regarding misrepresentation of Ambassador Hubert Knirsch's interview: 

"The German ambassador noticed that the public interest around him increased since he had to recall the contents of the March 8 agreement. Shortly thereafter, on the Tabula website, you mentioned an interview given by the ambassador half a year ago.

"You write as if in this interview the ambassador says that the force used by the police during the dispersal of the rally on June 20, 2019, was proportional. With this, you are distorting his phrases. Actually, the ambassador said that the use of force by the police in certain situations may become necessary, but it should be proportional. Other Georgian media outlets also used and disseminated this misrepresentation spread by you.

"We have determined that in the meantime you have corrected the quoted passages from the interview. Nevertheless, I urge you to follow the accepted international journalistic practice, which means that you must also clearly and visibly admit the misrepresentation and correct it. Publishing a better interpretation in the meantime is not enough," reads the letter signed by the Permanent Representative Jan Bittner, Head of the Department of Economics / Legal and Consular Department. 

By Ana Dumbadze 

Related Story: German Ambassador: Mr. Rurua is not Mentioned in the March 8 Agreement