The Ministry of Culture has initiated disciplinary proceedings against Lasha Bakradze, a member of the United National Movement and the director of the State Museum of Literature. Minister Tea Tsulukiani announced this on the government TV channel Imedi.
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"Indeed, we at the Ministry have initiated proceedings regarding the public statement made by the head of the State Museum of Literature, Lasha Bakradze. In legal terms, this is referred to as a disciplinary procedure.
I am unsure to what extent Mr. Bakradze, given his new activities, still remembers that he is the head of the state museum, or whether he recalls that I am the minister in charge, despite how unacceptable he may find this - and he states this openly.
We have never turned this political disagreement into a professional or departmental issue. This is evidenced by the fact that I have been leading this system for three years now, and his differing political views have never been subject to my judgment," said Tsulukiani.
According to her, Lasha Bakradze’s public statement drew "more attention" in the Ministry of Culture due to his role as the head of the museum and the relevance of his comments to that position, which is a very important role.
"It is significant because this is the Museum of Georgian Literature, a state museum and one of the oldest state institutions in our country - established in the 1930s. What’s even more important is that Mr. Lasha Bakradze occupies the chair and office of Gogla Leonidze. All of this places great responsibility on him," said the Minister of Culture.
According to Tea Tsulukiani, they will review the materials compiled by the Ministry as part of the administrative proceedings, after which they will decide which of the various disciplinary actions to take.
"It could be viewed as 'let's forget what happened.' I can't predict in advance what will happen, as the decision is made by the minister. As for this statement from a political perspective, it makes me smile a little because Mr. Lasha entered politics only two months ago, and in that short time, he has managed to begin 'self-destructing,'" said Thea Tsulukiani.
During his speech at the Unity - National Movement event on September 3, Lasha Bakradze stated that the ruling party has "worn-out faces."
"The choice is very easy, especially when you look at the kind of women standing beside us. Today, you saw Ms. Tina, Tamar, Sopo. We present people like them, and not, sorry, those 'worn-out faces' that the representatives of Georgian Dream have," he said.
Bakradze later clarified that his statement was not sexist and that by "worn-out faces," he meant "faded faces." "If anyone misunderstood what I said or interpreted it differently from what I intended - I apologize. I used the wrong word, and it seems I should have explained the context better," wrote Lasha Bakradze on social media.
