Organizers of Georgia’s Pride Week were forced to cancel an event after thousands of far-right protesters and other anti-LGBTQ rights protesters stormed the venue on Saturday.
The open-air event in a park outside Tbilisi was canceled after protesters vandalized the stage, burned rainbow flags and looted the event’s bar.
“The protesters managed to find ways to enter the event site, but we were able to evacuate the participants and organizers of the Pride,” Deputy Interior Minister Alexander Darakhvelidze told reporters.
“No one was injured in the incident and police are now taking action to stabilize the situation.”
Those attending the event were bussed away before the far-right protesters arrived.
“The venue was evacuated and no one was injured,” said Mariam Kvaratskhelia, one of the organizers.
The organizers of the Tbilisi Pride criticize the reaction of the police
Tbilisi Pride organizers said far-right groups had publicly called for violence against LGBTQ activists. They accused the authorities of complicity in these threats.
They also claimed that the police failed to adequately block the access road to the festival site and used appropriate force against the far-right protesters.
“I definitely think that this (disruption) was a pre-planned, coordinated action between the government and the radical groups… We believe this operation was planned to sabotage Georgia’s EU candidacy,” Kvaratskhelia said.
According to local media reports, there were up to 5,000 demonstrators waving Georgian flags and carrying religious icons.
The protesters damaged the stage and other facilities at the venue. Image: Davit Kachkachishvili/AA/picture Alliance
Homosexuality is heavily stigmatized in Georgia and the powerful Orthodox Church has clashed with Western-leaning political parties over the issue.
Georgia’s figurehead, President Salome Zurabishvili, said the government must “ensure that the Pride festival is held safely.” She is a frequent critic of Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and the government.
“Freedoms of expression and assembly are fundamental rights and violating them is unacceptable,” she added.
zc/wd (AFP, Portal, AP)