Gakharia: Opposition Provoked Disorder, Fled and Abandoned People

Georgian Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia commented on the overnight clashes between police and demonstrators outside of the Parliament in Tbilisi.

According to him, "destructive opposition forces caused unrest, then fled the scene and abandoned demonstrators".

"I did not see any of them in front of Parliament after 10 p.m.,” Gakharia said.

"I was deeply concerned by the fact that politicians provoked our citizens, caused disorder and then just disappeared from the scene. The representatives of opposition parties managed to cause confrontation between the police and the citizens. I did not see any of them in front of the Parliament building after 10 p.m. After their provocative behavior, they fled the scene and left young people and policemen on Rustaveli Avenue. Protesters tried to occupy the parliament building and the police were forced to take relevant measures,” Gakharia stated.

He added that an investigation has been launched into organized violence by a group, and those responsible for the incidents “will be revealed and punished with the full strength of the law.”

The visit of three Russian MPs to Georgia within the framework of a session of the Inter-parliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy held at the Parliament building was followed by severe protests by the public and opposition MPs on June 20, especially due to the fact that Russian MP Sergei Gavrilov sat in the parliamentary Speaker’s chair.

The protest turned into clashes with police after protesters tried to enter the parliament building. The police used tear gas, water cannons, and rubber bullets against protesters.

Protesters threw bottles full of water, stones and other things at the police that resulted in their detention.

240 people were hospitalized in the aftermath of the clashes, with 55 still in hospital today.

Georgian Parliament Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze and MP Zakaria Kutsnashvili, an organizer of the session of Inter-parliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy in Georgia, resigned earlier today.

By Ana Dumbadze