Tbilisi Protests to be Held in Different Format

In parallel with holding protest rallies with the main demand – resignation of the Minister of Internal Affairs Giorgi Gakharia, the organizers of Tbilisi rallies plan to change the format of the demonstrations.

According to them, the groups of young people will gather at the sites where Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia appears and demand his resignation for the raid of the rally in front of the Parliament building in Tbilisi on June 20.

As for the current week's plans, the organizers of the demonstrations note that from today, the Tbilisi rallies will be even more peaceful and mainly focused on communication, changing the public’s views, holding various public events and arranging discussions. As an example, a concert will be held in front of the parliament building tomorrow, with the performance of all artists who support the rally.

Additionally, another "March of Freedom" will take place on July 6. The first March of Freedom was held on June 29, when peaceful demonstrators gathered in the Republic Square and arranged a public march to Liberty Square.

Tbilisi protests were sparked by 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. The presence of Russian MPS in the Georgian Parliament 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, speaking in Russian.

The rally was attacked by police after protesters tried to enter the parliament building, leaving 305 detained and 240 injured.

The protestors believe that Interior Minister Gakharia is responsible for the raid of the rallies and hold demonstrations every day in Tbilisi since June 20, demanding his resignation.

However, the Minister does not intend to resign.

The Georgian government has fulfilled two of the three demands of the demonstrators - holding of snap parliamentary elections with a proportional electoral system, and the release of people detained on June 20. The only unfulfilled demand is the resignation of Gakharia.

Photo: For Freedom/Facebook

By Ana Dumbadze