1 Year Since June 20 Events
One year has passed since the notorious June 20 events, also known as Gavrilov's Night, which took place on the central Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi in 2019.
On this occasion, the demonstration 'Together Against Occupation' will be held today at 19:00.
"Due to the demonstration planned to be held in Rustaveli Avenue, traffic movement will be temporarily restricted on June 20 from 2:00 PM. Drivers will be able to move in the adjacent area of the Parliament building using alternate roads," Tbilisi City Hall announced.
The organizers of the rally are calling for the participants to observe every recommendation connected to the pandemic, including the 2-meter distancing.
"Observe 2-meters distance (we'll prepare stickers); come with face masks, we'll try to hand some out for those who don't have them; every speaker will start the speech with a reminder about the distancing; the microphone will be disinfected after every speech", reads the statement released by the organizers.
Exactly one year ago, protests were sparked on Rustaveli Avenue in reaction to 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, mostly due to the fact that Russian MP Sergei Gavrilov sat in the parliamentary Speaker’s chair, speaking in Russian, which many Georgians saw as the unwelcome reminder of the Russian occupation of the country's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia).
The protest turned into clashes with police after protesters tried to enter the parliament building.
The so-called Gavrilov's Night protest was dispersed by riot police with the use of tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon. 240 individuals, including 32 journalists and 80 law enforcers, were injured during a clash on Rustaveli Avenue on June 20-21. At least two people experienced eye injuries and loss of vision due to rubber bullets.
Protests continued on the next days demanding the resignation of government officials responsible for police actions, including the MIA of Georgia Giorgi Gakharia, and the introduction of a fully proportional election system instead of the existing semi-proportional. Protests calmed down after on June 24 the head of the ruling Georgian Dream Party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, partly satisfied demands of protesters by announcing a change to the electoral system. However, minor protests continued demanding the resignation of Giorgi Gakharia.
Major protests renewed on November 13 after the Georgian Dream failed to bring in the promised electoral reform.
As a reaction to the protests, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to suspend passenger flights carrying Russian citizens from Russia to Georgia, effective July 8. Russia's Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-being increased quality controls on Georgian wine and mineral water, seen as linked to the escalation in tensions.
By Ana Dumbadze
Image: NETGAZETI