Tbilisi: 20 thousand against gay pride

The International Day against Homophobia in Tbilisi turned into a parade of homophobes and a pogrom in the city center. More than twenty thousand residents of the capital of Georgia, led by representatives of the clergy, took to the central avenue with the intention of destroying the “gay parade”. In fact, it was about a small action by LGBT activists in defense of their rights.

As a result of the clashes, 17 protesters were taken to hospital with injuries of varying severity, five police officers were injured, and a journalist’s head was broken.

For the first time in many years in Tbilisi, a store window was smashed during an action. After a crowd of thousands broke through four police cordons, LGBT activists had to flee.

Orthodox activists, armed with icons, banners and armfuls of nettles, scoured the streets of the Old City for another three hours in the hope of “teaching the libertines a lesson” and preventing the rally from taking place in any other place. The priests were very active - they, along with others, smashed the transport in which the police were trying to transport LGBT community activists to a safe place. The shouts of an aggressive crowd and calls to defend “true faith and morality” created the complete impression that on a clear May day the center of Tbilisi was plunged into the darkness of the Middle Ages.

The protesters even tried to pursue the car of the American embassy - the acting US Ambassador to Georgia, Bridget Brink, came to Freedom Square to talk with Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Levan Izoria about what was happening. People's Defender Ucha Nanuashvili was also greeted with insults in the square. After a short discussion about constitutional rights, the Ombudsman had to call the police for help.

Signs of a brewing confrontation appeared the night before, when about a hundred people gathered in the square in front of the former parliament building with posters “We will not tolerate Sodom and Gomorrah,” “Homosexuality is genocide of the nation,” and “Stop the propaganda of homosexuality.” Orthodox activists were well prepared for the battle for Rustaveli Avenue. And they won it.

Several ultra-conservative organizations applied to hold their own rally after the Tbilisi mayor's office refused to take any special measures and prohibit the rally of LGBT activists, despite calls from the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Catholicos-Patriach Ilia II. According to the law, in Georgia you do not need permission to hold an action - the organizers must only notify the mayor's office of their intentions and, if the action moves to the roadway, indicate the duration of its holding.

Representatives of the non-governmental sector have secured the support of the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. High-ranking officials, including the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Irakli Garibashvili, promised to take all necessary measures to ensure the constitutional rights of citizens. The rally of three organizations - "LGBT Georgia", "Identity" and "Group in Support of Women's Initiatives", in which only 200-300 people planned to take part, was supposed to last only half an hour.

Friends from human rights organizations enthusiastically told me on the eve of the action that the police promised to ensure the “European standard” and not allow aggressive opponents of the action beyond the fences. They even said that, as a last resort, they were ready to use tear gas to disperse the aggressive crowd.

However, neither the large concentration of police, nor the barriers, nor the presence of high-ranking police officials at the scene of events became a deterrent. And this despite the fact that both Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili and Chairman of Parliament David Usupashvili promised to ensure the rights of sexual minorities.

The event immediately became the object of criticism of the authorities by the opposition. Representatives of the National Movement blamed the Ministry of Internal Affairs for poor preparation for the action. Representatives of the non-governmental sector also agree with this opinion, saying that the police actions were “insufficient and ineffective.” Authorities are also outraged by what happened and promise to conduct an investigation.

In fact, the Rustaveli clashes showed that Georgian society faces a much larger challenge than effective police training. The Georgian Orthodox Church, one of the most influential institutions in the country, demonstrated its strength today. “Today the Georgian people demonstrated their true identity. Representatives of minorities are showing violence, let them sit quietly. And in general, don’t teach us Christianity, mind your own business!” - Bishop Jacob, minister of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, told reporters today at the rally.

Past authorities had to reckon with this force. Now the new authorities will have to build their policy towards the church.