Time in Tbilisi: May 6, 2024 04:22
The protesters are leaving the demonstration in front of the parliament of Georgia in central Tbilisi as the law enforcers have used tear gas and rubber bullets. The number of injured is not officially announced yet, but Georgian media reports a dozen of people have been damaged.
Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge
Earlier Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze said over June 20’s developments in front of the Georgian parliament that “what we have seen today is absolutely unacceptable”.
The demonstrators and law enforcers clashed in central Tbilisi as the protesters were trying to break the police cordon and enter the building of the Georgian parliament.
Photo: Agenda.ge
PM Bakhtadze repeated his earlier remarks and condemned the Russian delegation’s participation in the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy that was set to be held in parliament of Georgia.
Everyone will take their own part of responsibility. But today the situation is different. Today there is an attempt to take Georgia out of the orbit of sustainable development. No one can do that. This is in the interests of the Georgian statehood and we will not let it happen”, he said.
Mamuka Bakhtadze further underscored that what had happened in the parliament in the morning of June 20 is unacceptable for everyone and has caused a sincere protest but he also underscored that the United National Movement is using the situation for its own “political interests”.
More updates to follow.
The United States Embassy in Georgia has offered its reactions to the developments in Tbilisi where protesters repeatedly clashed with police, saying the diplomatic mission closely followed the events and urged for calm.
President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili has called for "calm" amid unrest in Tbilisi as protesting crowds have been dispersed by police using tear gas in front of the parliament building.
The Georgian Interior Ministry has released a statement calling the demonstrators to “immediately stop violence" in front of the parliament of Georgia and “leave the territory”. The announcement followed soon after the Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia went to the parliament, calling on the protesters to obey the police.
The police Special Forces are trying to prevent the protesters from entering the building of the Georgian parliament in central Tbilisi. The Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia who went to the parliament said this is an attempt "to storm the state institutions" and called on the demonstrators to obey the police.
Russian MP Sergey Gavrilov has claimed "radicals" in the Parliament of Georgia doused him in water and attempted to forcefully take his papers in an incident at the lawmaking body in Tbilisi on Thursday.
Georgian opposition MPs have interrupted the 26th Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO) after a Russian MP and president of the assembly, Sergey Gavrilov addressed the audience from the Georgian parliamentary speaker’s chair earlier today.
The Healthcare Ministry has reported that 17 civilians and 38 police officers have been injured after in a late night clash in front of the parliament of Georgia as law enforcers used tear gas and rubber bullets to prevent the protesters from entering the building. The protesters were leaving the demonstration after the clash but soon they returned and continued rallying.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has awarded four medics for their high professionalism and dedication during the July 20 rally in Tbilisi to help the injured during the unrest.
Starting from today Tbilisi rallies will be focused on communication, changing the public’s views, and discussions, organisers say.“We will gather in front of the parliament building, read poems, discuss various issues, show films, discuss the films, etc.,” one of the organisers of the protests, Shota Digmelashvili said.
Deputy Interior Minister Natia Mezvrishvili says that police were attacked during the June 20 rally in Tbilisi and they were forced to defend themselves and use force. Mezvrishvili says that it is less important who made the order, or whether the police acted without the order of top officials.
Four individuals have been detained for group violence during the June 20 rally in Tbilisi, which left 240 injured and 305 detained.The Georgian Interior Ministry has released a video depicting how the detainees used rubber batons and other items to physically insult law enforcers, trying to drag away their shields and use bad language against the police.
The movement Shame, which was created after the June 20 rally dispersal in central Tbilisi, has presented its action plan in a rally on Rustaveli Avenue later today, promising ‘to defeat the authoritarian leadership’ of the founder of the Georgian Dream ruling party Bidzina Ivanishvili.
Levan Jikuri, who was charged with violence committed by a group at the June 20 rally in Tbilisi, has been released on 2,000 GEL [$672] bail after admitting to his presence at the demonstration and using a shield against police.
Three civilians who received injuries during the June 20 rally dispersal in central Tbilisi have been granted victim status, the Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office has reported.
Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who has been charged with several alleged offences in Georgia, says that the current Georgian government was on the verge of being overthrown in June 2019, when police used water cannons and rubber bullets to disperse a rally in central Tbilisi.
The Human Rights Watch has released its World Report 2020, reflecting the developments in the world in 2019, including in Georgia. The report reads that political tensions and sustained protests over electoral reforms marked 2019 in Georgia, drawing particular attention to labour rights, current drug policy, the rights of sexual minorities and the ‘lack of accountability for law enforcement abuses’.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia has not directly answered the questions of the media pertaining to his possible resignation, saying earlier today “Let’s wait for the final word, don’t make me spoil it for you.”