The Georgian Patriarchate says the government made a mistake which made people rally in central Tbilisi yesterday and that the opposition has been making ‘incorrect calls’ which gave rise to tensions during the demonstration.
The Patriarchate says that thousands of Georgians took to the streets with love for their homeland to express a “fair disappointment” regarding the presence of a Russian MP in the Georgian parliament, who voted for the occupation of Georgian territories.
It was the government’s mistake which caused a fair, peaceful protest in public. However, wrong appeals changed the nature of the rally, made it dangerous and encouraged people forcibly take the parliament building,” the patriarchate says.
The Patriarchate says that love of the homeland made people protest. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
The church believes that the government “must urgently investigate” the reasons behind the tension and the state agencies, experts and the media provide unbiased assessments regarding the reasons and their consequences.
Such a conduct will allow people analyse the situation and calm them down, which will ensure peace and avoid confrontations,” Patriarchate reported.
A rally triggered by the presence of Russian MPs in the Georgian parliament was dispersed yesterday by police after demonstrators ignored the appeal of the Interior Ministry to obey law enforcers and decided to break into the parliament building.
240 people were hospitalised after the incident, with 102 still remaining in hospitals.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze and MP Zakaria Kutsnashvili [an organiser of the assembly in Georgia] resigned earlier today.