Today’s highly anticipated “March for Dignity” the final Pride Event in Tbilisi, Georgia had to be cancelled. After ultra-nationalists had stormed and ransacked the Pride Offices there were fears of where the continued violence may lead.
Once again the Georgian Government didn’t bother to hide their colors and the Interior Ministry said in a statement that activists had been warned ahead of the march that there could be violence and urged campaigners not to participate in the event “due to the scale of counter-manifestations planned by the opposing groups.”
The Ministry went on to claim it had launched an investigation into the destruction of property carried out at the offices of two LGBTQ campaign groups — ‘Shame Movement’ and ‘Tbilisi Pride.’ And added it “condemns actions motivated by violence, including any form of violence against media representatives. “We call on citizens gathered in the streets of the capital to observe law and order, adhere to the rightful requests of the police and protest any issue within the frames of the law,.”
On Twitter, campaigner Giorgi Gogia wrote, “Violent far-right crowds supported by (the) Church & emboldened by (an) incredibly irresponsible statement of PM @GharibashviliGe gathered in Tbilisi center to prevent Pride March, attacking journalists & breaking into Pride office.” Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili previously said he viewed the Pride march as “not reasonable” and that it would risk “civil confrontation,” according to reporting by local media outlet Civil Georgia.
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