allegations against the government
Right-wing extremists storm Pride festival in Georgia
7/9/2023 3:19 am
Attacks on the LGBTQ community are common in conservative Georgia. Thousands of right-wing extremists are now attacking an event in the capital Tbilisi and burning rainbow flags. The organizers blame the government.
Thousands of far-right demonstrators stormed the site of an event planned for Pride week in Georgia. The open-air event outside the capital Tbilisi was canceled after attackers destroyed the stage and burned rainbow flags, one of the organizers told journalists. The police did not stop the right-wing demonstrators.
In a statement, organizers of Tbilisi Pride week accused the government of complicity with violent anti-LGBTQ groups. The attack was “coordinated in advance and agreed with the Ministry of the Interior”. The Interior Ministry, on the other hand, said the far-right demonstrators had managed to bypass police barriers and reach the venue. The Interpress news agency reported that several attackers were arrested.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili said the government must ensure that the Pride festival can take place safely. “Freedoms of speech and assembly are fundamental rights, violations of which are unacceptable.” Critics have long accused the government of tacitly supporting homophobic and nationalist groups. In 2019, hundreds of far-right activists burned rainbow flags in Tbilisi to protest the screening of an Oscar-nominated film about gays.
In 2013, thousands of ultra-conservative supporters of the Orthodox Church disrupted a rally in Tbilisi to mark the International Day Against Homophobia. The activists had to board police-provided buses to escape the angry crowd. Georgia is considered a very conservative country, the orthodox church is extremely powerful. Homosexuality was decriminalized in 2000.