On Tuesday (July 6), thousands of people gathered in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, to condemn the attack on the LGBTQ community, which shocked the Caucasus country and forced activists to cancel the planned pride march.
In this conservative country, the pride incident is still controversial, and the powerful Orthodox Church has previously clashed with Western-leaning governments on progressive social issues.
On Monday, LGBTQ activists cancelled the planned pride march because protesters attacked activists and journalists and clashed with police hours after the prime minister condemned the event.
Hundreds of anti-LGBTQ protesters, including activists from a small pro-Russian party, removed an EU flag outside the parliament and attacked dozens of journalists reporting the incident in multiple locations. Many people were hospitalized with bruises and fractures.
Thousands of demonstrators gathered outside the parliament on Tuesday night to condemn the violence that shocked pro-Western countries and sparked condemnation by the United States and the European Union.
Many people who participated in the silent demonstration waved the EU flag and the rainbow flag.
The police cordoned off the area to protect demonstrators from about 200 anti-LGBTQ activists who held anti-rallies nearby and tried to break through police barriers.
“We cannot tolerate any form of violence against ethnic minorities in this country,” Lili Chumburidze, a 48-year-old demonstrator art historian, told AFP.
“Homophobia is not part of the 21st century.”
Another demonstrator, 20-year-old student Lasha Bigvava said: “We are here to tell the government that we must ensure the human rights of everyone.”
After Prime Minister Irakli Garabishvili publicly opposed the holding of the pride march, he was strongly criticized by opposition parties and activists, calling it “unacceptable to most people in Georgian society.”
Pride organizer Giorgi Tabagari told AFP that he suspected that “the country’s Secret Service coordinated the attack” on Monday.
Critics accuse the ruling Georgian Dream Party government of tacitly supporting homophobic and nationalist groups.
These groups are seen as supporters of the ruling party and have staged protests against pro-Western opposition parties.
Georgia legalized homosexuality in 2000 and passed anti-discrimination laws in 2006 and 2014.
