Statement of Support for Tbilisi Pride
Photo shared on Twitter by Giorgi Gogia
It is with devastation that we are following the brutal attack on the offices of Tbilisi Pride. Today, Anti-Pride protesters from the Georgian Far Right have scaled the facade of the organization and broken in. The organization has been forced to evacuate. This happens after years of consistent threats and attacks against the organization from the country’s far right and fundamentalist religious groups.
The police were present at the scene, but did not intervene or prevent the incident. The police have also encouraged the organizers to cancel the March for Dignity. Local police have thus failed in their mission to defend human rights and the right to free assembly. The far right mob have attacked several journalists, putting the press, and press-freedom at risk. The Pride flag has been removed from the offices of the organization, and the EU flag has been removed from the flagpole outside of the Georgian Parliament where anti-pride protesters have gathered.
The Georgian Public Defender Nino Lomjaria is calling out Prime Minister Gharibashvili for escalating the situation by putting all responsibility for unrest on the organizers of Pride. Protestors are claiming they joined the protests after the ruling body of the Georgian Orthodox Church called for people to come out.
This is a major state failure.
We call on the international community to support Tbilisi Pride, the organizers of the March for Dignity and the Georgian LGBTIQ+ community. We urge human rights defenders, nations and organizations supporting human rights to come together to stand up for human rights, press freedom and dignity.
We call on the Georgian authorities to take action, to hold the violent protestors accountable, and to uphold the freedoms and democratic rights of the Georgian LGBTQI+ community.
We are proud to have been working closely with Tbilisi Pride and the Georgian Pride community over the past years. Last week the organization was featured in our newly launched Activism Academy podcast and on our website.
It is with great concern that we have observed the dramatic escalation of hatred and violence targeting the Georgian LGBTQI+ community.
This violence must end.