Same Extremists Organized Violence in 2021 – US Ambassador on Disruption of Pride Festival

“It was very sad to see people so filled with hate, using violence to prevent a peaceful, private event from occurring, especially when they claim to be acting in God’s name. Now, people may disagree about many things, but I think we can all agree that Christian values, first and foremost, are about compassion, love, tolerance, and respect; and the fact that all people are created in God’s image.

We saw last year at the events that the police know how to protect citizens and control protestors. I was assured the day before last Saturday’s event by senior officials at the Ministry of Internal Affairs that the protestors would not be allowed to break through the police periphery, and that the protestors would be kept a safe distance from the people attending the concert. None of that happened. We saw none of that.

In fact, an unruly mob was allowed to walk for several kilometers through the streets of Tbilisi calling for violence. They were allowed not only to breach the police perimeter, but to enter the site and vandalize, loot, and destroy property with no response from the police,” stated Kelly Degnan.

According to the ambassador, the series of attacks on citizens on the streets of Tbilisi seems to be coordinated.

“The extremists we saw on Saturday were the same ones who organized violence in 2021. They have Facebook pages

These same extremists that we saw on Saturday were the same extremists that organized the violence in 2021. They are on their Facebook sites, caught on video, calling for violence; saying that they’re going to crush jaws and spill blood; walking through the streets of Tbilisi threatening people with violence; they are proud to say they are for violence.

“I think everyone will feel a lot safer in Tbilisi when these people who are on video are arrested and prosecuted.” said Degnan.

Pride Festival is a closed event organized by the LGBTQ+ community, which was supposed to be held on July 8, the last day of Tbilisi Pride week. Radical groups were spreading false information, as if the so-called gay parade was planned, and in this way, they tried to galvanize citizens, including those from the regions. The leader of the far right - pro-Russian, violent, and homophobic party - Conservative Movement/Alt-Info, Konstantine Morgoshia, threatened that “July 8 will be the last nail in the coffin placed on July 5.”

The organizers of the Pride Festival believe that the attack on the event and its disruption was coordinated between the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the violent groups.

Tbilisi Pride refused to hold public events after the violent events three years ago. On July 5, 2021, a counter-protest was held against the “March of Dignity” at the call of the Patriarchate, Alt-Info, and various homophobic groups. During the rally, in the center of the capital, they attacked journalists in groups, beat them and broke their equipment. 53 journalists, cameramen, and photographers fell victim to the violence. Several of them were seriously injured and needed medical attention. Among them was 36-year-old Aleksandre Lashkarava, TV Pirveli cameraman, who was beaten by a homophobic group in the office of ‘’Sirtskhvilia’’ movement. Lashkarava died on July 11 after being discharged from the hospital. The organizers of the July 5 events have not been brought to justice to date.

More on this here: Pretend-Mobilization of Police Forces to Protect “Pride” and Supporting Fascism