Yesterday, June 20, Tbilisi started to protest. It is reported that the reason was that the Deputy of the state Duma Sergey Gavrilov, who came to hold an inter-parliamentary Assembly of Orthodoxy, sat in the chair of speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, to preside over the meeting in the Russian language. As the MP told “Kommersant”, the place of honour, he replied “Protocol” as the President of the Assembly. According to Gavrilov, “during a break in the hall burst into extremists, occupied the presidency, destroyed the documents.” The MP said that after the end of the Assembly, which the participants had completed the hotel, the participants of the Russian delegation was committed “physical attack”. Journalist Deputy confirmed that he was hit.
The information disseminated by some Georgian media that a Russian MP was involved in the fighting in Abkhazia, the source categorically denied. But the information that he supports the independence of Abkhazia, has not commented.
Protesters and police
After a visit Gavrilova in Tbilisi started a massive protest at the Parliament building of Georgia. According to media reports, on a spontaneous protest from 7 to 10 thousand people. They chanted anti-government and anti-Russian slogans and demanded the resignation of senior officials — the President of the Parliament, Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of GBS Vakhtang gomelauri and head of the Ministry of internal Affairs George Gakharia. During the last protests have expressed readiness to leave in resignation if necessary.
“No problem, I’ll resign if necessary”, — said Gajaria.
Protesters tried to storm the Parliament building. First, the country’s interior Ministry urged the crowd to disperse, but after some time, the protesters began to throw in policemen of a bottle with water and take their transparent shields. Then militiamen began to shoot at protesters with rubber bullets and spraying tear gas. In the end, there was used a water cannon. The last protesters dispersed at about 3:00 local time (02:00 GMT), said a civil activist Nikolai levshits in his telegram channel.
Victims
According to recent reports, the clashes in the center of Tbilisi suffered almost 70 people. “For a medical aid turned 30 activists and 38 police officers. Their condition is not severe”, — quotes RIA “news”the adviser of the Prime Minister of Georgia David Sergeenko.
Among the victims are journalists. As reports “Interfax” with reference to Georgian media, one of the journalists lost his eye. The first channel of Georgia reported that injured four of their employees. Also affected representatives of the TV company “Rustavi 2”, the Georgian news Agency InterpressNews, the producer of Ruptly Agency was wounded by a rubber bullet in the region of the liver, reported RT.
Evaluation
The President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili after a night of protest said that Russia is interested in ensuring internal conflict in the country.
“Russia is our enemy and occupier. It managed a fifth column, perhaps today may be more dangerous than open aggression. I would like to say again that the split of the country and society and the internal opposition to anyone not going to the hand, except Russia, and today it is her most skilled weapon (translation by RIA “Novosti”),” — said Zurabishvili.
In the Georgian interior Ministry called the incident an “attempt a massive coup.” “Despite the calls of the interior Ministry, the protesters continued the invasion of the Parliament building, attempt to resist the police and not to obey their legitimate demands”, — quotes RIA “news” the Department message.
The Russian foreign Ministry, commenting on the situation in Georgia, said that Russia is ready to continue the normalization of relations.
“Nevertheless, we are determined to continue the normalization of Russian-Georgian relations in the interests of the peoples of both countries,” — quoted by RIA “Novosti” zamglavy the Russian foreign Ministry Grigory Karasin.
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