LGBT Week in Tbilisi begins with its opponents' action

Opponents of the "March of Dignity", announced by LGBT activists in Tbilisi, have held a preventive action at the office of the march organizers, stating that "they will not admit a gay parade."

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the "Tbilisi Pride" organization had announced the "March of Dignity" and a series of other events for LGBT people to be held on June 18-23 in Tbilisi. The officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) had stated that they would not be able to protect marchers from possible provocations and attacks, if the march was held in central Tbilisi. However, on June 18, the "Tbilisi Pride" declared that the "March of Dignity" will take place, despite the law enforcers' statement.

On June 19 in the evening, opponents of the "March of Dignity" held a warning action in Tbilisi, at which they demanded to seal up the office of the organizers and not to admit the gay parade.

"We are protesting against the nest of debauchery, in which plans are being made to destabilize the situation in the country," Levan Chachua, the leader of the "Georgian Idea" movement, said on air of the "Rustavi-2" Georgian TV Company (translated by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent).

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 19, 2019 at 11:08 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.