Georgia protests: Thousands storm parliament over Russian MP’s speech

Protests in Georgia: Thousands of people are fighting up the parliament walls because of the Russian deputy

During the clashes under the Georgian parliament building, about 240 people were injured. They came to protest the speech of the Russian deputy Sergey Gavrilov. The OMON didn’t allow the building a crowd of 10000 people with rubber bullets and tear gas.

The violent outburst began after the appeal of Gavrilov to the deputies of Orthodox countries in Russian. Tension has increased since the conflict between Georgia and Russia hasn’t calmed since the moment of the war for South Ossetia.

According to Georgian officials, more than 100 protesters were taken to local hospitals after the picket. Another two victims lost their eyes. About 80 injured were policemen.

One of the demands of the protesting Georgians was the resignation of parliamentary speaker Irakli Kobakhidze. On Friday, the official announced his retirement. President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili called the behavior of the Russian deputy “a major crime” and called on citizens to remain calm.

In turn, Sergey Gavrilov called the “fake news” the cause of the clashes, according to which he was accused of involvement in hostilities against Georgia in the 1990s. Sergey Gavrilov participated in the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO), which is engaged in strengthening relations between Christian Orthodox legislators.

Representatives of the opposition of the Georgian parliament called on to protest against the decision of Gavrilov. The appeal of the deputy in the Russian language has caused outrage among politicians and the Georgians, who don’t support the Russian presence in the country. The Russian Foreign Ministry has accused the Georgian opposition of the unwillingness to improve relations between the countries.

With appeals for the resignation of the speaker, about ten thousand protesters came to the police cordon in front of the parliament in Tbilisi. Some of them were with the European Union flags that said “Russia is the occupier”. The leader of the European Georgia opposition party, Giga Bokeria, called the picket “a spontaneous protest of ordinary citizens”.

During the incident, parliament was blocked from the inside by opposition deputies, who also demanded the dismissal of senior state officials.

The meeting was suspended. Speaker Sergey Gavrilov left Georgia. Later he stated that he had left the parliament, accompanied by the guards, insisting that he didn’t participate in the Abkhazia and Transnistria military conflicts, in which he was accused.