Foreign ambassadors unanimous over Tbilisi protests, call on Georgia ‘to come together’
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Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze and Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani have held a meeting with foreign ambassadors this evening.
The foreign diplomats have urged political parties to rule out violence.
Foreign Minister Zalkaliani thanked diplomats in his Twitter post for calling on the parties to act reasonably.
Austrian Ambassador Arad Benko said that the ‘constitution and rule of law will remain a guiding light for Georgia.”
The protestors near the Parliament of Georgia. June 20. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
British Ambassador Justin McKenzie Smith said on Twitter that ‘it is time for Georgia to stand together.
Ambassador of Sweden to Georgia and Armenia Ulrik Tidestrom shares the opinion that now Georgia should come together and everyone should act within the framework of the constitution.
French Ambassador to Georgia Pascal Meunier stated he completely agrees with the opinion expressed by EU Ambassador Carl Hartzell who urged all parties to remain calm.”
“Political parties have a crucial responsibility to rule out the use of violence,” Jos Douma, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Georgia and Armenia said in his twitter post.
Three Russian MPs recently came to the Georgian capital city of Tbilisi to participate in the 26th Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy which was held for the first time in Georgia.
Protests broke out on June 20 when Russian MP Sergei Gavrilov occupied the Georgian parliamentary speaker’s seat.
Police used tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon as the protestors disobeyed them and violated public order, the Georgian Interior Ministry said.
Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
A total of 305 individuals were detained during last night’s clashes between police and protestors.
The Parliamentary Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze and MP Zakaria Kutsnashvili, the organiser of the 26th Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy, resigned on 21 June.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili spoke with foreign diplomats about the June 20 protest and expressed her readiness to meet every political force that rejects the “destructive calls”. “We have no option but unification, reconciliation and following our European path”, she stated.
Russian officials on Friday called for boycott of tourism and trade relations with Georgia following what President Putin's administration called a "Russophobic provocation" in Tbilisi clashes the previous day.
The official Kremlin response decried the events as a "dangerous display", while the State Duma's Tourism Committee head called for boycott of Georgian tourist resorts and trade goods, among reactions.
People started gathering on Rustaveli Avenue at 7 p.m. today, after a rally was held and dispersed at the same place in front of the parliament yesterday. Many demonstrators have negatively reacted to the speeches of opposition leaders, stating that they came to protect the state interests and not to stand by any opposition force.
Amnesty International calls for an immediate, thorough and independent investigation into the use of force during June 20 Tbilisi protests. Amnesty International’s Senior Campaigner for South Caucasus Levan Asatiani, who was on the scene in Tbilisi, said that ‘the police fired rubber bullets indiscriminately into the crowd.’
Zakaria Kutsnashvili, the organiser of the 26th Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy, which led to large-scale public protests last night has resigned as MP. He has thanked those who voted for him earlier and offered his apologies as well.
The peaceful demonstration in front of the parliament of Georgia that followed a Russian State Duma MP speaking from the Georgian parliament speaker's chair on June 20, has resumed at 7 p.m. today. Composed largely of young demonstrators, the crowds are now marching on Rustaveli Avenue in central Tbilisi in a sign of a peaceful protest.
Georgian top officials have opened a three-day, annual conference of ambassadors in Tbilisi, with the participation of Georgian diplomats, summarizing the diplomatic activities of 2019 and making plans for 2020.