Tbilisi protests resume, last demand remains unchanged
The peaceful demonstrators march from the First Republic Square to the Freedom Square before resuming the protest in front of the parliament of Georgia for the tenth consecutive day. Photo: Agenda.ge
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Peaceful demonstrators have gathered on Rustaveli Avenue in central Tbilisi for the tenth consecutive day today, again demanding the resignation of Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia.
The protesters marched from the First Republic Square to the Freedom Square in sign of peaceful protest before they would resume the demonstration in front ot the parliament of Georgia.
June 29 rallies featured more participation of political leaders of the opposition and public figures, together with common citizens and youth. People arrived from regions to join the peaceful protest as well.
The organisers condemn the recent statements of Interior Minister Gakharia that the police used legitimate force against protesters on Rustaveli Avenue on the night of June 20 and claim they will not stop until their last demand in fulfilled.
Although Minister Gakharia explained in his recent televised interview that the rubber bullets that were used on June 20 are in line with international standards and none of them were illegal to use at similar demonstrations, the protesters claim the police used unjustified force and targeted people with bullets used to hunt animals.
Size of the crowd
Agenda.ge estimated the size of the crowd using media’s classical method: We measured the rally area using Google Maps and defined the density using photos captured by our photographer Nino Alavidze.
Also we use aerial footage by Georgian Public Broadcaster.
A loose crowd, where each person is an arm's length from the body of his/her nearest neighbour, needed 0.9 m² per person. A more tightly packed crowd would fill 0.4 m² per person.
The area where the gathering took place measures 6 880 m². In Agenda.ge pictures you can clearly see the density of the crowd, which varies in different parts of the part of the Rustaveli Avenue in front of the building of The Georgian Parliament.
All photos are captioned around 20.30 Tbilisi local time. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge
Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge
Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge
Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge
Through our calculations, we believe that the number of demonstrators at this place is in the middle of two figures:
- in a loose crowd there were about 7 644 people
- in a tightly packed crowd there could be up about 17 200 people.
See the interactive map for more details:
Tbilisi protests were sparked by the presence of Russian MPs in the Georgian parliament during the 26th Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy, when Russian MP Sergey Gavrilov took the seat of the Georgian parliamentary speaker to address the audience.
- The rally following the developments in parliament on June 20 was dispersed by police after a part of the demonstrators decided to storm the parliament building, leaving 305 detained and 240 injured.
- The Georgian Dream ruling party says that the “justified and peaceful” protest of people was transformed into violence due to the “provocative and destructive” actions by opposition members.
- A member of the UNM Nika Melia has been charged with incitement to violence during the rally.
Protests in Tbilisi continue as their last demand remain unfulfilled – the resignation of Interior Minister Gakharia [for the dispersal of the rally].
Six people remain hospitalised out of 240 who were injured during the protest rally in front of the parliament of Georgia on June 20. Ruling party MP Dimitri Khundadze announced on behalf of the Georgian Dream that their main priority is to care for the health of citizens.
Public activists and the opposition came with car horns at the administration building of the government on Georgia earlier today to demand the authorities dismiss Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia. Organisers of the Tbilisi protests, which were sparked by the presence of Russian MPs in the Georgian parliament on June 20, say that provocations might be staged during the rallies and they urged the police to ensure the safety of peaceful protests.
Ambassadors of the European Union, Lithuania, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands to Georgia are urging for a transparent investigation into the police response to the June 20 rallies in Tbilisi.
Recent developments have brought dissonance to the Georgian economy, however the macroeconomic factors are quite healthy, said Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze while commenting on the devaluation of the Georgian national currency, the lari, today.
A total of 35 students from eleven different universities of Georgia have addressed the ruling Georgian Dream party Chairman Bidzina Ivanishvili to support the establishment of a state advisory council of youth aimed at strengthening communication between the government and youth.
Starting from today Tbilisi rallies will be focused on communication, changing the public’s views, and discussions, organisers say.“We will gather in front of the parliament building, read poems, discuss various issues, show films, discuss the films, etc.,” one of the organisers of the protests, Shota Digmelashvili said.
Members of the Russians social-liberal opposition party Yabloko, who are in Georgia to participate in the Georgian Development Platform, say that they respect Georgia’s territorial integrity and justify the ongoing protest of the Georgian people triggered by the conduct of the Russian MP in the Georgian parliament.
Deputy Interior Minister Natia Mezvrishvili says that police were attacked during the June 20 rally in Tbilisi and they were forced to defend themselves and use force. Mezvrishvili says that it is less important who made the order, or whether the police acted without the order of top officials.
The Georgian Interior Ministry has addressed Tbilisi City Court to question opposition leaders Gigi Ugulava, Irakli Okruashvili and Giorgi Baramidze concerning their involvement in the June 20 rally in Tbilisi which was forcibly dispersed by police. The ministry says the former officials have refused to come in for interrogation so far, which is why they resorted to asking the court.
Peaceful demonstrators have gathered on Rustaveli Avenue in central Tbilisi for the fifteenth consecutive day, again demanding the resignation of Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia. Today’s rally was different from previous gatherings as it was fully devoted to Georgian musicians performing various music in front of the parliament of Georgia.