The leader of the Alliance of Patriots parliamentary opposition party Irma Inashvili, who also serves as vice parliament speaker, broke into a conference hall at Tbilisi Rooms Hotel earlier today during the 5th Tbilisi International Conference, giving rise to verbal disputes and tension.
Inashvili, who was not invited to the conference, said that “she was listening to the blackmail of her party by the participants of the conference on TV over the past two days.”
I have come to brief the attendees about the party and our goals. I was not invited. However, I am vice speaker of the Georgian parliament and have the right to attend the event and deliver a speech,” Inashvili said.
She arrived at the site with journalists of Obiektivi TV, which was founded by her and several others in 2010.
One of the journalists of the channel stated that he was unable to ask questions during the conference.
A verbal dispute took place between Inashvili and David Kramer, the former assistant secretary of state and a researcher of Florida University, who urged Inashvili to leave the conference.
To be sincere, breaking into the conference is rude. Any individual was allowed to attend the conference and be registered. We are not interested in anyone’s political beliefs,” Kramer said.
Inashvili is present at the conference as of now and delivering a speech.
The Alliance of Patriots, created in 2012, entered parliament in 2016 with six MPs.
The party urges for closer ties with Russia and is against Georgia’s integration into NATO.