Protest resumes in front of parliament after dispersal, 37 detained
Georgian Interior Ministry announced that 37 people have been detained, while four demonstrators and two law enforcers - injured during the rally dispersal. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge
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Protest rally, triggered by the parliament’s rejection of an electoral bill aimed at moving from a mixed system to a proportional one, has resumed on Monday evening after police used water cannon to disperse the demonstration.
Civic activists and opposition leaders addressed the crowd in front of the parliament building in downtown Tbilisi and called to continue the protest until their demands are met. Some of them still plan to stay overnight, while the rest have left the venue.
Demonstration resumes at Rustaveli Avenue, as special unit forces are leaving the area after clearing the roadway. Video: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge
Meanwhile, after police cleared up the Rustaveli Avenue to resume traffic, the ruling party legislators managed to hold a bureau session, which had been postponed as protesters had been blocking the entrances to parliament since yesterday.
Parliament Speaker Archil Talakvadze, who chaired the session, said upcoming parliamentary elections in 2020 will be conducted in “democratic, competitive and free environment”.
Therefore, he called on the opposition MPs to discuss the issue at parliamentary debates instead.
Secretary General of the ruling party, Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze made a statement after the rally dispersal as well, saying the opposition has exceeded the legal frames.
We were warning the organisers of the rally that it was illegal to block the state institution, the parliament, however, as they saw that they lacked enough public support, the organisers of the rally attempted to aggravate the situation and lead the process to destructive, illegal activities”, Kaladze stated.
He said, despite the police warning and appeals from the government and international partners, they refused to return to constitutional frames. “Therefore”, Kaladze said, “the state fulfilled its obligations and stopped illegal blocking of entrace to the parliament [building]”.
Police and demonstrators clashed for several times on Monday, while the former was clearing up the main Rustaveli Avenue to restore traffic movement. Photo Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge
Interior Ministry reported late on Monday as well that a total of 37 persons, including one of the organisers of the protest rally Giga Makarashvili, have been detained during the dispersal for "disobedience" and "hooliganism". The ministry also announced that four demonstrators and two law enforcers injured during the clash have been taken to hospital.
On November 18, during the demonstrations, #Police detained 37 persons under the Administrative Offences Code. 4 participants of the rally and 2 law enforcement officers were injured. Injured persons underwent relevant medical examinations in hospitalshttps://t.co/4Ovuf72nyk
— MIA of Georgia (@MIAofGeorgia) November 18, 2019
The ruling party-proposed bill aimed to holding 2020 parliamentary elections fully proportional, was scrapped last Thursday, as only 101 MPs voted for it instead of mandatory 113 in the 150-member parliament.
All of those 40 MPs who either voted against or abstained were from the ruling party, while all of the opposition legislators voted in favour. After the rejection of the bill, a total of 12 MPs, who had voted in favour, left the ruling party.
However, the ruling party has refused to discuss any new initiatives regarding the electoral system, saying the 2020 parliamentary elections will be again mixed.
Protests sparked by the recent rejection by parliament to pass a bill on electoral reform will resume at 7 p.m. on central Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi after the rally was dispersed by police yesterday with the use of water cannons and saw 37 detained. Demonstrators are now assembled in front of Tbilisi City Court where the trial of the detainees will take place soon.
Law enforcers have opened all three entrances of the Georgian parliament to MPs after the dispersal of a rally in central Tbilisi with the use of water cannon. IPN news agency reports that MPs are starting to gather in the parliament building and the ruling Georgian Dream party has plans to hold a meeting which should have been conducted earlier today.
The leader of the European Georgia opposition party Giga Bokeria has stated that he is surprised by the response of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party to current protests in Tbilisi, as the ruling party accused the opposition of staging provocations and stirring unrest.
The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party has refused to discuss any new initiatives regarding the electoral system, responding to the protests in Tbilisi demanding a fully proportional electoral system from 2020. Secretary General of the ruling party Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze has stated after a party meeting earlier today that the 2020 parliamentary elections will be held with a mixed-electoral system, as parliament rejected the ruling party proposed bill on the move to the fully proportional elections last Thursday.
The US Embassy to Georgia and the EU delegation to the county have released a joint statement amid public protests in Tbilisi triggered by the rejection of an election bill, urging for “immediate work to restore trust through a calm and respectful dialogue between the government and all political parties and civil society with a view to finding an acceptable path forward.”
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia has responded to the rally dispersal on Monday and stated that police acted in full line with the law “as irresponsible politicians” made demonstrators violate the law and hamper the work of the legislative body.Gakharia stated that the freedom of expression and assembly is “fully protected in the country” and the government uses force only when demonstrators violate the law.
All 37 individuals who were detained during the November 18 rally dispersal in front of the parliament building of Georgia for hooliganism and disobedience to police have been temporarily released by a Tbilisi City Court judge late yesterday.Discussions around the cases are scheduled to resume later today at the same court.
The leader of the European Georgia opposition party David Bakradze has announced a “large-scale” rally on Monday, November 25 in front of parliament, adding that demonstrators will ‘peacefully block the entrances’ of the legislative body on November 26.He stated that the opposition “is not happy” about blocking the parliament activities. However, “the current state leadership has left no other way."
Demonstrators who have been protesting the rejection of the election bill since November 14 have gathered in front of the administration building of the government of Georgia in central Tbilisi earlier today, demanding snap parliamentary elections with the use of a fully proportional electoral system, conducted by an interim government.Protests in Tbilisi were sparked after the ruling Georgian Dream party proposed election bill last week was scrapped.
In a statement released in response to local NGOs accusing the judge Valeriane Pilishvili of partiality, Tbilisi City Court said recent hearings have been held under deliberate discreditation from the detainees and their supporters, disinformation campaign and sharp criticism.