Tbilisi’s main Christmas tree, illuminations lit up amid ongoing protests in city

Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze on Monday said the main Christmas tree of the city on Rustaveli Avenue, in front of the Parliament building, had been lit “without any ceremony” amid ongoing public protests on the street against the Government’s suspension of negotiations for European Union accession talks of the country.

Kaladze noted while festive season illuminations throughout the capital were traditionally turned on in the first half of December, the symbolic action had been postponed from last week due to the protests.

The Mayor said New Year’s Eve was “everyone's favourite public holiday”, adding Tbilisi would be the “most beautiful New Year's Eve city”, with “many festive events” planned throughout the period.

The country’s President Salome Zourabichvili last week condemned the planned event by the Mayor to mark the illumination of the tree on the Avenue, calling it a “clear provocation” against the protests that “have been continuously expressed” since the Government announcement of accession talk suspension, and claimed “if any provocation takes place [in the area], the responsibility will fall on the Mayor”.