Chairman of ruling Georgian Dream party: holding Tbilisi Pride week is unreasonable
Irakli Kobakhidze, former speaker of the parliament and chairman of the Georgian Dream believes that holding Tbilisi Pride Week is unreasonable. March for Solidarity is the name of the rally that will take place on July 5 and will be organized by the Tbilisi Pride and will be attended by representatives of the LGBT community, as well as various civic activists, and organizations.
According to Kobakhidze, the organizers of the Pride should take on more responsibility and not plan the event.
“I have my own attitude towards this issue and I believe that given the entire context, these people should be denied the opportunity to hold this event… Given this context, responsible people, as a rule, should not have planned it”, said Irakli Kobakhidze.
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On June 15, the founder of the far-right Eri party, Levan Vasadze, gave Georgian Dream a 10-day deadline to cancel the March of Dignity, scheduled for July 5.
He threatened the authorities and called on the government to prevent escalation and conflict.
Tbilisi Pride executive director Giorgi Tabagari called Kobakhidze’s statement shameful.
According to Tabagari, it is a shame that the constitutionalist and the author of the current Constitution of Georgia makes such statements, violating the basic law of Georgia.
“Irakli Kobakhidze is trying to appease the Patriarchy, Russia, and the Kremlin clown Levan Vasadze”, Tabagari said.
“We queer people need to talk loudly about our problems. We must do so, our voice must be heard by our family, friends, colleagues, fellow citizens, and the state!”, Tbilisi Pride said in its statement.
The organization requires the state to:
- Provide people-centered policies;
- Fulfill a positive commitment to create an equal environment, overcome homophobia, stigma, and discrimination;
- Ensure proper investigation of hate crimes and uphold the principle of fairness and equal provision of justice;
- Protect the safety and freedom of expression of every citizen, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity.
