“We remember both the crackdown and our demands” – a photo reportage from rally in Tbilisi

JAMnews

Tbilisi

Up to a thousand people rallied in front of the parliament building in the centre of Tbilisi to mark the anniversary of what happened there one year ago – the heavy-handed police crackdown on an antigovernment protest.

All the protesters wore masks and stayed apart from one another. The organizers had put stickers on the ground to designate spots where people could stand under the Covid-19 pandemic’s social distancing guidelines. The stickers featured the face of Russian president Vladimir Putin.

What happened on 20 June 2019, and how the Kremlin came into the picture

On June 20, 2019, regular police, riot troops and army units were deployed to disperse a massive antigovernment demonstration in Tbilisi.

Tear gas and water cannons were used against the protesters. Two people lost an eye after being hit by a rubber bullet, and over two hundred others were injured.

The protesters demanded a reform of the electoral system. However, the protest carried an explicit anti-Russian message as well. This had to do with an incident that had actually triggered the protest.

Earlier that day, Russian legislator Sergei Gavrilov had taken the seat of the speaker of the Georgian parliament to address an assembly of MPs from Orthodox Christian countries.

“Who let a parliamentarian of the country that flouts Georgia’s territorial integrity sit in the chair of the Georgian speaker?” was the question the protesters asked the government.

• The whole story – how and why June 20 became the symbol of repressions in Georgia

• All you need to know about the Tbilisi protests in three minutes

• Why the proportional electoral system is so important for Georgia

• What Georgia’s informal leader has to do with the PM

One year on, protesters feel disappointed

The organizers of the rally say:

• Not one case of power abuse has been investigated, and not a single law enforcer has been punished.

• Giorgi Gakharia who was the interior minister when the crackdown happened is the prime minister now.

• Most of those who were injured in the clashes have never been recognized as victims.

• The promise the leader of the ruling party Bidzina Ivanishvili made back then – that a proportional representation system would be used for the next parliamentary election, due this autumn, has yet to be delivered.

Photo: Giorgi Gogua

On 20 June, 2019, wo people,18-year-old Mako Gomuri and 26-year-old Giorgi Sulashvili, were hit by a rubber bullet in the eye, in which they lost eyesight.

Gomuri and Sulashvili were recognized as victims of police actions only five months later, after lengthy litigations.

Speaking at the current protest, Mako Gomuri said:

“I’m wearing the same clothes as then. Look at me, why was I a danger to them [the authorities and the police]? Why was they shot at me? All this year I’ve been trying to get an answer to this question. ”

The ex-president of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili, who began his presidency as a member of the team of the current ruling party “Georgian Dream,” made sharply critical statements at the rally.

“A government that shoots at its people, […] which promises and then deceives its people and international partners – such a government is a fraudster. And it does not suit the people and society. ”