"We are ashamed of our government" - Thousands rally in support of Ukraine in Tbilisi

Rally in support of Ukraine in Tbilisi

Thousands of people gathered in front of the State Chancellery in Tbilisi to express support for Ukraine and protest against the decision of Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili not to join international sanctions against Russia.

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Many are outraged by the decision of Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili not to join the sanctions of Western countries against Russia and his comments on the matter. In particular, he stated: “Real sabotage is a useless noise around Ukraine, which our opponents (opposition) are making”; “Today, nothing threatens us. We need to remain calm. Georgia is not in danger”.

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At the initiative of the opposition Droa political party, protesters illuminated the wall of the government building with the colors of the Ukrainian flag.

This is the most crowded and large-scale rallies in the capital of Georgia in the last couple of months. Due to the large crowd, some of the protesters had to move to the parliament building.

The protesters said that Irakli Garibashvili did not express the position of the citizens of Georgia and that he should resign.

Protesters chanted “Go away!”.

On February 24, the ruling Georgian Dream party announced that it would not participate in an extraordinary meeting in connection with the war in Ukraine, convened by the president at the request of the opposition.

On February 25, representatives of the ruling party did not appear in parliament at all. Givi Mikanadze, an MP from the ruling party, called the convening of an extraordinary meeting of “a show”.

41 Opposition MP appealed to the President with a request to convene an extraordinary meeting on Ukraine. According to opposition representatives, the silence of the Georgian government will cost Georgia dearly.

The opposition demanded a new resolution from the government, and Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili satisfied the opposition’s demand.

On the morning of February 24, 2022, Russia began bombing Ukraine. Under the pretext of defending the separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, President Putin announced the start of a “military special operation” in Ukraine.

Shortly after this announcement, the bombing of strategic targets in the suburbs of Ukrainian cities, including Kiev, began.