LGBT opponents promise to disrupt gay pride parade in Tbilisi

A Georgian political party called on the authorities to ban the “March of Dignity” announced by the LGBT community and threatened its activists with contraction.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that in 2019, the NGO “Tbilisi Pride” announced a “March of Dignity” and events for LGBT people in Tbilisi. On June 14, opponents of the gay pride parade in Tbilisi, including priests, held a contraction action in front of the Georgian government building. Twenty-eight of its participants were detained, and three of them were fined. On June 16, businessman Levan Vasadze announced the creation of a legion to oppose the holding of gay pride parade.

Levan Vasadze, the leader of the “Unity, Essence, Hope” Party, known with its Georgian abbreviation ERI, demanded to ban the gay parade. “We call on the authorities not to let radical groups destabilize the situation ... This is extremely contradictory to the norms of our society, as well as the prospects for restoring the territorial integrity of the country,” Levan Vasadze said.

According to him, the popularization of sexual minorities will lead to the end of public negotiations with Abkhazians and Ossetians, who spoke negatively about the holding of gay pride parades in Georgia.

In Tbilisi, the LGBT community announced the “LGBT Week” for July 1-5, and the week is expected to be completed with the “March of Dignity”. The activists intend to draw attention to the problems of the people of the country who found themselves in the tight situation during the pandemic.