CoE Welcomes LGBT Supporters Managed to Mark May 17 in Tbilisi
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Tuesday, May 22
The Council of Europe (CoE) representation has stated that they welcomed the fact that despite obstacles LGBT supporters managed to gather in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi on May 17 to mark the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia.
The statement has been made by the CoE spokesperson Daniel Holtgen.
The statement was released as an addition to the previous statement on events planned by Georgian LGBTI rights groups to mark the day which was cancelled due to security concerns.
The Equality Movement, which advocates the rights of LGBT rights in Georgia, stated that they cancelled their event in front of the government administration building in Tbilisi in order to avoid “civil confrontation”.
The NGO claimed that it was less likely police to protect the event from the attacks of far-right and neo-fascist groups.
"LGBTI people should be able to enjoy the same rights as anyone else. Authorities need to make sure that all citizens, including LGBTI people, can exercise their rights to take part in peaceful demonstrations whilst being protected from violence. We are concerned about prejudice and discrimination against LGBTI people in Georgia, as in many other parts of Europe,” the earlier statement by CoE spokesperson said.
Despite the Equality Movement decided to cancel the planned rally, some of the LGBT activists gathered in front of the Georgian government administration building.
Security measures were strengthened during the demonstration.
Despite the strengthened security measures one of the protesters was attacked by one of the citizens who was later arrested by police.
The detainee is a 15-year-old boy.
According to CoE Georgia has been rated as the 33rd out of 49 European countries in terms of rights protection accorded to LGBTI persons.
