Main Christmas Tree of Tbilisi Placed at Republic Square

The main Christmas Tree of Tbilisi will be assembled at the Republic Square instead of the traditional place – in front of the parliament building.

The information was released by the City Hall, whose employees have already started assembling the tree and decorating the square.

The reason of changing the location of the tree is the protest rallies of Zaza Saralidze, father of the murdered teen Davit, and Malkhaz Machalikashvili, whose son was killed in the anti-terrorist operation in December at the parliament building.

The protesters have placed tents and refused to change the location of their rally earlier this month when the Mayor’s Office sent them the letter.

“Either the authorities have to attack us or they should hold responsible for all the people who are guilty in forging the case of my son’s murder. They have only these two options,” Saralidze told media in early December.

Malkhaz Machalikashvili says the rallies in front of the parliament building will continue. He called for a fair and transparent investigation into his son’s case.

“The rallies will continue. We will not leave this territory. We call on people to join us,” he stressed.

Moreover, an online petition was also launched in support of Machalikashvili and Saralidze. “I refuse a Christmas tree; I choose a human!” – is the slogan of the petition which has already been signed by hundreds of people.

The petition authors point out that if the authorities and the government of Tbilisi force the public to make a choice between the crushed human right and a Christmas tree, they choose a human.

Tbilisi City Hall released a statement regarding the recent development. The statement reads that the process at Rustaveli Avenue was differently evaluated by politicians and media.

On December 15, the City Hall announced that the main area for Christmas and New Year celebrations will be the Republic Square in central Tbilisi, known before as the Rose Revolution Square.

Tbilisi Mayor, Kakha Kaladze visited the decoration works and took part in the assembling process of the tree.

According to him, a New Year village will be arranged around the Christmas tree, where various activities and shows will take place.

"The main Christmas tree will light up on December 22 and it will be quite impressive. I would like to call on everyone to come with their children and enjoy this beautiful event,” Kaladze said.