‘Dignity March’ of Tbilisi Pride to decidedly take place on June 23

Tbilisi Pride has caused a massive stir, and it’s still unclear how the event will unfold and whether or not the safety guarantees will be provided. There have been several new details to the story, and none of the sides seem to plan on backing down.

The activists are to hold the march despite numerous threats coming from the groups against the members of the LGBTQ+ community.

According to the activists, the Government has once again demonstrated that there is no political will to stop the hatred in the country and that the Government’s response to hate groups is ineffective.

“The statehood and institutions of Georgia are in danger, and this is why we are going to force the Government to protect human rights and fulfill its obligations defined by the Constitution of the country. We will continue to demonstrate the challenges faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people,” said the statement published by the organizers of the Pride.

The hostile groups which consist of supporters of Levan Vasadze, Orthodox Parents Union and the “Georgian March,” continue to threaten to sabotage the march. The Georgian Church has also continued to fight against the Pride being held in Tbilisi. But in the most recent developments, the Patriarchate of the Georgian Orthodox Church issued a statement saying that it is distancing itself from all the aggressive statements from the clergy and parishioners directed towards the LGBT Pride.

“First of all, we call on the clergy to refrain from arbitrarily held briefings and public statements that haven’t been discussed with the Patriarchate, as well as actions that contradict Christian teachings,” the Patriarchate statement said.

The Patriarchate has called the Government in the past to prevent LGBT Pride. They stated that the LGBT community and their supporters are providing information to foreign countries as if “they are deeply oppressed and persecuted in Georgia and are get funded according to this motive.”

But the proof of this “motive” came quite quickly after one of the organizers of the Tbilisi Pride shared the threatening messages he has received. In these texts, strangers are threatening to kill Tamaz Sozashvili, one of the organizers of the Pride. They’re claiming to know where his office and his house is located.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs has launched an investigation into the content of threatening to Giorgi Tabagari and Tamaz Sozashvili, under Article 151 of the Criminal Code, which implies threats. According to them, all relevant investigative and procedural actions will be conducted within the investigation. The sender of the threatening texts has already been identified.

The homophobic groups have surrounded the Office space of Tbilisi Pride organizers and are threatening to lock them inside if they don’t back down from conducting the ‘Dignity March’ and are demanding that the Government shut down the Pride office immediately. Because of these groups, Tbilisi Pride members were forced to leave their office.

Levan Vasadze, one of the leaders of the groups against the Pride, publicly confirmed that these groups will still be present during the march. In his statement, Vasadze said: “I want to address all the inhabitants of the Caucasus region, brothers and sisters, during these days the fate of our morals will be solved in Georgia, if we break, then it is over to the whole Caucasus, - businessman Levan Vasadze said in Vere Park.

According to Levan Vasadze, people of different nationalities will also release their statement in the following days, supporting his position.

Regarding these events, the Foundation for Human Rights House issued a statement as well, stating that the freedom of assembling and expressing themselves should be allowed for the LGBT community.

37 members and partner organizations signed the announcement and are concerned about the restriction of space for the LGBT community in Tbilisi. Organizations call on the Georgian authorities to take all necessary steps to meet international obligations.

“We call on the Georgian Government to show devotion to democratic values and human rights and to protect the security of participants of Tbilisi Pride Week and Dignity March.

In spite of the success achieved against discrimination in recent years, freedom of peaceful assembly and expression of LGBT community and human rights defenders is under threat,” the statement reads.

International Organization “Amnesty International” Tbilisi also responded to these events and said that the Georgian authorities should take all necessary measures to ensure the security of the Pride participants.