Opposition boycott parliamentary sessions, city council meetings
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Wednesday, June 26
The United National Movement and the European Georgia opposition parties have boycotted parliamentary sessions and meetings in the Tbilisi City Assembly after the Georgian Dream ruling party declined their demand to discuss a resolution text on the dismissal of Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia on Tuesday.
The opposition says that Gakharia must quit, as law enforcers “brutally dispersed” a peaceful demonstration in Tbilisi on June 20, which was sparked by “letting Russian MPs in the Georgian parliament and allowing MP Sergey Gavrilov occupy the seat of the Georgian parliamentary speaker.”
The European Georgia opposition MP Elene Khoshtaria said that Gakharia is responsible for the dispersal in central Tbilisi which left 240 injured, with several young people losing one of their eyes due to rubber bullets.
A member of the United National Movement Zaal Udumashvili says that all their members will be present at the rallies in Tbilisi, as two demands of the opposition remain unfulfilled – the resignation of Gakharia and the release of more than 100 individuals who were detained during the rallies [for petty hooliganism and disobedience to police].
Gakharia has requested to speak in parliament to answer the questions on the rally.
In his previous statement, Gakharia said that “destructive opposition forces,” which managed to transform the Georgian people’s “fair and sincere protest” into violence, fled the scene when unrest erupted and abandoned the demonstrators.
He said that the law enforcers were forced to react and use tear gas, water cannons, and rubber bullets, as some of the people tried to rush in the parliament building.
He said that if some law enforcers abused power during the dispersal, they would be held accountable.
10 law enforcement officers have already been suspended from duty due to possible violations during the rally.
The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia, which investigates the possible abuse of power by officers, has urged the public to help the investigation and provide footage which may reflect possible misuse or abuse of power by police.
Other demands of the opposition, the resignation of Parliament Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze and allowing 2020 parliamentary elections to be held with the proportional electoral system, have been met.
Russian MPs came to Georgia to attend the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy last week and Gavrilov, who is the president of the assembly, took the seat of Georgian parliament speaker during the international forum, sparking mass protests.
