Tbilisi Pride March Canceled After Bigots Violently Storm LGBT Campaigner’s Offices
MINDLESS VIOLENCE
A major Pride march in Georgia’s capital city, Tbilisi, has been cancelled after bigoted thugs violently stormed an LGBTQ+ campaigner’s offices and left activists feeling too unsafe to go ahead with the celebration. According to Euronews, activists announced the cancellation of the march—which was due to go ahead Monday—shortly after the bigots broke into their offices. Video showed one office after it had been smashed up by the violent mob. In a statement, Tblisi Pride confirmed that the march had been cancelled and blamed city authorities who failed to guarantee their safety. The group wrote: “We can not go to the streets full of violent people backed by the authorities and patriarchate and put people's lives at risk!” The Georgian Interior Ministry reportedly said in a statement that it had advised Pride organizers not to go ahead with the parade due to “the scale of counter-demonstrations planned by the opposing groups.”