The fifth day in Georgia, the confrontation between LGBT supporters and the Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC) continues. On July 5, the parishioners of the GOC, together with local conservatives, did not allow the Pride to be held in Tbilisi. Along the way, in the course of the actions, the tents of the opposition supporting LGBT people were demolished, the offices of grant NGOs were destroyed.
Representatives of the liberal media, who are considered to be the conductors of the LGBT agenda in Georgia, also suffered. The aggression was fueled by information harassment by the GOC media in recent months…
On July 6, LGBT supporters and journalists rallied in support of the Pride and injured journalists. Orthodox Christians and conservatives also took to the streets and, despite the police cordon, dispersed their opponents. Then they tore off the flag of the European Union from the Georgian parliament and burned it, and instead they hoisted the flag of Georgia and put a cross.
After that, the American embassy was actively involved in the situation, demanding from public and religious forces to condemn the violence and support LGBT people. Among other things, addressed this request to the GOC. The GOC in its statement condemned the violence, but at the same time indicated:
“…The ‘Pride’ planned for July 5 was a propaganda of an unconventional way of life and contained signs of moral, psychological and ideological violence against our population and the next generation, which in itself would inevitably provoke a sharp reaction.
We warned about this and asked to refrain from supporting the stock in order to avoid the expected unrest and confrontation. Unfortunately, both ours and the opinion of the people were ignored.”
It is significant that the Georgian authorities condemned the violence against journalists, but blamed Saakashvili, the organizers of Pride and the United National Movement, for the unrest.
The statement of the GOC immediately provoked the persecution of the Church and protesters in the liberal media: more than fifty injured journalists were announced. The figure went to the media. Subsequently, it was possible to count only 23, including those who received scratches or pokes.
LGBT activists tried to pin the protesters’ knife attack on a Polish tourist on the same day, passing him off as an act of homophobia. Although the Georgian Interior Ministry stated that the attack had nothing to do with the protest actions…
The mass media began distributing ordered materials, which, allegedly, protests and an attack on the same tourist caused a decline in the tourist activity of foreigners, which is sensitive for the Georgian economy. Such a simple attempt to incite the population against the protesters.
Here are some quotes:
“On July 5, representatives of pro-Kremlin groups wounded a Polish tourist”, “Church-organized groups in the city center used force against dozens of people with impunity, attacked minors”, “Large-scale violence was preceded by incitement to violence statements by representatives of the authorities and the Patriarchy of Georgia”, “Putinist groups smashed the tents, tore down the flags of the EU and the US and put a cross instead.”
Moreover, the protest was clearly not pro-Russian, but the liberal media are trying to use an anti-Russian agenda.
7 people were detained for violence against journalists. Investigative actions continue. In addition, at the same time, statements by American and European diplomats, an anti-church campaign in the media, actions “in defense of journalists and minorities,” and opposition speeches continue.
Liberalization of Georgia, despite the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of the elites, has failed. Georgia remains a conservative country, despite all attempts to rebuild the consciousness of its citizens in the paradigm “liberal West versus conservative Russia.” The main obstacle to liberalization was the Georgian Church, which also failed to be forced to join the Phanar liberals. This means that now depriving the GOC of the status of the most influential institution in Georgian society will be the main task of the West. Moreover, given the loyalty of the Georgian authorities to the GOC, it cannot be ruled out that the opposition will finally receive consent from the “Western partners” to change the government in the country by force.
The main thing is ahead.
