2013 Tbilisi anti-homophobia rally protests

2013 Tbilisi protests
Date17 May 2013 (2013-05-17)
Location
Tbilisi
MethodsDemonstrations, violent clashes
Parties
Georgian Orthodox priests,[1] up to 20,000[2] "ultra-conservative Orthodox supporters"[3]

A rally against homophobia was held in Tbilisi, Georgia, on May 17, 2013, the International Day Against Homophobia. Gay rights activists holding the rally were met by thousands of protestors opposing homosexuality, who broke through a police cordon and violently pursued them, beating and throwing stones at them.[4]

Two days earlier, Ilia II of Georgia, the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, had called for banning the gay rights rally, describing homosexuality as an "anomaly and disease."[5] The day before the rally, Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili stated that LGBTQ individuals "have the same rights as any other social groups" in Georgia.[6]

Dozens of gay rights activists had gathered in downtown Tbilisi for the rally. A reported 20,000 Georgian Orthodox church members protested, led by church priests, and a clash ensued in Pushkin Park, near Freedom Square.[citation needed] Police forces did not prevent the homophobic protesters from running at the anti-homophobia rally participants,[7] as priests asked.[4] Anti-homophobia demonstrators were evacuated by the police in buses, which were attacked by the counter-demonstrators.[8] 17 people were injured in the clashes.[9]

  1. ^ "Conservatives attack gay activists at rally in Tbilisi". BBC News. 17 May 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  2. ^ "Slow Response by Georgians to Mob Attack on Gay Rally". New York Times. 20 May 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  3. ^ Delany, Max (18 May 2013). "Church supporters disrupt Georgia gay rights rally". AFP. Archived from the original on June 16, 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  4. ^ a b Harter, Pascale (4 Jun 2013). "From our own correspondent: Sexual mores in Georgia and Denmark". BBC World Service.
  5. ^ "Georgian Orthodox Church Leader Calls For Gay-Rights Rally Ban". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 16 May 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  6. ^ "Georgian Prime Minister Says Sexual Minorities Have Equal Rights". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 15 May 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  7. ^ "Violence Against Anti-Homophobia Rally". Civil.Ge. Civil Georgia. 18 May 2013.
  8. ^ Roth, Andrew (17 May 2013). "Crowd Led by Priests Attacks Gay Rights Marchers in Georgia". The New York Times. New York Times. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  9. ^ "Antigay Protesters Disrupt Georgian Rights Rally". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 18 May 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2013.