Gay rights' opponents storm Tbilisi Pride festival, forcing its cancellation

Tbilisi [Georgia], July 9 : The organisers of a Pride festival in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi had to cancel it, saying that police were unable to stop violent disruptions by far-right groups with ties to Russia, reported CNN.

Police and anti-LGBTQ demonstrators clashed in Lisi Wonderland, an events venue outside Tbilisi, where the closed event was supposed to take place, according to Georgian public broadcaster First Channel.

Tbilisi Pride, the festival's organisers, said in a tweet that they were "compelled" to cancel the event and "evacuate" the festival territory.

Tbilisi Pride said, "The Ministry of Interior of Georgia once again neglected to protect us from violent far-right groups and allowed the mobs to prevent us from exercising our freedom of expression and assembly even in private settings," as per CNN.

Conflicts between anti-LGBTQ demonstrators and police officers were captured on camera by Georgian activist channels while they were in Lisi Wonderland's festival area. Anti-Pride demonstrators were also seen in videos setting Pride flags on fire.

Tbilisi Pride claims that the Russian-affiliated, far-right group Alt Info, which they accused of disrupting the event, was orchestrated and coordinated by the Georgian government.

The Georgian Interior Ministry stated in a statement on Friday that "appropriate measures" were being taken to ensure the "safe format" of the event on Saturday and "to protect the freedom of expression and assembly of each person."

According to First Channel, as quoted by CNN, Shalva Papuashvili, the speaker of the Georgian Parliament, emphasised the government's condemnation of any acts of violence on Saturday.

According to Papuashvili, authorities handled the situation and avoided injuring festival attendees, reported CNN.