For all my foreign friends, we NEED your help! Dear all, Georgians want to get
their message across. Our country is in an ongoing crisis. For those of you who
donโt know, on June 20, a Russian lawmaker, Sergei Gavrilov, led an
interparliamentary grouping on Orthodoxy in Tbilisi and was allowed to chair a
session of parliament. Outraged protesters took it to the streets and protested
visit of Russian delegation, headed by Gavrilov, who has previously backed the
independence of the Georgian territories occupied by Russia. This sparked two
nights of protests, with the third one happening tonight. During these days,
more than 10,000 people protested outside the parliament building. On Friday,
around midnight, after some of the protesters outside tried to storm the
legislative building, WITHOUT ANY PRIOR WARNING, the riot police opened fire on
the crowd with teargas, rubber bullets, and water cannons - leaving hundreds of
protesters requiring medical treatment. Video and photographs showed people who
appeared to have been injured by the rubber bullets, in the head, legs, and
back. On Friday, following a night of violent unrest, in which more than 200
people were injured, 305 arrested, and two people lost eyes, Irakli Kobakhidze,
the speaker of the Parliament resigned. But this is not even remotely close to
what Georgian people demand. Russia, which occupies one-fifth of the countryโs
territory, has reacted indignantly to the protests, calling the events โan
anti-Russian provocationโ. Vladimir Putin has prohibited Russiaโs airlines from
flying to Georgia. The suspension of flights is intended to put pressure on
Georgiaโs tourism industry, which accounted for 7.6% of the countryโs GDP in
2018. This decision will damage Georgian tourism industry and directly affect
our economy. However, Georgians will always say NO to being economically
dependent on our destructive, imperialist neighbor Russia. When utilizing power
and force, Georgian law enforcement authorities did not act proportionately to
the risk presented or tried to limit harm and damage. Subsequently,
demonstrations continued to depict a vivid disappointment and dissatisfaction
with the government. Demonstrations continue with the following demands: -
Resignation of Minister of Internal Affairs (responsible for use of force
against peaceful demonstrators) - Proportional Representation Elections of
Parliament for 2020 - Liberation of innocent demonstrators from prison. Having
said that, we want to ask the international community to help us by: 1.
Providing empirically correct factual knowledge about the ongoing events. Please
spread the word, contact all of your colleagues, family members, and friends who
work in media and can, in this sense, impact the media climate by composing,
sharing, promoting articles about the current Georgian crisis. 2. Giving
Georgian tourism more international exposure. Research Georgia as an exotic
tourist destination, and you will find all the proof you need. We need your
support more than ever. After all, we are all global citizens, birthed by mother
earth. โNo one is free when others are oppressed.โ
