From 28 June to 2 July 2022, the Tbilisi Pride plans to organize “Pride Week” against the background of the harsh experience of 2021, when minorities were forced to refuse to hold the “March of Dignity”.
According to widespread information, the Pride Week consists of three main events:
- The screening of a new Georgian queer film;
- A regional conference involving LGBTQ activists from Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Belarus;
- Pride festival bringing together local and international artists.
It is a well-known fact that Pride demonstrations are a tool of political advocacy for the LGBTQ community, an opportunity for freedom of expression and peaceful assembly when the community voices its needs and highlights its achievements. It allows the community members and their supporters an opportunity to take to the streets to achieve equality.
We believe that violent, homophobic groups continue to be a threat against Tbilisi Pride events [3] – they are again publicly calling for violence against the public.
The protection and recognition of minority rights is a shared responsibility. Putting an end to discrimination and violence is a special obligation of the state. The experience of 5-6 July 2021 has shown that the state is indifferent to minority rights, which allows violent groups to intensify and repeat attacks against both activists and media representatives.
Media Advocacy Coalition calls on the Ministry of Interior to avoid the mistakes of 2021 and take effective measures to
– Ensure the safety of Tbilisi Pride activists;
– Protect media representatives from illegal interference in their journalistic activities;
– Provide a timely and appropriate legal response to all calls for violence and attempts to incite unrest.
