20 Jun 2019 21:25

Opposition in Tbilisi trying to break into parliament building

TBILISI. June 20 (Interfax) - Protesters in Tbilisi demanding the resignation of Parliament Speaker Irakly Kobakhidze are now trying to break into the building of the Georgian parliament.

The police are trying to deter the protesters, the Georgian television channels have reported.

A special task force and special equipment have appeared in the yard of the Georgian parliament, which the protesters are trying to break into, the Georgian media have reported.

The Georgian Interior Ministry has issued a statement calling on the opposition rally participants who are trying to break into the parliament building to stop their illegal actions and violence.

"Law enforcement agencies are using all measures envisaged by the law to stop the illegal actions," the statement said.

According to earlier reports, some opposition parties on Thursday called on their supporters to come to a rally to protest the participation by the Russian parliamentary delegation led by State Duma deputy Sergei Gavrilov in the 26th General Assembly of the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO). The opposition protested the fact that Gavrilov took the seat of the Georgian parliament speaker at the IAO opening ceremony. The opposition also accused the authorities and the parliament speaker of letting that happen.

Gigi Ugulava, a leader of the opposition party European Georgia, said at the rally the rally will continue until Kobakhidze resigns.

The organizers of the rally have decided to add a demand for the resignation of Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia and State Security Service Vakhtang Gomelauri, he said.

In the meantime, according to media reports, the parliament speaker, who is now on a visit to Baku, said he has no intention of leaving his post.