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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Tbilisi Mayor and parliament member assaulted |
| 2013-02-09 |
| United National Movement MPs and other officials, including Tbilisi City Mayor Gigi Ugulava have been physically assaulted by crowd gathered near National Library. Crowd blocked the entrance, refusing to allow any UNM members or President in. President press speaker Manana Manjgaladze announced that to prevent further escalation of situation President would address the nation from the Presidential Palace. Crowd broke into the National Library, broke glass windows and demanded entrance. Later, demonstrators physically assaulted Tbilisi Mayor Ugulava. One female MP, Taktakishvili was seen with bleeding nose, after crowd attacked her. UNM activists, who later showed up near the Library, were also beaten up by the demonstrators. Later Interior Minister Irakli Gharibashvili arrived at the Library, asking demonstrators to leave because, as he said, the scuffles "played into the hands of political opponents" of Georgian Dream. He also said the UNM members did not use secured corridor and therefore there were doubts, that the scuffles were provoked by UNM. Minister said that all offenders will be punished accordingly. Parliament Speaker Davit Usupashvili also commented on the incident, blaming UNM members and Mayor Ugulava of provoking the crowd because they did not use the safe corridor. He also mentioned that all people who were involved in physical assaults should be punished accordingly. Usupashvili also said that Saakashvili rushed to make this speech although he could have waited for Parliament's approval. |
| Posted by:Clotle Craling4346 |