* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
The events at Tbilisi Pride are a brutal reminder of the pervasive hostility faced by the queer community in Georgia. It is time for us to act.Krystof Stupka is a member of the Czech Government's Committee on LGBTQ+ Rights.
Tbilisi, Georgia, where days ago Pride, a celebration of love and diversity, was turned into rubble.
With flags burnt and glass shattered, this wasn’t just about one event. Instead, it was a shocking symbol of an ongoing struggle - for recognition, acceptance, and basic human rights.
A struggle that, despite its pain and brutality, shows bravery, defiance and resilience that cannot be extinguished.
A mob of more than 5,000 broke into a private property on Saturday where the Pride Fest took place, unfettered by the significant police presence which had promised the organisers and international community our safety.
It comes just two years after the chilling terrorist attack on Tbilisi Pride offices, which left two journalists dead. It is a brutal reminder of the pervasive hostility faced by the LGBTQ+ community in Georgia.
Even in the shadow of such violence, the Georgian police force have failed to protect our community.
As a queer activist, I had the honour of addressing this year's Tbilisi Pride LGBTQ+ Rights Conference, co-organised by the Council of Europe, which proceeded without disruption.
I opened by keynote speech with a sobering admission: "It's 2023 and we still cannot talk about Pride without talking about pain."
The chilling echo of those words now rings even louder. I was just getting ready for the festival when I got the message that the organisers had been evacuated by the police and that I should stay inside.
I felt scared, but it’s nothing compared to the pain inflicted on my friends, fellow activists, and the entire queer community in Georgia.
President Salome Zourabichvili has rightly condemned the Georgian Dream party's failure to intervene or reject hate speech propagated by its followers. She has said the ruling party, by stirring up tensions against LGBTQ+ activists ahead of Pride, is supporting violence and bears the responsibility for all ensuing consequences.
Georgian Dream has continuously obstructed the recognition of queer rights as human rights in the nation. But, it wasn’t always this way.
My aunt is Georgian, and every time we’re in touch we talk about queer rights. She stresses to me that Georgian culture used to be that of acceptance and equality – as even the language is genderless - and that once upon a time, Tbilisi was a safe-haven for the queers.
And as I walked the streets of Tbilisi last week, I saw that change is happening. Young people are fed up with the authoritarian and pro-Russian politics of the Georgian Dream. They believe in equality and want to be themselves without worry from violence and hatred.
The very core of Tbilisi remains queer, vibrant, and defiant. The city needs our unwavering support and solidarity to overthrow the hatred which taints its streets with blood. We cannot, and must not, wait for another year to act.
Georgian Dream, backed by the Georgian Church, now plans to adopt an anti-LGBTQ+ propaganda law, a carbon copy of laws brought in in both Russia and Hungary. It aims not just to codify the discrimination against queer people but to annihilate the queer civil society altogether.
On Saturday, some of the Alt Info mob chanted: “Today we won, tomorrow we ban them.” It is clear their fight to erase LGBTQ+ from Georgia's existence is far from over and we cannot stand idly by.
Now is the time to rally in solidarity with the Georgian queer movement.
We cannot sit in silence as our community in Tbilisi is under siege. Now, more than ever, it is incumbent upon us to do better. We must call upon international organizations, allies, and advocates of human rights to stand with the Georgian queer movement.
We must pressure the European Commission and the US Government to leverage their power to curb the tide of authoritarianism sweeping through Georgia.
We owe it to the brave queer individuals who continue to endure hatred, discrimination, and violence.
As the echoes of Tbilisi Pride reverberate, let them be a resounding call to action. This is a fight not just for the rights of the queer community in Georgia, but democracy itself.
Openly is an initiative of the Thomson Reuters Foundation dedicated to impartial coverage of LGBT+ issues from around the world.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
