Social media users debated the reasons for the conflict between tourists and participants of the procession in Tbilisi.
Commentators on Facebook* assessed the reasons for the conflict between a group of tourists and participants of the procession in Tbilisi, dedicated to the memory of Georgian fighters who died in Ukraine, in different ways. Some users believed that the tourists simply responded to the aggression of the demonstrators, while others stated that it was their behavior that caused the incident.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on July 11 in Tbilisi, participants of the memorial action for the fighters who died in the war in Ukraine held a procession near the parliament building. A conflict occurred between the participants of the procession and a group of tourists . Georgian media reported that the tourists were from Russia.
Protest participants in Georgia have been demanding new parliamentary elections and the release of political prisoners since November 28, 2024. Thus, on the evening of July 12, supporters of Georgia's Eurointegration took to Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi for the 592nd consecutive day, demanding the release of political prisoners. Law enforcement conducted harsh dispersals of protests, using tear gas and water cannons, and detained protesters. During the protests, thousands of people faced administrative prosecution. "Caucasian Knot" has prepared a report "Main points on the persecution of protest participants in Georgia".
The reasons for the conflict sparked a debate among commentators
A post about the conflict between tourists and participants of the procession in Tbilisi was published on July 12 on the "Caucasian Knot" Facebook* page, which has about 162 thousand followers. As of 12:57 MSK on July 13, this post received 925 reactions from users and 1606 comments. Some authors believed that the tourists simply responded to the aggression from the participants of the action.
"They reacted as they were met. Bravo to the girls," wrote Anastasia Odzelashvili.
"They responded to the insults and the same gesture," believes Nadezhda Parunova.
"Actually, judging by the video, the demonstrators surrounded the electric car first and shouted something, and then one of the tourists showed the middle finger, not the other way around. Apparently, in response to the insults," noted Alexey Vetrov.
Other users stated that the cause of the conflict was the disrespectful behavior of the tourists. "And why are tourists interfering? This is disrespect to Georgia and its people. The procession was for grieving mothers whose sons died," wrote Maia Malinova.
"How can you behave like this in a hospitable country?" asked Nata Iaanoap.
"It doesn't matter who is right and who is wrong, but behaving like this as a guest is at least dangerous," noted Dimitri Leo.
Another part of the commentators believed that the conflict arose from mutual aggression. "These tourists are just a consequence. The reasons for inciting hatred are the media, on both sides," wrote Mokhajer Marziev.
Some users doubted the version of events presented by Georgian media. "You are writing untruths, she didn't start it first," emphasized Mariam Saradzhishvili.
"The tourists were showing hearts and were extremely calm. Why lie like this?" wrote Maria Sorto.
"Not with offensive gestures, but with hearts. If for those who write this, hearts are offensive," pointed out Svetlana Shilnikova.
The video showed the development of the conflict between the tourists and the demonstrators
"Caucasian Knot" does not publish the video of the incident due to the presence of obscene expressions and gestures in its frames.
On July 11, a video showing the moment of the conflict between the participants of the procession in Tbilisi and a group of tourists was published on the Facebook* page of the Georgian opposition TV channel "Mtavari Arkhi". The footage shows about ten women riding in an open tourist electric car down one of the streets of Tbilisi. On the other side of the street, several hundred participants of the procession are shouting insulting phrases at the tourists. One of the tourists showed them an obscene gesture. At the same time, another tourist showed the participants of the procession a heart with her hands.
In the video, some participants of the action are shouting insults at the tourists and trying to approach the electric car, which is being accompanied by police officers. Meanwhile, the tourists are relaxed, smiling, and filming the events on their phones. Near the tourist electric car, several police officers can be seen preventing the demonstrators from reaching the vehicle.
After standing still for a while, the electric car with the tourists left, turning at a corner. The participants of the action sent it off with whistling and chanting an obscene expression directed at Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The video does not identify that the tourists are citizens of Russia or that they arrived in Georgia from Russia.
A number of Georgian opposition publications, such as the Pirveli TV channel, Publika, Tbilisi Life, and Tabula, presented the information in such a way that the conflict occurred due to the tourists' fault. At the same time, these publications identified them as tourists from Russia without providing a source for this information.
Some other opposition Georgian media reported on the conflict between the tourists and the participants of the procession in a restrained manner. For example, the "Mtavari Arkhi" TV channel and Netgazeti.ge reported on the incident without specifying the tourists' citizenship and without placing blame for the conflict on either side.
Other Russian media, besides "Caucasian Knot", did not report on this incident.