Tbilisi, Georgia: The Tbilisi City Hall postponed the planned Saturday evening lighting ceremony of Georgia’s main Christmas tree in front of the Parliament building in the Capital city, Tbilisi’s center.
On the eve of the scheduled celebration, the opposition, which is calling for early parliamentary elections, occupied the square near the Christmas tree. Consequently, the city officials decided to cancel the event. As a result, Tbilisi City Hall has decided to postpone the event and the Christmas tree lighting.
Recall that Tbilisi officials chose to put up a Christmas tree outside the parliament building on Rustaveli Avenue, which has been the focus of demonstrations against the government’s decision to give up Georgia’s EU ambitions since late November.
The mayor of the capital and Secretary-General of Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party, Kakha Kaladze, blamed the protesters for disrupting the event, noting that the holiday was intended primarily for children. He announced that it had been postponed due to the ongoing protests against the government’s decision to stop the EU accession talks until 2028.
“We have decided to postpone the lighting up of the Christmas tree, the celebration. This event will take place only when the radical opposition does not obstruct children and allows them to light up the Christmas tree. Today is another proof that radical fascism must end,” Kaladze said.
According to the local media, Salome Zourabichvili, the country’s current president and the last to be elected by public vote, has also joined the protest taking place on Rustaveli Avenue.
She accused the Tbilisi mayor of planned lighting of Georgia’s main Christmas tree in front of the Parliament building on Friday, calling it a “clear provocation” because protests “have been continuously expressed” in front of the legislature for two weeks. She also claimed that “if any provocation takes place the responsibility will fall on the mayor.”
