Protesters disrupt gay rights rally in Georgia

Thousands of anti-gay protesters, including a number of Orthodox Christian priests, broke through police lines Friday to disrupt a gay rights parade. Several police officers and a journalist were among 16 people injured during a scuffle between protesters and marchers in downtown Tbilisi. After failing to contain the protesters who overwhelmingly outnumbered them, police evacuated the gay-rights supporters on buses from the city center to reduce the escalation of tensions. Numerous protesters brought bunches of stinging nettles to the parade and threatened to use them on the marchers. They insisted that homosexuality runs against the South Caucasus country's traditional Orthodox Christian values. Authorities had approved the parade, saying that all Georgians, regardless of their sexuality, were within their rights to express their opinions in public. Georgia also experienced scuffles between the two groups last May during the nation's first gay rally. Non-governmental organizations had urged Georgian authorities to provide security for the rally, which they called a protest against human rights violations for gays. The NGOs said in a statement that Georgian law indirectly discriminates against gays and lesbians, including their rights for family and private lives, healthcare and employment. Also on Friday, Justice Minister Tea Tsulukiani said both anti-gay and anti-homophobia groups had the right to express an opinion. "In the future I hope the opposed parties of our society will understand better that both groups have the right of existence for one simple reason: both of them are citizens of our country; humans and we are all members of the same society," she said.