In Tbilisi, discussion of Georgian Draft Constitution disrupted

In Georgia, organizers of the nationwide discussion of the Draft Constitution have made a decision not to hold a meeting in Tbilisi today because of the ongoing action in support of miners.

Initially, the consideration of the draft constitutional amendments was planned for 12:00 a.m. local time in the Tbilisi Concert Hall. The opposition called on its supporters to gather in front of the hall two hours before the event to bring their voices to the ruling "Georgian Dream-Democratic Movement" Party.

When Parliament Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze, who led the activities of the state constitutional commission, appeared on the stage of the hall, several dozen young people began to shout and whistle. They were lifting up helmets and four fingers to mark the number of dead miners.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in the evening of May 9, it became known that four persons died as a result of falling from the height of 400 meters in the "Mindeli" mine in the Georgian city of Tkibuli. On the same day, on May 9, in Tbilisi, people held an action with the demand to carry out a prompt investigation into the incident with the miners' deaths and to punish the guilty persons.

For about 40 minutes, a group of young people were shouting and whistling to prevent the consideration of the draft constitutional amendments. The protestors have stated that the Draft Constitution is only a "decorative one" and that they "will not allow it to be considered."

From the stage, members of the ruling "Georgian Dream-Democratic Movement" Party unsuccessfully tried to agree with the protesters about the consideration of the Draft Constitution, and then Irakli Kobakhidze stated that he "did not see any sense in continuing the meeting in the same format."

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.