Today, Georgia celebrates the Day of Restoration of Independence and the Day of Memory of the victims of the violent dispersal of the mass demonstration in 1989 in Tbilisi: people were dispersed by the troops of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, who used tear gas, sapper shovels and heavy equipment.
Today is a holiday in Georgia. It is a day of national unity, civil consensus and memory of those who died for their country. It is also called 'Bloody Sunday'. Over the past years a tradition has appeared, according to which on this day Tbilisi residents throw tulips at the stairway leading to the building of the former parliament. They gather at the site of the tragedy from nightfall. Memorial services are held in all the churches of the country.
Members of the Georgian government began to arrive at the memorial placed near the parliament building in Tbilisi during the night. They paid tribute to the victims and laid flowers, Sputnik Georgia writes.
The day of April 9th is inscribed in the history of Georgia as a heroic story of young people who tried to stop the tanks with their bare hands, the Prime Minister, Giorgi Kvirikashvili stated last night during a wreath-laying ceremony at the memorial to those who died on April 9th.
"It was an example of self-sacrifice, and the blood spilled on that day changed not only the vector of development of the country, but also the consciousness of the Georgians, reaffirming faith in the fact that firmness and courage can withstand even much superior forces. Unfortunately, in the following years many more names were added to these heroes," Georgia Online quoted Kvirikashvili as saying.
Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili has allocated 55 thousand laris to the families of those who died and were injured during the events of April 9th 1989, the head of the presidential administration Giorgi Abashishvishi informed today at the memorial of the April 9th victims.
"At the initiative of the President, the reserve fund has allocated 55 thousand laris, which will be transferred to each citizen and family that suffered as a result of the tragedy of April 9th," he said.
Tbilisi's Mayor, David Narmania, while laying flowers to the memorial with deputies and employees of the city administration, stressed that this day is a symbol of victory, strength and perseverance for Georgia.
