Representatives of the opposition rushed the podium in protest. Gavrilov told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti that he was doused with water by protesting Georgian deputies.
“They broke into the hall, seized the rostrum and my seat,” he said. “We had a break, they started looking for me, tearing up documents, pouring water on me … showing portraits of Putin.”
Gavrilov told RIA-Novosti that he believed Georgian protesters demanded his removal because of his alleged participation in the separatist conflict in Abkhazia in the early 1990s. A member of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Gavrilov has said that he had never participated in any armed conflicts.
When the fighting ended, Russia’s military pulled back only as far as South Ossetia, which it see as an independent state.
On Thursday evening, Georgian police had fired tear gas at protesters trying to storm the country’s parliament, CNN witnessed. Some protesters appeared bloodied from skirmishes with police, while others had taken official shields and riot gear.
A statement issued by the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs called on protesters to “immediately stop the violations of law and violence, do not follow provocations, obey the police request and leave the territory of the parliament. Otherwise, police will take measures provided by law.”
Source : Nbcnewyork
