AUSTRALIA: Opera Company Sacks Soprano Over Homophobic Comments

Opera Australia has fired Georgian soprano Tamar Iveri after days of controversy over anti-gay comments she made about a pride parade in her home country.

In a statement released on Monday, the company said Iveri would not be performing in its Sydney production of Otello in July and August. "Opera Australia has agreed with Tamar Iveri, to immediately release her from her contract with the company," the statement says. A statement posted on the Georgian opera singer's Facebook months ago compared gay and lesbian people to fecal matter. The post took the form of a letter to Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili in which she implored him to "stop vigorous attempts to bring West's ‘fecal masses’ in the mentality of the people by means of propaganda". The singer was responding to a gay pride parade that had been organised to pass through the yard of an Orthodox Church in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.

On Saturday the singer "unreservedly apologized" for the comments and claimed that her husband had been using her Facebook account. Too late. The opera company had faced calls for a boycott if they allowed Iveri to perform.

Brawl Erupts In Georgian Parliament

The Associated Press: "Tensions gripping Ukraine spilled over into Georgia on Wednesday when a fight erupted in parliament over plans to support the Ukrainian opposition."

More On Georgia's Anti-Gay Riot

As I reported over the weekend, on Friday an anti-gay mob of 20,000 rioters chased 50 gay rights activists through the streets of Georgia's capital of Tbilisi.  Today the New York Times tracks the government's non-response.

Some of the priests leading the rock-throwing throngs who stormed past police cordons could be seen participating in the melee; one repeatedly slammed a stool into the windshield of one of several minibuses trying to carry the marchers to safety, while another punched marchers and tried to drag a driver out of a bus. Some gave their names in interviews.

But as of Sunday, the Georgian police have made no arrests, and there are few signs that the investigation is moving forward.  Instead, a bishop who helped to organize the mass turnout — ostensibly a counterprotest — said from the pulpit that while the violence was “regrettable” and those who committed it should be punished, the Georgian Orthodox Church was obligated to protest the gay rights rally and would “not allow anyone to humiliate us.”

Georgia's Prime Minister did issue a statement yesterday in which he denounced the rioters, but he's taken no further apparent action. The head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, whose priests organized the anti-gay protest, is unapologetic.

Ilia II, the Georgian Orthodox patriarch, is widely acknowledged to be the most popular figure in the country. He offered no sermon on Sunday, but on Friday, after the violence, he urged protesters to leave the streets and for both sides “to pray for one another.” “We do not accept violence,” he said, according to Interfax. “But it’s also unacceptable to give propaganda” to homosexuality. A day earlier, he had urged the Georgian government to ban the gay rights march, writing that the majority of Georgians saw gay activism as “an insult.” Outside of the Tbilisi church where Bishop Iakobashvili spoke Sunday, Elza Kurtanidze, 34, a former schoolteacher, said that she had spent the last days “hotly” debating if those who attacked the marchers should be punished. “We have already gone too far by having gays and lesbians openly promoting their way of life,” she said. “This is unacceptable! By allowing things like this, we let Georgia turn from the road of its traditional destiny.”

GEORGIA (Country): PM Denounces Anti-Gay Violence At Pride Rally

"The right to gather peacefully and to freely express one’s opinion is fundamental to our democracy. Every Georgian citizen benefits fully and equally from this right. Acts of violence, discrimination and restriction of the rights of others will not be tolerated, and any perpetrators of such acts will be dealt with according to the law." - Georgia Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, reacting to the violent mobs that chased gay pride demonstrators through the streets of Tbilisi on Friday.  Seventeen people were injured.

The anti-gay demonstration was organized by priests from the Orthodox Church.

In extraordinary scenes that saw chaos spread through the capital, those occupying the street held posters reading 'We don't need Sodom and Gomorrah!' and 'Democracy does not equal immorality!' A number of protesters carrying bunches of stinging nettles threatened to use them on gay activists. They insist that homosexuality runs against Georgia's traditional Orthodox Christian values. Father David, a priest who was one of the organizers of Friday's anti-gay rally, said the parade 'insults people's traditions and national sentiments.' Georgia's authorities had given the green light for the gay parade to take place, saying that all Georgian citizens, irrespective of their sexuality, are entitled to voice their views in public. 'We are against the propaganda of homosexuality,' 21-year-old student Nikolai Kiladze said.

 New Europe reports that members of the mob were shouting, "Kill them! Tear them to pieces!"

Watch this horrifying video of gay activists being attacked by thousands of God's Gentle People as they attempt to escape the scene in police buses.

RELATED: The commenters on Free Republic are cheering.

GEORGIA: Thousands Of Anti-Gay Protesters Force End To Pride Rally

Led by priests from the Orthodox Church, thousands of anti-gay protesters forced the cancellation of a gay pride rally today in Georgia's capital of Tbilisi.

Police in Tbilisi guarded several dozen gay activists and bused them out of the city center shortly after they arrived at the gathering. Those occupying the street held posters reading "We don't need Sodom and Gomorrah!" and "Democracy does not equal immorality!" A number of protesters carrying bunches of nettles threatened to use them on gay activists. They insist that homosexuality runs against Georgia's traditional Orthodox Christian values. Father David, a priest who was one of the organizers of Friday's anti-gay rally, said the parade "insults people's traditions and national sentiments." A gay rally in Tbilisi last year was also short-lived and ended in a scuffle.

VIDEO: Priests and young men chased rally participants to buses.  Seventeen people were reportedly injured.

GEORGIA: Gay Spy Ring Exposed

Russia Today reports that police in Georgia claim to have exposed a government-run spy ring that used gay men to prey on celebrities who were then blackmailed into supporting the regime.

The prosecutors claim the former head of the Military Police, Legis Kardava, instructed some high-placed officials of his agency to gather information on homosexual men. Specially selected gay agents seduced their victims and took them to apartments equipped with audio and video recorders where they “secretly and illegally recorded fragments of private lives” of these people. After this the records were used to force the people to cooperate with the special services. The investigators say the provocateurs chose famous people, though no names have been disclosed. It is also claimed that the ultimate objective was to force the Georgian celebrities into demonstrating loyalty to the existing political regime, headed by President Mikhail Saakashvili. Prosecutors allowed some of the video from the case to be shown on national TV after the identities of participants were concealed.

Investigators claim that the spy ring operated until the opposition party won in the October elections.

Eurovision: Georgia's Anri Jokhadze

Anri Jokhadze competed to represent Georgia at Eurovision 2009 by dressing up as a "gay disco Stalin" with backup dancing "Sovietskas." Very Producers. I rather like this. Hurray for Eurovision cheese.

Eurovision 2011: Georgia's Eldrine

Complete with unnecessary rap interlude.

TBILISI: Gay Book Controversy Roils Nation Of Georgia

The nation of Georgia has seen several demonstrations and assaults over the publication of a book by a 20 year-old author which mocks the Orthodox Church and depicts several gay sexual encounters. Via the Moscow Times:

The catalyst for the dispute was a provocative new book satirizing the church, the most respected institution in Georgia. Its title is an irreverent play on the Georgian phrase for the Last Supper, which can also be interpreted as “Holy Crap.” Orthodox activists held a demonstration calling for a ban on the book. Liberals responded with their own small protest for freedom of expression. But as soon as they gathered, they were assaulted by pious toughs who accused them of being anti-Christian traitors and promoters of homosexuality. According to an eyewitness, one of the assailants shouted: “Get out of this country! You are not Georgians! We will not forgive you because you’re corrupting the nation!” Among those who came out to support the traditionalists was Zviad Dzidziguri of the opposition Conservative Party, who portrays himself as a champion of democracy and is currently campaigning for the post of mayor of Tbilisi in elections on May 30. He suggested that the “sacrilegious” book should be suppressed and denounced together with “satanic” Halloween celebrations and gay pride parades.

VIDEO: A planned debate about the book at a Tbilisi television station erupted into assaults and arrests.

Tbilisi: Georgian Police Raid LGBT Center

Georgian LGBT organization The Inclusive Foundation reports that numerous members were detained by the police in a raid that occurred last week in Tbilisi.

On December 15 2009 the office of the Inclusive Foundation, a well known Georgian LGBT organisation, was raided by the police. They did not wear police uniforms, did not provide a search warrant, did not inform about their identity or agency they represented and did not explain the purpose of their intrusion. Members of the LGBT community were present in the office during the raid for a regular meeting of the "Women’s Club". The men confiscated cell phones of all those present in the office, did not allow them to contact their families, and made degrading and humiliating remarks, such as ‘perverts’, ‘sick persons’, Satanists. They threatened to take photos of the women and disseminate them to reveal their sexual orientation. They also threatened ‘to kill’ and ‘tear to pieces’ one of the leaders of the organisation, Eka Agdgomelashvili, if she did not stop demanding the search warrant and identification documents of the police.

Paata Sabelashvili, the leader of the organization, was arrested as a result of the raid. Soon after arrest he confessed to the possession of 8 grams of marijuana. However, because he made the confession before seeing his lawyer, without the presence of anyone except law enforcement officials, the validity and voluntary character of the confession is highly suspicious. Staff members of the organization are under continuous surveillance up till now. Their homes, movement in the city and office are under constant surveillance by cars full of men without uniform. One such car is permanently stationed outside the entrance to the house of one of the staff members.

A full accounting of the raid and its aftermath is here. (PDF)

(Tipped by JMG reader Sheepy)

Hunting The Homo

France has banned a video game in which the goal is to shoot naked homosexuals. The game is owned by a company based in Georgia (the country.)

A video game hosted by a Georgian website is causing outrage in the gay rights community. The idea of the online game - to shoot nudists, before they b**ger you, was created by a Frenchman. It's banned in France... but not in Georgia. The game was initially picked up and slated by the Gay Caucasus blog, shortly followed by Gay Armenia. Global Voices quoted the latter as being "completely disgusted", finding it particularly shocking that the concept was adopted by "those religious-minded people in Tbilisi, Georgia, who swear in the name of Georgian patriarchy and constantly cite Bible to ‘justify' their homophobia and hatred. Is this their (un-)‘orthodox' way of bringing up children by creating an image of an enemy (= gays) and teaching how to deal with it (= kill them)?"

The video company is claiming "freedom of speech."

BREAKING: Russia Invades Georgia

Shit!

Georgia's president said Friday that his country is under attack from Russian tanks and warplanes, and he accused Russia of targeting civilian populations as tensions over the breakway Georgian region of South Ossetia appeared to boil over into full-blown conflict. Russia's Channel 1 shows heavy tanks purported to be on their way to South Ossetia.

"All day today they've been bombing Georgia from numerous warplanes and specifically targeting (the) civilian population, and we have scores of wounded and dead among (the) civilian population all around the country," Mikhail Saakashvili told CNN in an exclusive interview. Saakashvili also said Georgian troops had shot down two Russian aircraft.

Asked whether Georgia and Russia were now at war, he said, "My country is in self-defense against Russian aggression. Russian troops invaded Georgia."

Russian television showed a convoy of Russian tanks and said they were heading into the breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia as escalating tensions over the region threatened to boil into full blown conflict.

It's going to be an interesting weekend.