In the aftermath of the events on 20-21 June in Tbilisi, the political landscape in Georgia faces further instability, as the ruling Georgian Dream party faces a crisis of legitimacy.

The protesters had gathered for the second day in a row with the same demands for the Georgian government, namely: the resignation of Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia; the release of people who were detained on 20 June, and the holding of snap parliamentary elections with a proportional electoral system. The opposition protesters had given the Minister of Internal Affairs, Giorgi Gakharia, a deadline of three hours to submit his resignation before beginning the rallies throughout Georgia. Parallel to the protests on the Rustaveli Avenue, the students of the Tbilisi State University have started their own rally with the main slogan “Refuse the Political Elite”.

The number of casualties keeps rising from hour to hour. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs a total of 305 protesters have been detained for various criminal offenses during the June 20-21 developments outside the Parliament building in Tbilisi. The leaders of Victorious Georgia, Irakli Okruashvili; European Georgia, Gigi Ugulava; and National Movement, Nika Melia, have all been summoned for a questioning  session regarding the outbreak of the protests. “Despite multiple calls from the Ministry, the protesters continued their attempts to storm the Parliament building, using various devices, including sticks, iron constructions and stones, physically assaulting police officers and disobeying their legal demands,” the Interior Ministry said. It explained that the police had to use special means envisaged by law against the protesters, including tear gas, non-lethal weapons and water cannons. “These means were used consistently and proportionally to counter existing threats,” the Ministry noted.

Gakharia himself said that the “destructive opposition forces,” managed to transform the Georgian people’s “fair and sincere protest” into violence and fled the scene when unrest erupted abandoning the demonstrators. He stated that an investigation was launched looking into the organization of violence by a group. Those responsible for the incidents “will be found and will have to answer for their actions, with the full strength of the law.”

240 people, including 80 police officers have been injured, as police dispersed protesters through a massive use of tear gas and rubber bullets at the Parliament building in Tbilisi. According to Healthcare Ministry, 102 out of those injured, remain in hospitals. First Deputy Minister Zaza Bokhua said most of them suffered bruises and eye traumas.

Zakaria Kutsnashvili, the organiser of the 26th Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy, which led to large-scale public protests, had resigned as a member of the Georgian parliament. He thanked those who voted for him earlier and offered his apologies as well.”I hold no office but that of an MP's free mandate. I am ready to quit as MP. I regret that dozens of demonstrators, journalists and police officers have sustained injuries, in some cases very severe ones. I wish those who were injured a speedy recovery” he said.

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili summoned a meeting with foreign diplomats about to discuss the protest and expressed her readiness to meet with every political force that rejects the “destructive calls”. “We have no option but unification, reconciliation and following our European path,” she stated.

After the meeting with Zourabichvili, the diplomats held a meeting with Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze and Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani. The Austrian Ambassador Arad Benko said that the “constitution and the rule of law will remain a guiding light for Georgia.” The British Ambassador Justin McKenzie Smith said on Twitter that “it is time for Georgia to stand together”. Sweden’s Ambassador to Georgia and Armenia Ulrik Tidestrom shares the opinion that Georgians should come together now and everyone should act within the framework of the constitution. French Ambassador to Georgia Pascal Meunier stated that he completely agrees with the opinion expressed by EU Ambassador Carl Hartzell who urged all parties to remain calm. “Political parties have a crucial responsibility to rule out the use of violence,” Jos Douma, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Georgia and Armenia said in his twitter post.--

Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović has called on “all sides” involved in the clashes in Tbilisi to “resolve any controversies through peaceful dialogue.” She offered her reaction to the events from 21 June, saying that she followed the skirmishes outside the Parliament of Georgia and Rustaveli Avenue "with deep concern" and urges for restraint as protests are expected to be continued.

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir denounced “the violent incidents and mistreatment of media workers” during the June 20’s demonstration in Tbilisi, saying that “journalists’ safety must be ensured at all times.” He called on the Georgian authorities “to promptly investigate all incidents involving journalists and bring all those responsible to be accounted for under the law”.

Amnesty International called for an immediate, thorough and independent investigation into the use of force during the protests. Amnesty International’s Senior Campaigner for the South Caucasus Levan Asatiani said that “the police fired rubber bullets indiscriminately into the crowd.” He stated that the disturbing scenes showed “a total failure to distinguish between the few violent protestors and the peaceful majority.”

The Georgian Patriarchate also said that the government made a mistake which lead people to rally in central Tbilisi and that the opposition had been making “incorrect calls” which gave rise to tensions during the demonstration.

The former Prime Minister of Georgia, Giorgi Kvirikashvili, released a statement on his Facebook page, calling the activities of the Georgian government a “grave mistake”. He advised the leader of the Georgian Dream party to immediately announce a political reform which would include: a constitutional change for holding the next elections under a proportional system; a constitutional change which will make the participation of Georgian citizens in elections mandatory; the announcement of a date for extraordinary parliamentary elections considering these new principles; and that  the Interior Minister should take responsibility for the youth injured yesterday and for him to resign from his office.