Georgia Commemorates April 9 Victims
Today Georgia commemorates the victims of the tragedy of April 9, 1989, when 20 people were reported killed as Soviet troops attacked a crowd of peaceful protesters outside the Parliament building in Tbilisi. Many others suffered adverse effects from the poisonous gas used by the Soviet troops to disperse protesters.
Chairperson of the Parliament Nino Burjanadze and other officials, as well as political party leaders participated on Sunday in a tribute ceremony outside the Parliament.
April 9 also marks the restoration of Georgia’s independence, as the Georgian legislative body passed a declaration of independence in 1991 based on the results of the March 31, 1991 referendum, in which an overwhelming majority of Georgians voted to secede from the Soviet Union.
