Jump to content

February 2 massacre

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
February 2 massacre
Part of Georgian Civil War
LocationTbilisi, Georgia
DateFebruary 2, 1992; 33 years ago (1992-02-02)
TargetPro-Gamsakhurdia demonstrators
Deaths23 (unofficial)
InjuredAt least 183 (unofficial)
PerpetratorsMilitary Council
MotiveProtest dispersal

The February 2 massacre (February 2, 1992 meeting/demonstration/rally shooting) (Georgian: ორი თებერვლის [მასობრივი] ხოცვა-ჟლეტა/2 თებერვლის მიტინგის დახვრეტა) was a pro-Zviad Gamsakhurdia protest in Tbilisi, Georgia in 1992 that was violently suppressed by the forces of the Military Council. The death toll from the massacre is estimated to range in the dozens; however, the exact number of casualties remains unidentified to this day.[1]

Tsitsino (Tsitso) Kevkhishvili (1946-1991) was killed by opposition fighters on December 22, 1991, in the morning, on the territory adjacent to the Supreme Council.

It is considered the bloodiest day in modern history of Georgia in terms of crackdown against peaceful protests. Following a two-week 1991–1992 Georgian coup d'état, Zviad Gamsakhurdia who had won presidential elections on 26 May 1991, was toppled on 6 January 1992 in Tbilisi. As he fled to Armenia[2] and later to Chechnya,[3] his supporters organized a campaign of civil disobedience with the aim of restoration of the deposed government.

Givi Rekhviashvili was 21 years old when he was wounded on January 3, 1992, near "Didube" metro station. Several days later he died in hospital.

In the wake of his departure, spontaneous protests erupted in the capital, organized by supporters of Gamsakhurdia, referred to as "Zviadists". Several large demonstrations were violently dispersed by the interim government, led by the trio of Tengiz Kitovani, Tengiz Sigua, and Jaba Ioseliani. Among them most notable were on 3 January 1992 [4][5][6][7] near "Didube" metro station and railway tracks and 7 January 1992 [8][9] near "Delisi" metro station which left several people dead after protestors were shot at by unidentified gunmen. ITN and its prominent journalist James Mates reported about these events. Also they were mentioned by Russia's Channel 1 and Germany's ARD Taggesschau [10][11][12] unlike February 2, 1992 shootings.

Baadur Mchedlishvili was wounded on January 7, 1992, near "Delisi" metro station and later died from blood loss.

After mass rallies held in Tbilisi on 29 and 30 January, Jaba Ioseliani returned from Samegrelo where he had been leading a military campaign against the forces loyal to Gamsakhurdia. In a TV interview, he vowed to restore order in the capital, threatening to "shoot dead every provocateur on the spot".[13]

Massacre

[edit]

On February 2, 1992, tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered at Railway Station Square and began marching toward the government chancellery via Queen Tamar Avenue, chanting, "Down with the junta!" They were led by a group of activists who were using a loudspeaker to address the demonstrators with the following words, “Friends, let us walk slowly! Friends, we are not using violence as a means of struggle against anyone! Our march is a peaceful one! We struggle peacefully!“ The demonstrators continued marching and chanting slogans like, "Long live our legal president Zviad Gamsakhurdia! Georgia! Georgia!"[citation needed](February 21, 2024, YouTube[14]) As they stopped short of approaching the Tbilisi Circus, they were met by gunmen standing behind buses, trolleybuses and a fire engine blocking off access to them to Heroes' Square.[1]

At this moment, a man with a loudspeaker started saying to the demonstrators, "Let us not touch the buses, friends! Let us not touch the buses!" while crowds were heard chanting, "Zviadi! Zviadi!" to the sound of the fire engine's motor revving up. [citation needed](February 21, 2024, YouTube[14])

Mamuka Terishvili

According to the footage widely available on YouTube and Facebook, other gunmen were taking position on the right side hilltop opposite the Tbilisi Circus. When gunfire erupted, members of the crowd initially crouched and did not much scatter, with some crying out, "Get up! They won't kill us all!" However, as some seriously wounded people were carried off from the scene, panic prevailed among some in the crowd.[1]

The footage also showed crowds of demonstrators, dressed in warm winter clothing, calling the armed men "fascists". But this occurred before the shooting commenced.

A bit later but also prior to the onset of the shooting, water cannons were seen being used against the protestors. In response the peaceful demonstrators started whistling even more than before.

And after the gunmen ceased shooting, consternation gripped some people as they were seen crying, while others hurled curses at the perpetrators of this tragedy.[1]

17-year-old Mamuka Terishvili [15][16] carrying the national flag of Georgia in front of the people was one of the first persons to fall at the hands of his brothers on February 2, 1992. (In Georgia every true patriot considers every other Georgian as their father, mother, brother, sister, etc., which depends on their age difference.)

There were shootings also at two other places, near the Cinema building on Davit Agmashenebeli Avenue (the avenue named in honor/honour of King David IV the Builder) and on Marjanishvili Square, resulting in deaths, injuries and arrests. Military Commandant Gela Lanchava [17] was allegedly in charge of the firing squads operating in the city.[18] At least two young women were arrested on Marjanishvili Square near metro station "Marjanishvili". One of them was screaming while she was being pushed to continue to walk ahead. From time to time an armored/armoured personnel carrier was revving up its engine to scare people already hiding in nearby buildings. Men, toting automatic rifles, also entered the metro station, but the footage doesn't show whether they arrested there anyone or not. And, at some point, an ambulance is seen receiving an injured demonstrator and driving away.

Aftermath

[edit]

No investigation has ever been launched into this and many other similar tragic events taking place before or after. The regime-controlled media scarcely mentioned these events, describing them as clashes. More rallies were held in Tbilisi in April and May,[19] - though on a much smaller scale than on February 2, 1992 - but the main focus of the "new regime" was now on using forceful means, mostly in Samegrelo, where the local people overwhelmingly supported Mr.Gamsakhurdia and represented the core of his loyalists. Violence was also used against members of the new regime, for instance: a bomb attack on Mr. Ioseliani's car on 13 June 1992 and the capture of the state TV station by Walter Shurgaya[20] (W.Shurgaya was a supporter of President Gamsakhurdia) and his armed men on June 24, 1992.

Also this civil war claimed the lives of some of the most handsome and brightest youngsters serving in the armed forces of the Military Council like Sandro (Sandrik, full first name: Alexander) Shaishmelashvili from the Sakartvelos Mkhedrioni (Georgia's Knights or Horsemen). In his diary Sandrik wrote, "Life is a knot. Before you untie it, it is already over."[21]

The civil war lasted until the winter of 1993. Despite that fact, supporters of the late president Gamsakhurdia continued to demonstrate even after Mr. Saakashvili came to power and announced a policy of reconciliation with the Zviadists.Then headed by his [Zviad Gamsakhurdia's] widow, the Zviadists protested against Mr. Bendukidze's economic reforms [22] and various other issues.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d თოფურია, თეა (February 1, 2023). ""ომი გეგონებოდა" - როგორ დახვრიტეს მიტინგი 2 თებერვალს". რადიო თავისუფლება. Retrieved January 12, 2025.
  2. ^ Embattled Georgian Leader Flees; Opposition Council Claims Power https://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/07/world/embattled-georgian-leader-flees-opposition-council-claims-power.html
  3. ^ Ousted Chief Returns to Georgia, Raising Fear of Renewed Fighting https://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/17/world/ousted-chief-returns-to-georgia-raising-fear-of-renewed-fighting.html
  4. ^ "Rebels in Georgia Kill Two at Rally". The New York Times. 4 January 1992.
  5. ^ https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1992/01/04/2-killed-in-georgia-demonstration/ecb2e1fd-a680-499d-83ae-cc63728f70fa/
  6. ^ 9. Masked men open fire on Georgian rally (Published Jan. 4, 1992) https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1992/01/04/masked-men-open-fire-on-georgian-rally/
  7. ^ 10. Out of the Shadows (Stornoway Productions) https://www.journeyman.tv/film/4735
  8. ^ Experts Call Georgia's Future Unclear (By Eric Pace, Jan.8, 1992) https://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/08/world/experts-call-georgia-s-future-unclear.html
  9. ^ Gunfire Routs Rally for Ousted Georgian Leader https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-01-08-mn-1468-story.html
  10. ^ 3. Januar 1992 20:00 https://www.tagesschau.de/multimedia/sendung/tagesschau_vor_20_jahren/video-ts-55482.html
  11. ^ 4. Januar 1992 20:00 https://www.tagesschau.de/multimedia/sendung/tagesschau_vor_20_jahren/video-ts-55512.html
  12. ^ 7. Januar 1992 20:00 https://www.tagesschau.de/multimedia/sendung/tagesschau_vor_20_jahren/video-ts-55518.html
  13. ^ "1992 წლის სისხლიანი სასაკლაო თამარ მეფის ხიდზე" [The 1992 massacre on Queen Tamar Bridge]. gmas.ge (in Georgian). 7 April 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  14. ^ a b February 2, 1992 Demonstration Shooting Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1duZwIceKX0?si=yBPlgLdd2erPNPlU
  15. ^ 8. "Seventy-five-year-old Marina Terishvili's teenage son Mamuka was shot dead at a nationalist rally in Georgia in 1992..." (By Felix Light, December 11, 2024, Hundreds of arrests and mysterious beatings as Georgia cracks down on pro-EU protests) https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/hundreds-arrests-mysterious-beatings-georgia-cracks-down-pro-eu-protests-2024-12-11/
  16. ^ Lasha Berulava (2 February 2012). "2.02.1992: ოცი წლის წინ თბილისის ქუჩებში დახვრეტილი 16 წლის მედროშე და კიდევ 22 ადამიანი" [16-year-old youth and 22 others massacred twenty years ago] (in Georgian). droni.ge. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  17. ^ როდემდის?! ომარ ჩიტაია 1 თებერვალი 1992 წელი გვერდი მეექვსე გაზეთი "საქართველოს რესპუბლიკა" ინტერვიუ გელა ლანჩავასთან https://iverieli.nplg.gov.ge/handle/1234/8340
  18. ^ ""ერთი შვილი სამშობლოს შევწირე, მეორეც სამშობლოს სიყვარულისთვის ისჯება"" [I sacrificed one child for Georgia, the second son is being punished for love to the Homeland]. kvirispalitra.ge (in Georgian). 1 February 2025. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  19. ^ 26th May 1992 GEORGIA:SOLDIERS OPENS FIRE TO DISPERSE A RALLY IN SUPPORT OF OUSTED PRESIDENT. https://reuters.screenocean.com/record/932895
  20. ^ A Day's Work in Georgia: Shevardnadze Dodges a Coup and Ends a War https://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/25/world/a-day-s-work-in-georgia-shevardnadze-dodges-a-coup-and-ends-a-war.html
  21. ^ სამოქალაქო ომი მხედრიონი https://mematiane.ge/product-details.php?id=9896&lang=ru
  22. ^ "Critics accused him of seeking to sell off national assets, including ports and railroads."https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/16/world/europe/kakha-bendukidze-dies-at-58-pushed-post-soviet-market-change.html?smid=url-share

Sources

[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=February_2_massacre&oldid=1296122749"