On June 28, 1995, displaced persons (referred to as “refugees” in the press at the time) began a protest rally in front of the Georgian parliament. The entire cabinet of ministers of Abkhazia, based in Tbilisi, also joined the rally. They declared that the political process around the Abkhaz conflict was stalled, accusing Russia—responsible for the peacekeeping mission — of failing to fulfill its obligations. Instead of ensuring peace, Russian forces acted only as border guards and protected the de facto regime of Vladislav Ardzinba. The disarmament of illegal armed groups had not begun, and separatist militias continued to roam the so-called “security zone,” committing what protesters called the genocide of the Georgian population.

The demonstrators demanded that the Georgian government, in coordination with CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) leaders and Russia, immediately restore Georgia’s jurisdiction over Abkhazia and begin the unconditional return of refugees.

They declared the protest would end only if the following steps were taken:

• All negotiations with the separatist regime would be halted and replaced by an official government statement.
• The Prosecutor General would issue warrants for the arrest of Ardzinba and other organizers of genocide.
• Russian peacekeeping units and Georgian internal troops would provide security guarantees, disarm illegal armed groups, and restore constitutional order.

The Coordinating Council of the protest warned that if these demands were not met, they would appeal to the Russian Federation to withdraw its troops from Georgia’s entire territory.

According to the press at the time, the refugee protest in Tbilisi became permanent. Kviris Palitra (July 25, 1995), citing Iveria Express, wrote that by moving the demonstrations from the Enguri Bridge to the capital, participants hoped to attract greater attention. On the 13th day of the protest, a five-member delegation met with Head of State Eduard Shevardnadze. One protester told the newspaper’s correspondent that he had attended multiple parliamentary sessions on the Abkhazia issue, both before and after the war, but no meaningful decisions had ever been made due to the lack of quorum. Protesters awaited the convening of a special parliamentary session to make real decisions.