harmless prank but rather intimidation - the owners of Tbilisi's vegan cafe denounced the sausage-wielding nationalists

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36416501?ocid=socialflow_facebook&ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=bbcnews&ns_source=facebook/

A vegan cafe in Tbilisi has appealed for public solidarity after being invaded by alleged ultra-nationalists wielding grilled meat and sausages.

More than a dozen men stormed into the Kiwi cafe in the Georgian capital on Sunday evening, the cafe said, shouting and throwing meat at patrons.

A brawl erupted but the attackers fled before police arrived.

The cafe has appealed for public support, saying it was no prank but a case of intimidation by neo-Nazis.

It said it was already the target of some local hostility due to its patrons' alternative lifestyles - "the way we look, music that we listen to, ideas we support, and the fact that we don't eat meat" and backing of causes such as rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.

"During these hard times you can support us just by visiting our cafe, we will be very grateful if you come to show everyone that here are a lot of us who care about the issue!" the Kiwi cafe said in a statement on Facebook.

It later told the BBC it had received strong messages of solidarity - from Georgia and abroad - but that people had also left angry comments trying "to defend those fascists".

It said it was also appealing for financial contributions to install security cameras in case of repeat incidents.

The cafe says the progressive causes it espouses - animal rights, human freedom and equality - divide public opinion in Georgia

The incident comes amid growing concerns about the rise of far-right nationalism in Georgia.

Last week, hundreds of nationalists marched through central Tbilisi - waving Georgian flags and anti-communist banners, reports said - to mark independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Homophobia is also commonplace in Georgia, correspondents say. The country made world headlines in 2013 when a small group of LGBT activists were attacked by a large mob led by an orthodox priest.

The cafe statement blames Sunday's incident on the group of men who came into the premises, talking loudly, throwing meat and smoking, and then "yelling, laughing, and talking to us sarcastically".

These people "were neo-Nazis... who support fascist ideas", the cafe said.

Some minor injuries were sustained.

The police arrived only after the attackers had left, but the cafe said even some of those officers behaved aggressively, "yelled with anger, said that we are guilty of what had happened". Some cafe workers were taken in for interrogation.

The BBC is trying to ascertain whether there is an official investigation under way into the clash.

Neo-Nazis?
Nope!
They were Meat-eaters!

"Sausage-wielding nationalists"

Welcome to the North & South American.. Continents.

How would you like your meat cooked?

lol.. sounds more like soccer hooligans than neo nazis...

Vegans smell funky.

Sounds like an organized interruption of diners by a group of people.


hmmmmm I think I've seen this before.


Was the name of the group "My Meat Matters"????

so a few vegans got hit with wieners... probably not the first time...

That's the first thing I thought of, too: how so many BLM activists are so filled up with their confused 'righteous' ideology that they have no respect at all for the comfort of other people - invading their brunches and trying to hold everyone hostage (psychologically) for an unwanted lecture.

I don't understand why they're so offended..

"smacked by wieners"
seems like a gay vegan party.