Protest Rally Takes Break, as Opposition Prepares for Civil Disobedience
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| Parliament building, Rustaveli Avenue, November 16 |
The opposition leaders took a break this weekend to prepare for the civil disobedience campaign against the authorities to force President Shevardnadze into resignation.
Protesters intend to announce strikes and paralyze the work of the local administrations from November 17. Teachers in western Georgian town of Abasha have already gone on strike demanding Shevardnadze’s resignation. Hospital staff in the western Georgian town of Zugdidi was on a two-hour strike on November 15.
Saakashvili urged the police to stay away from work and soldiers to defy their commanders’ “illegal orders.”
Dozen of National Movement opposition party activists staged a sit-in at the Central Election Commission. “We are here to obstruct vote rigging by the election commission,” Giorgi Arveladze of National Movement told Civil Georgia.
Mikheil Saakashvili said on November 14 while addressing around 35 thousand protesters in front of the Parliament, “Shevardnadze will resign if we continue protest rallies and civil disobedience.” He called the supporters for gathering in front of the Parliament on November 17 again.
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| Opposition says hundreds of thousand citizens have already signed demand of Shevardnadze’s resignation. |
While the opposition leaders discuss plan of further actions, President Shevardnadze tries to secure diplomatic support from the neighboring countries. Eduard Shevardnadze held series of phone conversations with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
According to the official report the recent phone conversation was held in the morning on November 15, just about twelve hours after the last phone conversation on November 14. “Mr. Putin asked President Shevardnadze to update him on current situation in Georgia,” Eduard Shevardnadze’s spokesman Kakha Imnadze told reporters.
“Mr. Shevardnadze informed his Russian counterpart that the opposition has enough self-control not to take any steps that would lead to difficulties. The Russian President expressed satisfaction that the events did not turn into violence,” Kakha Imnadze added.
President Shevardnadze also dispatched his ally and head of Adjara Autonomous Republic Aslan Abashidze for talks with the leaders of the neighboring countries. After talks with the Armenian and Azeri Presidents, Aslan Abashidze visited Moscow, where he met with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov on November 14 and with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Valeri Loshchinin on November 15.
Valeri Loshchinin said after meeting with Abashidze that Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan might take the mediation actions to help Georgia in overcoming current political crisis.
“The idea is that democratic forces [in Georgia] should listen to the voice of their nearest neighbors…and their worries and concern about what is happening in Georgia,” Reuters reported quoting Valeri Loshchinin.
He added that any mediation effort would require the formal agreement of the four powers concerned.
On November 15 authorities called the opposition for talks to overcome the crisis. Kakha Imnadze, the Georgian President’s spokesman, told reporters “Mr. Shevardnadze did not change his position and is still ready for dialogue with the opposition leaders.”
However, Mikheil Saakashvili said on the November 14 rally that he is not going “to talk with Shevardnadze any more. He is not a president for me any more.”