Shevardnadze Refuses to Step Down Despite Mounted Pressure

Protesters call for civil disobedience

While President Shevardnadze was reiterating in his Monday radiobroadcast that he “will not resign,” thousands of Tbilisites stopped their cars at 11 am on November 17 and blew their horns, as a sign of protest against the Shevardnadze’s regime and the signal to launch nation-wide civil disobedience campaign.

However, Eduard Shevardnadze seems to be downplaying the popular protest and ignoring the demand of tens of thousands of protesters to cancel the disputed November 2 parliamentary elections, and intends to convene the new Parliament in the nearest days. 

“As far as I know there should be some kind of shouting and noise outside [referring to one-minute long car horn blowing], in order to silence my voice, but my voice will reach out the people anyway,” Shevardnadze said in his radiobroadcast, adding, “I will not step down.”

He said that the new Parliament will be convened, despite the opposition leaders’ demands to cancel the election results, according to which two governmental parties – Shevardnadze’s For New Georgia and his ally Aslan Abashidze’s Revival Union, lead the polls.

“In couple of days the Central Election Commission will announce the final results of the elections. After that I will immediately convene the first session of the new Parliament. According to the Constitution I have to convene the new Parliament,” Eduard Shevardnadze said.

“I will personally attend one of the first sessions of the new Parliament to submit to the legislators a draft law on Constitutional amendments. As you know the referendum on reduction of number of MPs was also held simultaneously with the parliamentary elections and most of the voters supported the initiative,” Shevardnadze said.

Those without cars joined the noisy  protest with whistles.

The President said, while commenting on the last week’s protest rally in Tbilisi, when up to 40 thousand people gathered outside the Parliament building and demanded Shevardnadze resignation, that this is “nothing more but a struggle for power.”

“Don’t you see that you [referring to the protesters] are a blind weapon in their [opposition leaders] hands? They [opposition leaders] abuse the sincerity of tens of thousands of people for their one interest,” Shevardnadze said.

The Georgian President thanked once his rival, but now his new ally Aslan Abashidze, head of Adjara Autonomous Republic, for support in overcoming the current political crisis. “Aslan [Abashidze] proved that interests of Adjara and the rest of Georgia are common,” he added.

The opposition fears that recently increased role of Abashidze, who has been ruling Adjara since early 90s, will lead to increase of his power in Tbilisi as well.

“In the nearest days Shevardnadze will convene the new Parliament, which will elect Jemal Gogitidze on the post of the Parliamentary Chairman.” Zurab Zhvania said on November 16. Jemal Gogitidze is the closest associate of Aslan Abashidze, who led the Revival Union’s faction in the outgoing Parliament.

Shevardnadze still offers the opposition leaders to negotiate in order to overcome the crisis; however his Monday radiobroadcast proved once again that the President will not compromise. Thus the opposition rejects any talks with Shevardnadze.

“We have nothing to talk with a person [Eduard Shevardnadze], who ignored people’s will. He is not a legitimate President any more,” Zurab Zhvania, an opposition leader said on November 16, while addressing supporters in the Tbilisi Philharmonic Hall.

More people put their signatures to join the calls for Shevardnadze’s resignation.

The opposition leaders say that the only way to force the President to quit is “a peaceful civil disobedience campaign.”

Mikhail Saakashvili, a key opposition leader, said on November 16, while addressing supporters in the Philharmonic Hall, that the disobedience would start at 11 am, with President Shevardnadze’s Monday radio address. 

He urged the workers of the governmental structures and schools to go on strikes and businessmen to pay only those taxes, which go to the social, salary and pension funds.

The opposition leaders reiterated that the campaign will be peaceful, without any violence. “We have no other option left rather than to resist the authorities, which deprived us of the right to vote, with peaceful, civil disobedience campaign,” Zurab Zhvania said.

The opposition leaders formed the Civil Disobedience Committee, which will coordinate the campaign throughout Georgia.

“The local offices of the National Movement [led by Saakashvili] and United Democrats [led by Zhvania and Nino Burjanadze] parties will become the local offices of the Civil Disobedience Committee. We call on each citizen to join the campaign,” Zurab Zhvania said.

Mikheil Saakashvili said that mass protest rally will be held in Tbilisi as soon as the Central Election Commission announces “fraudulent results of the elections.”