Opposition Launches Public TV ‘Picketing’

Few thousand protesters gathered for the fifteenth day of rallies outside the Parliament under the rainy sky on April 23.

After number of routine speeches by opposition politicians, part of protesters moved towards the public TV to express anger over, what they call, biased and incomprehensive coverage of ongoing rallies.

Protesters blocked the traffic at Kostava Street after they arrived at the public TV in the evening. Opposition leaders said that they would launch “a permanent picketing” of the broadcasters’ building and would also block the traffic on the Kostava Street, one of capital’s key thoroughfares.

“We are running out of patience, we are not here to confront journalists; we are confronting the system and unfair coverage,” Zurab Abashidze of Alliance for Georgia and an ally of Irakli Alasania, told protesters outside the public TV. 

“New ‘town of cells’ will emerge here,” Levan Gachechiladze, an opposition politician, said at the rally. “Everyone should understand that this is not a pocket television of [Interior Minister Vano] Merabishvili.”

He also said that Levan Kubaneishvili, general director of the public broadcaster, should resign.

The opposition leaders, including Levan Gachechiladze and Nino Burjanadze, leader of Democratic Movement-United Georgia party, appealed to local residents in the neighborhood to show patience and not “to get upset” about inconvenience caused with blocking of the traffic on the Kostava Street.

“I want to tell local residents here to show patience; it is much better to endure this inconvenience rather than to endure problem of Saakashvili,” Gachechiladze said.

Meanwhile, the nationwide television stations were reporting on April 23, that a group of local residents of a neighborhood around Freedom Square, where traffic is blocked with improvised cells since April 21, removed cells from a road on Thursday morning triggering minor argument with opposition activists. The opposition leaders, however, said later that “local residents” were activists from the ruling National Movement Party acting under the authorities’ instructions.

Giorgi Khaindrava, a former state minister and an opposition activist, told the rally outside the public broadcaster that he and Irakli Batiashvili from the Republican Party would stay overnight outside the public TV and would be in charge of the protest.

“Our peaceful struggle enters into the decisive phase and this struggle will be accomplished by the Saakashvili’s resignation,” Irakli Batiashvili told protesters.

Speaking at the rally, Giorgi Khaindrava said, calling on public TV employees: “Do not follow him [President Saakashvili] to a political grave… This person [referring to Saakashvili] is mentally ill and leadership is not a place for him.”

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