Irakli Alasania, leader of Alliance for Georgia, said he would put forth “concrete proposals” for the opposition’s meeting with President Saakashvili.
Speaking at the Rustavi 2 TV’s late night political talk show, Position, on May 1, Alasania also said that launch of talks without preconditions, in parallel to protests rallies, was necessary.
“The meeting is necessary and we are preparing for the meeting. In next few days my political team plans to elaborate concrete proposals for the meeting; these proposals will first of all be presented to my political partners [from the Alliance for Georgia – the Republican and New Rights parties],” Alasania said. “If the meeting takes place, I am sure, it will be possible to find ways out from this crisis.”
“How processes may develop after the meeting will depend on how constructive the authorities will be and believe me that the opposition’s further steps will be reciprocal,” Alasania said.
He said that the opposition’s tactic should be “to continue ongoing peaceful protests and at the same time to open a new front, a new channel through which we will be able to push for our positions – not only in the streets, but also at the negotiating table we should protect our positions.”
“This is my position,” Alasania said, indicating that he was speaking on behalf of his political team, set up in February, 2009, which a week later joined the alliance of Republican and New Rights parties.
Alasania’s political team has not yet formed into a formal political party, but he reiterated on May 1, that he planned so.
Alasania also said that although the authorities were calling for the dialogue, they had not put forth any “concrete proposals so far.”
Davit Bakradze, the parliamentary chairman, said on May 1, that the authorities planned to launch “serious institutional reforms” and called the opposition to get on board. He said the opposition parties, behind the ongoing protests, should give up the language of ultimatum and decide in coming days whether they wanted or not to be part of this process of planned reforms.
Alasania said that Bakradze’s remark itself “contained an ultimatum by setting certain timeframes.”
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