Opposition Lays Out Protests Action Plan

The opposition leaders put forth an action plan of protests for next two weeks, which does not include blocking of key east-west highway, which the opposition initially planned.

The plan, agreed by the opposition parties behind the ongoing protests, includes picketing of public TV headquarters for four hours on May 14 and May 15. But at the same time the opposition will also unblock traffic on one of key thoroughfares outside the public TV from May 14, exactly one month after it was blocked with improvised cells.

The plan also includes rallying on other key thoroughfare for few hours in various districts of Tbilisi – in Nadzaladevi on May 16; in Isani and Didube on May 17.

On May 18 a rally will be held outside the Rustavi 2 TV office and later on the same day protesters will gather outside the building of Interior Ministry’s special operations department not far from the Rustavi 2 TV. Rally will be held outside the presidential residence in the Avlabari district on May 19, where the opposition remains camped since April 14.

An activist and a singer Giorgi Gachechiladze, who is behind the idea of ‘town of cells’ as part of the protests, will get involve in the campaign from May 20, when he will head to Black Sea coast town of Batumi, where he plans to hold a so called ‘protest concert’ and from where he plans to start, what he called, “march on Tbilisi.” According to the plan presented by the opposition, on May 25 Giorgi Gachechiladze along with supporters will “camp” outside Tbilisi close to Jvari Church, about 20 kilometers away from the Tbilisi center, and next day would march from there towards Tbilisi to join the opposition’s “public parade” marking Independence Day on May 26.

Nino Burjanadze, leader of Democratic Movement-United Georgia, said that the plan was not conclusive and other events were in the process of planning.

On May 13 the authorities said that they would not hold a military parade on Rustaveli Avenue outside the Parliament – key venue of protests – to mark the Independence Day if the opposition remained camped there by May 26.

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