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Mass rally held in Tbilisi to urge Georgian president’s resignation

Published: 09/04/2009 05:00

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Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in front of the Georgian parliament on Thursday, urging President Mikhail Saakashvili to resign over the strained ties with Russia as well as the sluggish economy at home.

Thousands of Georgians hold a rally against Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, calling on his resignation, in front of Parliament Building in Tbilisi, capital of Georgia, April 9, 2009. (Xinhua/Lu Jinbo)

Reports said around 100,000 to 120,000 people took part in the rally, including members and supporters of opposition parties, representatives of public organizations, college students, and the unemployed.

Opposition leaders have promised to demonstrate daily outside the parliament building until Saakashvili quits, accusing him of rigging elections and authoritarian tendencies.

Former presidential challenger Levan Gachechiladze said the demonstrators “have no other way out but to stand here” until Saakashvili resigns.

“Mikhail Saakashvili should realize that it is high time for him to resign. Most Georgian citizens demand his resignation,” said Nino Burdzhanadze, the former parliament’s speaker, before the rally.

The protesters raised clenched fists as they chanted slogans, urging the president to step down immediately.

The most bitter criticism was directed at the president’s handling of the August conflict last year.

Opposition groups said Saakashvili made a serious mistake when he launched an assault on the breakaway region of South Ossetia last year.

Russia responded with a counter-offensive of tanks and troops, which quickly drove Georgian forces back. It then recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states.

People also accused Saakashvili, a U.S.-educated lawyer, of repeated cabinet reshuffle and not doing enough to ease the impact of the global financial crisis.

The peaceful rally was timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of an anti-Soviet protest. April 9 is now remembered as the Day of National Unity, an annual public holiday.

As early as in mid-March, a small-scale protest was staged in the capital as a warm-up for a day of protest on April 9 planned by opposition groups.

On Thursday, Saakashvili joined a quiet vigil to remember the victims. “Georgia today, as never before, needs unity and firmness,” he told reporters. “We are a democratic state and people have different opinions.”

In the mean time, similar protests happened in other Georgian cities, like in Batumi and Poti.

The demonstrators were expected to return to the streets Friday in an attempt to overthrow the president.

Saakashvili, who was re-elected in January 2008, has vowed to serve out his five-year term.

“We should stick together despite different opinions,” he said in a statement. “We must continue to develop as a democratic country.”

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said earlier this month that he would never talk to his Georgian counterpart, whom Russian leaders have depicted as unbalanced.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet

Provide by Vietnam Travel

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