9 Apr 2009
Georgian opposition protests, demands Saakashvili resign
As many as 50,000 protesters took to the streets today in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi today as part of demonstrations aimed at wresting embattled pro-American President Mikhail Saakashvili from power.
Levan Gachechiladze, a former opposition presidential candidate, was the first to address protesters at the rally. “We came here to say: resign; resign,” he told the rally. “He [President Saakashvili] is fighting against the Georgian church, the Georgian values, he partitioned Georgia and now we should stand here unless he goes from the politics.”
Irakli Alasania, the leader of opposition Alliance for Georgia, told the protesters: “We have gathered today with one goal; to demonstrate our unity to the country’s leadership and to the world; standing together is a precondition for decisive change that we all should achieve.”
“He [Saakashvili] has promised to unite Georgia, but today the only unity that we have is here – our unity around the goal to change the authorities peacefully not through violence… The change which is inevitable will be possible through our unity… We should all tell the authorities: its enough, go and let’s hold elections.”
Despite the large turnout and Saakashvili’s plummeting popularity, according to Le Monde, the opposition is unlikely to be able to put forth a candidate as influential as the sitting president.
According one one opposition spokesperson, about 60 opposition members were arrested in their homes over night in the run-up to the protests.