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Georgia Lifts State Of Emergency

November 16, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Georgia has lifted a state of emergency imposed last week following a violent crackdown on opposition protests.

The move comes after parliament voted on November 15 to end emergency rule that had been in place since November 7.

Ahead of that vote, parliamentary speaker Nino Burjanadze predicted that "the country will resume normal life starting from tomorrow."

President Mikheil Saakashvili imposed the emergency measures -- including a ban on independent media and demonstrations -- amid a violent crackdown on opposition protests and claims that Tbilisi had thwarted a Moscow-backed coup.

The minister for conflict resolutions, Davit Bakradze, said earlier today the government would allow private television station Imedi to restart broadcasts as soon as it ensured the station would not be used "as a tool for inciting violence."

As a reaction to the political unrest, Saakashvili scheduled an early presidential election for January 5, 2008. With the lifting of the state of emergency, campaigning is expected to begin in earnest.

The U.S. State Department welcomed the November 15 vote as a "positive" development. Officials from U.S. State Department, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the European Union had all called strongly for an end to the state of emergency.

Copyright (c) 2007. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org