Georgian Opposition Rachets Up Tactics
By VOA News
10 April 2009
Georgian opposition protesters said they will launch a campaign of civil disobedience to force President Mikheil Saakashvili to resign.
Opposition leader Kakha Kukava said Friday that demonstrators will block major streets in the capital, Tbilisi. Protesters said the blockades will include roads leading to the president's office and the state broadcaster.
Kukava announced the escalation of tactics at a rally of at least 25,000 protesters who gathered outside parliament for a second day of demonstrations.
Speaking earlier Friday, Mr. Saakashvili called for dialogue with the opposition. But he rejected their demand to step down before his term ends in 2013.
At least 60,000 opposition supporters took to the streets Thursday in the biggest protest against Mr. Saakashvili since he took office in 2003. Protesters blocked the capital's main avenue outside parliament through the night and into Friday.
Demonstrators are threatening to rally daily until Mr. Saakashvili quits and calls early elections. They accuse him of being authoritarian and of leading the country into a disastrous war with Russia last year.
The U.S. State Department has urged all sides to avoid violence, calling peaceful protests an important part of a democracy.
Opposition groups accused the Georgian government of detaining their members and stopping supporters from attending Thursday's rally. Police denied the claims.
There have been no signs of the government attempting to use force to disperse the anti-government protests as it did in 2007.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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