21 April 2009, 21:10
In Tbilisi, opposition restarts its rally
In Tbilisi, in the square in front of the parliament, supporters of the opposition have resumed their rally with participation of more than 10,000 protesters. Oppositionists plan to install "prison cells-cages" along the whole Rustaveli Avenue, and the local Union of Journalists "Objective" starts its project "Free Street Television" for broadcasting "alternative news" onto a big screen.
The "Caucasian Knot" reported earlier that starting April 9, Georgian opposition is holding protest actions in Tbilisi with a demand of resignation of the incumbent President Mikhail Saakashvili.
Nino Burdzhanadze, ex-speaker of the Parliament of Georgia and leader of the Party "Democratic Movement - United Georgia", has stated that within the next two days thousands "of people deceived by the authorities" will arrive in Tbilisi. "We'll surely hit our target, since the target was set by the people," the "Interfax" quotes Ms Burdzhanadze as saying.
Apart from Burdzhanadze, the rally that started at 3:20 p.m. local time was also addressed by Levan Gachechiladze, who had run for presidency, Eka Beseliya, one of leaders of the Party "Movement in the Name of United Georgia", Irakliy Alasaniya, leader of the "Alliance in the Name of Georgia", and other oppositionists, as the Georgian Bureau of the APA reports.
It was announced at the rally that actions will be held near the President's residence in Avlabar and the building of Public Television of Georgia. Irakliy Alasaniya told the audience that the protesters will act according to the Constitution, but will respond to everyone who will apply force against them.
It was also noted at the rally that 8 oppositionists left for regions of Georgia. They will try to mobilize the population of the regions for participating in Tbilisi rallies.
