Translated material
Away match
After meeting with Saakashvili, the Georgian opposition expands the geography of protest
May 13 is a special day for every resident of Georgia, where football has traditionally been more than a sport. On this day in 1981, Dinamo Tbilisi achieved their greatest success by winning the European Cup Winners' Cup, at the time the second most important European club trophy. Now Georgian players do not shine, but football terminology is so familiar to the public that the opposition decided to use it to explain the tactics and strategy of the fight against President Mikheil Saakashvili. The opposition is seeking his resignation with protests that began on April 9. “We are ready to continue to play against Saakashvili on any field,” Republican David Berdzenishvili told Vremya Novostey. “We need to gain territorial advantage, and for this we will expand the geography of the offensive.”Saakashvili’s first “match” against the opposition took place on May 11 on the “field” chosen by the president, namely in the building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It was there that the president agreed to meet with opposition leaders. Among the objects picketed by the opposition are this building and others, including the residence of the head of Georgia. But oppositionists are confident that the president has symbolically scheduled an audience in the building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. “Saakashvili is building a police state,” said former speaker of parliament and now leader of the United Georgia movement Nino Burjanadze. The two-hour meeting with the president also included the leader of the United Opposition Levan Gachechiladze, former Foreign Minister Salome Zurabishvili, former permanent representative to the UN Irakli Alasania and the head of the People's Forum Kakha Shartava.
The opposition believes that only holding early presidential and parliamentary elections can lead the country out of the crisis. Saakashvili proposed jointly revising the constitution, strengthening the role of parliament, improving electoral legislation, and reforming the judiciary. The appointment of oppositionists to responsible positions in the executive branch, as well as their inclusion in the supervisory board of Public Television, is not excluded. The opposition called these initiatives “inadequate.” “Either early elections will be held, or Saakashvili will get a revolution,” said New Rights leader David Gamkrelidze. “The processes will be sharp, but will not go beyond the constitutional framework.”
Therefore, from today a new wave of opposition movement begins. The leaders coordinated its details yesterday for four hours at the United Georgia office. “The larger the street protests, the more adequate the authorities’ next proposals at the negotiating table may be,” David Berdzenishvili told Vremya Novostei. Opposition leaders will head to the regions to rouse their residents to protest. According to our newspaper, the first such point will be the capital of the Adjara autonomy, Batumi.
Blocking of main transport routes, blockade of the airport, railway, as well as calls for civil disobedience and strikes cannot be ruled out. The opposition complains about the biased coverage of its demands by national channels, which creates an information vacuum outside the capital, so it is forced to go to the people. On May 26, Georgia celebrates Independence Day, and by this date the opposition intends to achieve, if not Saakashvili’s decision to resign, then real concessions. On this day, Tbilisi traditionally holds a military parade, but this time opposition leaders have promised to hold their own “civilian parade.” The procession will begin at the Dynamo stadium, and then the demonstrators will march through the entire city to Rustaveli Avenue.
“We will continue negotiations with Saakashvili only if he adequately assesses the situation and perceives the situation as a serious political crisis,” said Salome Zurabishvili. “There is a state crisis,” Georgian political scientist Giorgi Khukhashvili confirmed to Vremya Novostey. “And in these conditions, leaders think only about how to maintain power and do not want to discuss state problems. If the authorities do not take real action, for example, do not investigate crimes against protesters or remove control over the media, escalation is possible. Then a transitional stage from authoritarianism to totalitarianism will begin. But this will not work in Georgia, because the authorities do not have the appropriate resources. The opposition will then have to, figuratively speaking, start not knocking, but pounding on the door.”