Thousands Gather for Street Protests Against Georgian President

Thousands Gather for Street Protests Against Georgian President

Thousands of protesters were today gathering in Tbilisi to demonstrate against the Georgian president, Mikheil Saakashvili.

Demonstrators in what will be the largest anti-government protest in Georgia since last summer's disastrous war with Russia are demanding Saakashvili's immediate resignation.

They have pledged to continue staging street protests until he quits.

Opposition politicians accuse Saakashvili of presiding over an increasingly authoritarian and repressive regime.

They have also attacked him over his handling of the conflict with Russia last August, sparked when he attempted to recapture the breakaway region of South Ossetia.

The move provoked a punitive invasion by Moscow and the loss of additional territory previously controlled by Georgia.

Opposition leaders predicted 150,000 people would attend today's rally outside the parliament building in the Georgian capital.


April 09, 2009

for complete article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/09/georgia-protests-mikheil-saakashvili