City Council Chairman Says Militant Groups Prepare to Thwart the Elections

(Tbilisi, February 3, 2003) Chairman of Tbilisi City Council Mikheil Saakashvili commenting on assault at the New Rights Party office today, said there are three-four paramilitary units being trained in Tbilisi to thwart the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Talking at 11pm talk-show on Rustavi 2 independet television, Saakashvili named so called combatant union “War and Peace” controlled by the Kvemo Kartli governor Levan Mamaladze, a “5-6 hundred man strong” unit controlled by the former Interior Minister Kakha Targamadze who resigned after November 2001 street protests.

Saakashvili said the units are trained to thwart the parliamentary elections and establish the rule of terror in Georgian politics.

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