Opposition, President Prepare for Talks

While thousands of protesters demand Eduard Shevardnadze’s resignation, the leaders of the governmental bloc For New Georgia and the Interior Minister held consultations with President Shevardnadze in the State Chancellery.

“Our position is that any irregularity and violation during the elections should be corrected via courts, through legal means and not in the streets,” Elguja Medzmariashvili of the For New Georgia bloc said emerging after the meeting. 

However the opposition keeps a hard line stance and demands cancellation of the November 2 parliamentary election results and resignation of President Shevardnadze.

With more than 95% of votes counted Shevardnadze’s party For New Georgia maintains a narrow lead in with 20,8%, followed by another the Revival Union with 19,6%. The opposition National Movement is on the third place with 18%.

This morning President Shevardnadze offered the opposition leaders to hold talks. Mikheil Saakashvili, Nino Burjanadze and Zurab Zhvania, the opposition leaders expressed readiness to meet the President, “but not in his office.”

“We will not meet him in the State Chancellery, anywhere else but not in his office,” Mikheil Saakashvili said today. 

“We will meet Shevardnadze on the neutral territory,” Zurab Zhvania said.

“I think it will be better to meet Shevardnadze and personally deliver our demands,” commented Nino Burjanadze. The talks between Shevardnadze and opposition leaders are anticipated later today; however no exact time is reported.

Protesters stayed in front of the Parliament all night despite the rain

Protest rally swelled to thousands again on November 9 after several hounded people spent a sleepless night in front of the Parliament demanding Shevardnadze’s resignation.

Early this morning President Shevardnadze faced popular dissent personally, as he made an unexpected appearance in the crowd of protesters.

“Go, Go!” “Resign!” – the crowd started chanting as Eduard Shevardnadze walked in front of the Parliament trying to meet the protesters.

The President spoke briefly to Nino Burjanadze, the Parliamentary Chairperson and the opposition leader, who was among the crowd when Shevardnadze appeared.

Shevardnadze was already in the car and leaving the area, when Mikheil Saakashvili tried to talk with him, however the President’s bodyguards hindered Saakashvili from approaching the presidental convoy.

“He [Shevardnadze] thought that he could convince us to stop protesting. But no. We will stay here until our demands are met,” Saakashvili said, while addressing the protesters this morning.

The tone of protests continues to grow radical. Saakashvili said addressing the rally “this is our last chance to rid the country of Shevardnadze.”

“I will stay here as long as it is necessary. I don’t want to live in the country, whose government and the President does not care about the people,” Giorgi, 21-year-old student says.

Many of those who spent all night in front of the Parliament arrived to Tbilisi after overcoming numerous obstacles and barriers created by the police.

Cars and buses in the long line about 30 km away from the capital Tbilisi try to overcome police’s barriers.

“At first we tried to travel with buses. After the police stopped our buses, we went to the train stations and arrived here by train, they [the authorities] can’t stop us,” Mamuka from Khashuri, a town 120 km away from Tbilisi, says.  

The main highways connecting western and eastern parts of Georgia with the capital city Tbilisi are still blocked by the interior troops and the police. The police are stopping all the buses en route to Tbilisi, to prevent people from joining the rally in Tbilisi.

The security forces and the riot police is on high alert in Tbilisi. Special-propose units of the Interior Ministry are guarding the State Chancellery in the center of Tbilisi. Only the journalists, who are accredited in the State Chancellery, are allowed to pass the streets surrounding the President’s office.