Burjanadze Meets Opposition

Talks between Nino Burjanadze, the Parliamentary Chairperson, and six opposition leaders have started in the Parliament, amid protest rally outside the legislative body.

MP Kakha Kukava of the Conservative Party; Salome Zourabichvili, the leader of Georgia?s Way party; Tina Khidasheli and MP Davit Berdzenishvili, both from the Republican Party; MP Koka Guntsadze of the Movement for United Georgia and Levan Gachechiladze, a non-partisan lawmaker, are meeting with the Parliamentary Chairperson.

MP Giga Bokeria, an influential lawmaker from the ruling National Movement Party; Maia Nadiradze, the parliamentary majority leader and Vice-Speaker of Parliament Mikheil Machavariani also attend the meeting.
 
Meanwhile, Koba Davitashvili, leader of Party of People, told thousands of protesters outside the parliament that the meeting was first step towards success. Lawmakers from the ruling party, however, have said for several times throughout the day that there was not any problem in holding meeting between the opposition leaders and Burjanadze. But they were also saying that the meeting would not mean that the authorities were planning to compromise on the oppositions? demands.

Opposition leaders also said that parliamentary elections in April, instead of late 2008 would be the major demand and there would be no ?step back? over this issue.

Maia Nadiradze, however, said before the meeting with opposition that there were issues worthy of being discussed. ?But there are issues which can not be discussed because of the country?s national interests,? she added.

Nadiradze was referring to the demand to hold elections in April. Giga Bokeria of the ruling party, told Civil.Ge this week that postponement of elections from April to late 2008 was triggered by foreign factors.

?We have numerously said that there have been foreign factors behind the decision to change the parliamentary elections date. We do not want these elections to coincide with the presidential elections in Russia [in March, 2008], as well as with the time, when many issues vital for our country are to be solved. Here I also mean the Kosovo case and Russia?s possible steps that may follow after the decision on Kosovo status is made,? Bokeria said.