Opposition Keeps Rallying ‘Modestly’

With the religious holidays from Friday to Monday, related to Orthodox Easter, opposition is switching to “modest” rallies over the weekend and prepares for giving a new momentum to its campaign from the next week.

A small rally was held outside the Parliament on April 17; mocked-up cells remain at sidewalk outside the public TV without blocking traffic on Tbilisi’s key thoroughfares. Opposition activists are also continuing keeping night vigils outside the presidential residence.

Last night police arrested an activist from opposition Conservative Party, Nika Kvezereli, a former lawmaker and a security service official in yearly 1990s, who spent several years in jail, before being pardoned, over the charges related with terrorist attack on ex-president Shevardnadze in 1995. 

The Interior Ministry said that Kvezereli was suspected of “hooliganism with use of firearm,” wherein he physically insulted a citizen. Initially some opposition politicians said that Kvezereli was arrested by the police while chasing a person, who allegedly was identified as one of the assailants on opposition activists in previous days. On April 17, Kvezereli’s lawyers, however, said he was arrested while going to meet his friend. Kvezereli was released on bail later on April 17, his lawyer said.

Also last night a scuffle took place between opposition activists and a man, who some activists took for an assailant on opposition supporters in previous days. Nino Burjanadze, leader of opposition Democratic Movement-United Georgia party, told activists to show restraint as “some may simply mistakenly” regard a man as an attacker. “We should no way respond violence with violence,” Burjanadze said.
 
Meanwhile, one group of Tbilisi residents – not politicians, who are from the so called ‘well-known Tbilisites’ ranks – announced on April 17 about creation of a movement ‘Together’ with a goal to monitor situation on the protests venues in an attempt to, as they put it, prevent cases of attacks on the opposition activists.

On April 16 some opposition politicians said that they would be forced to resort to “self-defense” if the police continued turning a blind eye on cases of attacks on opposition activists and supporters.

Davit Bakradze, the parliamentary chairman, said opposition politicians should “show responsible approach” while making decision of this type and also said that civil confrontation and chaos in early 1990s started after emergence of paramilitary gangs in Tbilisi.

Victor Dolidze, Georgia’s former ambassador to OSCE and now politician from opposition Alliance for Georgia said on April 17, that it was made clear by the opposition leaders that no paramilitary groups were planned. “What we are talking about is simply creation of monitoring teams” to keep a close eye on situation at the protest venues, he said in remarks aired by the Tbilisi-based Maestro TV. He also added that any reference to paramilitary groups of early 90s by the authorities was “provocative.”

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