Police, Protesters Scuffle

One opposition activist was arrested and one policeman reportedly injured as a result of a scuffle that took place in downtown Tbilisi overnight on Friday.

The incident took place when a group of opposition activists, accompanied by some of the opposition leaders, started rallying at about 2am close to a café on Marjanishvili Street, where the protesters said, President Saakashvili was at that time. Noisy protest grew into scuffle with the police, cordoning the area.

The Interior Ministry said that one of the policemen was injured during the incident and the television stations showed a police officer with blood stains on his head being evacuated from the scene by other policemen.

Initial reports said that the police arrested two opposition activists. Giorgi Chkheidze, a deputy public defender, who was monitoring the situation on the ground during the incident, however, said on Friday morning, that one activist was arrested. Chkheidze told RFE/RL Georgian service that the detainee was charged with confronting police. He declined to give any specific assessment to the incident and said it required more study.

Nino Burjanadze, a former parliamentary chairperson and leader of opposition Democratic Movement-United Georgia party, who also was at the scene said that President Saakashvili was “acting inadequately.” “While half of the city is in the streets protesting, Saakashvili is having feasts, further irritating protesters,” Burjanadze said.

Meanwhile few dozen of protesters kept vigil outside the public TV, where the opposition set up improvised cells late on April 23, blocking the traffic on Kostava Street, the capital city’s one of the key thoroughfares. Mocked-up cells are mushroomed on Freedom Square and Rustaveli Avenue outside the Parliament, as well as outside the government’s and Prime Minister’s office, close to the Parliament building, blocking a nearby small street.

Rustavi 2 TV and public TV aired on April 24 a footage from CCTV camera installed at public TV showing Badri Bitsadze, husband of Nino Burjanadze and a former head of Border Police, holding, what seemed to be a wooden stick. Some other people were also seen holding what seemed to be baseball bats. The television stations reported that Bitsadze was distributing “batons” among opposition activists outside the public TV.

“Did anyone ban batons?” Burjanadze asked a journalist who asked her to comment on the footage. “And on the other hand these were only handles for flag.” She, however, then also said that protesters should defend themselves if “someone tries to break their heads.”

On Friday evening more opposition supporters are expected to join protests in Tbilisi from western provinces of Georgia. Leaders of Alliance for Georgia, united Irakli Alasania’s political team, Republican Party and New Rights Party, were mobilizing supporters in the provinces in recent days.

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