Georgian Party Rallies in Batumi
The opposition Georgian Party held an outdoor rally in Batumi on Saturday as part of series of protests in various parts of the country, which, the party says, will culminate with anti-government demonstrations in Tbilisi on an unspecified date to force President Saakashvili to resign.
The Georgian Party plans next rally outside the U.S. embassy in Tbilisi on May 16 to protest against, what it calls, “the U.S. administration’s support to the Saakashvili’s regime.”
Speaking with a group of TV journalists in Sarpi, Adjara Autonomous Republic on Sunday, President Saakashvili referred to the Georgian Party as "a radical group, orchestrated by Russia."
"Yesterday I saw on TV that one of the radical groups orchestrated by Russia was here. They wanted to make a mess here. Like an excursion, they [the Georgian Party leaders] put people in buses and brought them here to hold something here; within two minutes, however, people had scattered around, because they have not seen [the reconstruction going on in] Batumi. They were walking around amazed with their mouths open wide in surprise. Everyone has the same reaction, including these ‘promoters’ of internal tourism [referring to the Georgian Party activists] – this town [Batumi] really becomes a source of pride for everyone," said Saakashvili, who visited the construction site of a new border crossing point with Turkey at Sarpi.
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