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Mikhail Saakashvili (AFP photo/Lluis Gene) 21.02.2009, 06:14 1 comment

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Opposition: time for Saakashvili decision

A campaign of civil disorder is due to start in Georgia, says the opposition. It follows the expiration of an ultimatum for the president to step down. Mass demonstrations in the capital are set to enter their third day.

14.03.2009, 14:55

Protest rallies in Georgia gain momentum

Opposition parties in Georgia have held a concert and a march against Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili.

15.03.2009, 23:24

Protestors demand Saakashvili’s resignation

Several thousand protesters marched through the streets of Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, to demand the resignation of President Mikhail Saakashvili.

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Saakashvili relaxes no more

Georgia’s youth opposition group is launching a “pursuit campaign” against President Mikhail Saakashvili. Starting on March 17th, they pledge to spoil the president’s leisure time.

Georgian opposition activists walk down a street in Tbilisi in on November 7, 2008 (AFP Photo / Zviad Nikolaishvili) 27.03.2009, 10:03

Opposition tries to wake up Georgia

In Georgia, the opposition parties are vowing to bring thousands to the streets to force the President out. They claim the authorities are running a smear campaign against them.

Georgian reality show wants Saakashvili to quit

Published: 24 February, 2009, 10:01

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TAGS: Georgia, Protest, Saakashvili


A new Georgian opposition party headed by Tbilisi's former UN Ambassador Irakly Alasania wants Saakashvili to step down, and some media outlets are not far behind in their attempts to get rid of the president.

A man has barricaded himself in a studio made to look like a prison cell. He says he will only come out when President Mikhail Saakashvili resigns.

Day and night a number of cameras are watching Georgy Gachechiladze – a celebrity, a rapper and a sharp critic of Saakashvili’s regime. This is reality TV Georgian style, but instead protesting against Big Brother.

“Saakashvili did not win an election in any town. The vote was rigged. Nobody believes Saakashvili any more, especially in Georgia. Out of ten words he says, eleven are a lie,” Georgy Gachechiladze says.

Georgy’s brother Levan was the United Opposition’s joint candidate at the 2008 presidential elections.

While western monitors confirmed the result of the vote was a true expression of the will of the Georgian people, Saakashvili’s nearest rival Levan Gachechiladze has never recognised it.

Today his brother is saying that it will be the last ever victory for Mr. Saakashvili.

“Why do I think that Saakashvili will leave? Simply because a year ago the situation abroad was very different. It was America and the Bush Administration that made Saakashvili legitimate last year. But today Bush is gone. And the west – both America and Europe – lost all hope in Saakashvili,” Georgy Gachechiladze says.

The reality show broadcaster is Georgia's small cable station ‘Maestro’. While Georgy may not be coming out of the station anytime soon, he still welcomes visitors to discuss the situation in the country.

“If we take into consideration the fact that 22 per cent of the population still think that we won the war with Russia in South Ossetia, the show is very important,” says Maestro station head Mamuka Glonti.

Glonti is not as unyielding as Georgy Gachechiladze, but he says protest is the only way to communicate with the authorities.

“These people call black things white and dare to look into our face. This has been going on for many years. I don’t want any new stress for my country. This government must leave because they’re failing to manage the country,” Mamuka Glonti says.

Meanwhile, Saakashvili has four years in office remaining and says he has no reason to resign.

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