Georgia Declares Martial Law

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Georgia Declares Martial Law

Published on Wednesday, November 07, 2007.


Police used tear gas and protesters to disperse the crowds [AFP]

Georgia's president has declared a state of emergency in the capital Tbilisi, in the wake of opposition protests against his rule.

Mikhail Saakashvili on Wednesday requested parliamentary approval for the imposition of emergency powers, hours after demonstrators were dispersed from outside the parliament in the capital by riot police officers.
"The president has declared a state of emergency in Tbilisi and this decision will be submitted to parliament within 48 hours," Zurab Nogaideli, Georgia's prime minister, said on television.

"There was an attempt at a coup and creating disorder," he said.
In a televised address to the nation, Saakashvili had earlier accused Russia's special services of fomenting civil unrest in his country.
"Georgia is facing a very serious threat of unrest... High-ranking officials in Russian special services are behind this," he said.

Saakashvili said he had evidence for his claim.

"Georgia's foreign ministry today declared several Russian embassy employees persona non grata," he said, also announcing that they were accused of "espionage activity".
Shortly after Saakashvili's statement, the main opposition television station Imedi, which had broadcast coverage of the protests, said it had been stormed by Georgian special forces, before going off the air.

Protesters dispersed
Earlier in the day, riot police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesters who had massed outside the parliament.
The demonstrators rallied and returned to the scene after police forcibly broke up their protest.
The number of protesters increased rapidly to about 5,000 people and units of black-clad police were deployed after the conventional police force was overwhelmed.
Police carrying truncheons and shields, were seen beating and punching protesters, the AFP news agency reported.

The protests, in their sixth day, mark the biggest challenge to Saakashvili since his landslide election after the Rose Revolution four years ago.
The protesters initially called for changes in the dates of planned elections and in the electoral system, but later made Saakashvili's resignation their central demand.

Beatings reported
Police did not use truncheons during Wednesday morning's sweep, according to Levan Gachechevadze, an opposition leader, but he said that they had kicked him.
"They beat me, and Saakashvili will be beaten, too," he told the privately owned Imedi television after he returned to the protest.

Amid the continuing unrest, Georgia recalled its ambassador to Russia.
"Georgia's ambassador to Russia, Irakly Chubinishvili, has been recalled to Tbilisi for consultations," Nino Kajaia, a spokeswoman for Georgia's foreign ministry, said on Wednesday.
"The events unfolding in Georgia clearly appear to be linked to Russia."

'Strong nerves'
The protesters had called for the resignation of Saakashvili, accusing him of economic mismanagement and corruption - accusations he rejects.
Speaking of the earlier police operation, Tina Khidasheli, an opposition leader said: "They started operations at 8am [0400 GMT] ... They cleaned the street, as they would say".

Gigi Ugulava, Tbilisi's mayor, defended the action by police, saying: "I was listening to one of the opposition leaders who was saying proudly they planned to pitch tents and set up a tent town in Tbilisi.

"What we did is stop this because it is the will of the people not to have a tent town in Tbilisi.

Georgia Declares Martial Law