Tuesday, October 23, 2007, #202 (1469)

100 000 protestors on November 2, opposition say
By Ana Datiashvili

Opposition leaders told the government, and commuters, to expect more protests if concessions aren’t made

The opposition coalition officially notified Tbilisi City Hall of their planned November 2 protest on Monday, warning the government that demonstrations would go on until their demands are met.

They also formally requested organizational support from the municipality, predicting that 100 000 people would attend the rally.

In a briefing outside City Hall yesterday, People’s Party leader and coalition spokesman Koba Davitashvili promised the November 2 protest could be just the beginning.

“This rally will not just be a one-off protest rally; it will continue until our demands are met,” he said.

The coalition, the United National Council, also called for the city administration to temporarily change bus routes which include Rustaveli Avenue, where the rally is to be held, and requested crowd control measures be taken.

“This will be a very serious event and so we insist that the mayor and city council organize [closing Rustaveli Avenue],” Davitashvili said.

The United National Council formed in the wake of the thousands-strong protest on September 28, a day after the controversial arrest of ex-minister Irakli Okruashvili.

The coalition is organizing the protest to push the government into rescheduling parliamentary elections for spring 2008, the period they were originally scheduled for before constitutional amendments last year.

Parliamentary elections are currently due to take place in late 2008 at the same time as the presidential elections.

Opposition leaders also said they would continue to storm the country’s regions in a bid to mobilize the support of rural voters.

“[On Tuesday] at nine in the morning we will leave from Digomi for Guria, and hopefully by four in the afternoon we will arrive in [the major Adjaran town of] Batumi for a large meeting there,” Gia Tortladze of the Movement for a United Georgia said on Monday.

A Tbilisi City Hall spokesperson declined to comment yesterday, saying officials would consider the notification letter today.



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