Georgian protesters demand president's resignation
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 7 November 2011 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Georgian protesters demand president's resignation, 7 November 2011, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4ec5045723.html [accessed 30 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
November 07, 2011
Georgian Labor Party leader Shalva Natelashvili
TBILISI – Hundreds of demonstrators in Tbilisi have demanded the resignation of President Mikheil Saakashvili, RFE/RL's Georgian and Russian services report.
The protest was organized by the opposition Labor Party led by Shalva Natelashvili. It coincided with the fourth anniversary of the violent dispersal of an opposition demonstration by police.
Natelashvili told the gathering on November 7 that "there is no need to get ready for the parliamentary elections scheduled for next year, because the current regime can be changed only via protest actions."
The demonstrators also protested plans by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili to form an opposition movement.
Labor Party Executive Secretary Paata Jibladze told RFE/RL that it was Ivanishvili who financially supported the police and even paid bonuses to the police special units that dispersed the opposition protest action in Tbilisi four years ago.
Labor Party activists say Ivanishvili has no moral right to call himself an opposition leader.
Press spokesmen for Ivanishvili's Cartu Group have consistently rejected earlier unsubstantiated allegations by the Labor Party of collusion between Ivanishvili and Saakashvili.
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
