FIVE POLICEMEN were injured in the latest clashes between Georgian security forces and protesters demanding the resignation of President Mikheil Saakashvili, despite calls from influential church leaders to defuse the “explosive” situation in the strategic Black Sea state.
Opposition activists said several protesters were also injured in the fighting, which they blamed on provocateurs dispatched by Mr Saakashvili’s officials to cause trouble and discredit his critics, who accuse him of botching last August’s war with Russia, failing to tackle widespread poverty and corruption, and attempting to silence dissenting voices in politics and the media.
Deputy interior minister Eka Zhguladze said protesters had attacked an official filming a rally near the parliament building in Tbilisi. “He managed to call the police. The protesters were armed with knives and sharp sticks. Five officers were hurt, one seriously.”
Opposition leader Eka Beselia said the clash was a “clear provocation” by the interior ministry. “They’re sending their teams of thugs throughout Tbilisi to provoke the demonstrators. This is their answer to our demands,” she said.
Protests have taken place every day since April 9th against Mr Saakashvili, who came to power in the so-called “Rose Revolution” of 2003, which swept aside a Soviet-era old guard and made Georgia the West’s strongest ally in a volatile region traditionally dominated by Russia.
The reputation of the US-educated leader was badly tarnished by a decision in late 2007 to use riot police to smash anti-government demonstrations, to shut down a critical television station and to attempt to retake separatist South Ossetia last August.
Russian troops quickly moved to defend South Ossetia and took control of another breakaway Georgian region, Abkhazia. Moscow subsequently recognised them as independent states and has huge influence over both.
Talks between opposition leaders and Mr Saakashvili and his allies have failed to deliver a breakthrough in the current impasse, and many Georgians fear bloodshed if protesters carry out a threat to block major roads and railway lines around Tbilisi. The president’s forces claimed this month to have put down a Russian-backed army mutiny and to have killed one of its leaders.
“The situation still remains serious and explosive,” warned Patriarch Ilia II of the Georgian Orthodox Church. “We think that the authorities should take effective steps to defuse tensions either through early elections, negotiations or other means.”
