La protesta di oggi a Tbilisi (foto Afp via RFL/RL)
(BBC): Thousands of Georgians have gathered outside parliament saying they will not disperse until the president resigns. Protesters, numbering up to 60,000, blamed President Mikhail Saakashvili for defeat against Russia in August's war and said he had stifled democracy. The opposition alleged that dozens of members were arrested before the rally - a claim denied by the government.
(RFE/RL): Tens of thousands of government critics are gathering in the Georgian capital and other major cities to demand the resignation of President Mikheil Saakashvili and to call for early elections. Opposition leaders say they hope as many as 150,000 people will attend the Tbilisi protest, and have vowed to continue the demonstrations until their demands are met.
Organizers had called for a mass demonstration to begin at 2:00 p.m. local time, but RFE/RL correspondents reported that protesters had begun assembling outside the parliament building in the Georgian capital early this morning. Crowds were still filing along Tbilisi's main avenue toward a square outside the country's parliament building after events got under way, according to an RFE/RL Georgian Service correspondent at the rally. Fire crews and hundreds of police in full riot gear were deployed within the courtyard of the parliament building in central Tbilisi overnight.
(9 aprile 2009)
