Mass protest fuels Georgia unrest
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Demonstrators, one holding an old Georgian flag, stand outside the parliament building in Tbilisi.
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TBILISI, Georgia -- Thousands of protesters marched on embattled Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze's residence despite warnings the protest could trigger a civil war.
A crowd of about 20,000 protesters, responding to calls from Georgia's main opposition leader, stopped in front of a ring of Interior Ministry troops and chanted "step down" and "traitor," Reuters news agency reported Friday.
Opposition leader Mikhail Saakashvili told the crowd Shevardnadze should step down.
"This man stole everything from us and he is not going to take notice of his own people,'' Saakashvili said. "We are not going to take over the state chancellery building (Shevardnadze's offices), but I want you to get closer so he can hear our shouts.''
But protest against results of the November 2 parliamentary elections remained peaceful. Five armored vehicles, four trucks and three buses with soldiers in body armor were seen outside the Interior Ministry, not far from parliament, Reuters said.
The Interior Ministry said it would use force if the protesters switch their action to government buildings.
Shevardnadze had appealed to Georgians to stay away from the planned mass protest calling for his resignation in connection with disputed election results.
"There is not going to be anything to see and there will be no theatrical show. It might be the start of bad things to come," Shevardnadze said in a televised address Friday.
"Therefore I ask everyone to go about their own business, to return home, or to carry on studying.... I still appeal to everyone to calm down and act peacefully for the sake of your motherland, of our motherland," Reuters quoted the president as saying.
Vowing not to resign in the face of pressure from the streets, Shevardnadze warned that the protests could spark a civil war.
"The present situation of civil confrontation may develop into a civil war," he said.
"If the leaders of this action believe that the protesters will behave as they want them to, then they are mistaken. Some people will be drunk, some people will act as instigators, and irreparable things may happen," The Associated Press quoted Shevardnadze as saying.
In addition to Shevardnadze's resignation, demonstrators are demanding the annulment of results from the November 2 parliamentary elections. Their leaders vowed Thursday they would not back down.
However another opposition leader said earlier she favored more talks to resolve the deadlock over the election, which opposition parties say was stolen from them by the authorities.
Saakashvili, National Movement leader, says talks have been exhausted.
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"We are ready to meet the government, to have negotiations with them and we really want to find a solution,'' said Nino Burdzhanadze, parliamentary speaker and leader of her own bloc, which competed separately in the election.
On Friday, Shevardnadze reiterated his readiness to talk.
"I am ready to continue dialogue with the opposition leaders. It's possible to negotiate with Burdzhanadze and Zhvaniya," he said, referring to Burdzhanadze's predecessor, Zurab Zhvaniya.
"I am even ready to talk with their 'commander in chief,' Saakashvili."
Election results, still incomplete, show the pro-government bloc For a New Georgia in the lead, followed by the opposition Revival party, which tends to support the government on key issues, and the more radical National Movement.
The tally so far shows For a New Georgia getting only about 20 percent of the votes, but the National Movement and the smaller opposition Democrats claim that even that result is inflated, AP reported.
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
