Georgia's main opposition leader on Thursday demanded the resignation of President Eduard Shevardnadze, saying he saw no chance for further talks to resolve a crisis triggered by a disputed parliamentary poll. "There is no alternative to the resignation of Shevardnadze," Mikhail Saakashvili, the leader of Georgia's main opposition party, told thousands of supporters in parliament square in central Tbilisi. "Shevardnadze has been trying to hold these talks to win time but I have nothing to talk to him about."
However another opposition leader said earlier she favoured more talks to resolve the deadlock over the November 2 election, which opposition parties say was stolen from them by the authorities. "We are ready to meet the government, to have negotiations with them and we really want to find a solution," said Nino Burdzhanadze, outgoing parliamentary speaker and leader of her own bloc, which competed separately in the election. Talks between Georgia's authorities and the opposition on resolving the political crisis broke down in disarray on Wednesday, with both sides refusing to meet conditions on how to open negotiations on the disputed poll. About 1,000 supporters of the opposition thronged outside parliament on Wednesday to push demands for a new election or Shevardnadze's resignation. Western powers have appealed to both sides to resolve the crisis peacefully, hoping to avoid a resurgence of the unrest and separatist violence that shattered the ex-Soviet state in the early 1990s.
| Looks like Ed might be toast. I'd be more comfortable about Georgia if there was a peaceful handover of power, the result of an election. First presidents have this tendency to be presidents-for-life. If they chase him out of office they'll be starting over again. |
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