Georgia Opposition, “Take Control of Power”

On November 22, in the country of Georgia on the coast of the Black Sea, opposition and the demonstrators marched to take over the parliament building and the presidential residence, declaring, “We are taking control of power.”

The opposition, who had egged on the current president, Eduard Shevardnadze, to step down, has declared its leader, Nino Burdzhanadze, as the acting president.

However, President Shevardnadze pointed out this behavior as a coup d’etat, declaring a national emergency all over the country. “The criminals have occupied the parliament. I will martial the military to solve this problem,” remarked the president, making it clear that the possibility of violence is increasing.

The press in Georgia reported that tens of thousand of demonstrators are confronting the police around the parliament building and the presidential residence.

Shevardnadze urgently took shelter in the guest house of the capital, Tblisi, as the demonstrators broke into the parliament building during his speech.

The leaders of the oppositions have suggested to military and police that they should ignore the aggressive suppression commands from Shevardnadze and indicated that they would set up a new government and hold a new presidential election in 45 days.

The international society is anxious about this incident and urged peaceful measures to address this problem.

“We are suggesting that any violence or military power should be avoided, and they have to begin holding conversations,” remarked the spokesperson of the U.S. State Department, Richard Boucher.

Ki-Hyun Kim kimkihy@donga.com