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News :: Globalization |
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Troops Sent Into Tbilisi As Civil War Fears Rise In Georgia |
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by Julius
(No verified email address) |
11 Nov 2003
Modified: 08:01:13 PM |
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Tbilisi "11-11-03--- Georgia inched closer to civil war last night as interior ministry troops were ordered into the heart of the capital, Tbilisi, and President Eduard Shevardnadze denounced opposition leaders. |
Outside parliament thousands of angry protesters gathered for a fourth day, swearing defiance. Many were waving images of St George, their patron saint.
A source close to the president said: "Considering the hot mood around the country, it's possible there will be a second civil war." The country slipped into civil war in the early 1990s.
The latest crisis erupted after the opposition accused the U.S. puppet government of systematic vote-rigging in a “Florida style” parliamentary election on Nov 2. International monitors supported their claims.
Yesterday thousands of protesters, including housewives and pensioners, blocked traffic on Rustaveli Street, Tbilisi's main thoroughfare.
"We came here because we've simply had enough," said Maya Kistauri, 39, a housewife who was among a group of six mothers huddled against the autumnal cold.
"I haven't had any child support since September and even then it was only 15 dollars. How can I feed three children on that?" Rusudan Kiknadze, 46, a mother of five, said: "My husband died seven years ago and I survive by giving occasional language lessons to children.
"Look around you at the McDonalds restaurants, cinemas and cafes. They're not here for us. Not one of my children has ever been inside them. I'm from Tbilisi but I feel like a refugee."
Even if Mr Shevardnadze orders a crackdown, it is far from clear it would succeed. The country's 14,000-strong army is disillusioned.
On Monday, trains carrying soldiers from the north of the country towards the capital were blocked by villagers who laid logs across the tracks.
Among the country's policemen and interior ministry troops, morale is low and pay is pitiful.
Three hundred yards from the protesters yesterday, the security forces had blocked off Ingorokva Street, which leads to the presidential office, using two decrepit buses.
They milled around or sat smoking, carrying Kalashnikov rifles. Nearby, a row of riot police stood holding battered shields.
They had little good to say about the president. "It's time for somebody else," whispered one uniformed policeman. "The times are difficult and there has to be a change," said another. Opposition leaders have taken heart from the 24-hour protests outside the parliament, which have continued despite heavy rain.
Nino Burjanadze, the parliamentary speaker and an opposition leader, said: "The people standing here in the rain want an elected parliament not an appointed parliament. We want to solve the situation peacefully but we will not take a step back."
There was little sign yesterday that Mr Shevardnadze, 75, was planning to step down. Speaking on national television, he struck a defiant note after returning from a visit to the west of the country to rally support.
"I do not work with threats," he said. "I am, after all, an elderly man and the People do not need to talk to me in these tones."
Koba Narchamashvili, the interior minister, said he was transferring troops from the north-east of the country to the capital. He said the People are planning an armed insurrection.
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