Monday, October 22, 2007, #201 (1468)

Opposition urges thousands of Kutaisi voters to protest in the capital
By Ana Datiashvili

Opposition leaders hope to repeat their September 28 rally in Tbilisi

The United National Council drew thousands to a rally in Georgia’s second city on October 19.

Leaders of the ten-party opposition coalition met with locals in regional villages that morning before assembling in Kutaisi, where they exhorted discontented voters to go to Tbilisi for a promised mass protest on November 2.

“I know that you have many more hard days in Kutaisi than people in Tbilisi. If we stand together on November 2 in Tbilisi, in front of parliament, everything will be over and I personally promise that things will change,” said opposition leader and former state minister Goga Khaindrava, according to Imedi TV.

Kutaisi, the second biggest city in Georgia, is known for its rancorous politics. There have been seven local mayors in the last two years. Voters often speak of feeling neglected by the state.

By some accounts, up to 5000 people attended the rally—a turnout only a few thousand less than the impromptu September 28 protest in Tbilisi, called after the controversial arrest of ex-minister Irakli Okruashvili the night before.

The rally convened near Aghmashenebeli Square, the site of a devastating fire earlier that day which destroyed a bank office. Kutaisi’s mayor estimated damages at GEL 10 million.

The fire, however, did not seem to deter demonstrators.

“People were in shock after this fire,” said local journalist Sopo Khanchaveli of the newspaper Akhali Gazeti. “[But] this was first time that so many people came out and talked about their problems.”

Khanchaveli told the Messenger that the protestors she interviewed wanted to go to Tbilisi for the November 2 rally, but were afraid the roads to the capital would be blocked. Many vowed to walk the 220 kilometers to Tbilisi if they had to, she said.

“It was a big surprise to see so many people at our meeting. Although they had a very difficult day today, they came and promised to come to Tbilisi for November 2,” Tina Khidashelim a Republican leader, said that day.

Kutaisi resident Maguli Metreveli said she attended the rally to voice discontent with the lack of opportunities for her family.

“If [Speaker of Parliament Nino] Burjanadze’s boy has the opportunity to get a MA degree, why can’t my boy? Because I don’t have enough money to pay for his education. This isn’t fair,” Metreveli told the Messenger.

Opposition leaders are planning to hold similar rallies in the provinces of Samegrelo, Adjara and Guria leading up to the November 2 protest.



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