Chaos Erupts in Georgia, Tension with Russia Grows

by ryan | November 9, 2007 at 04:03 am | 2391 views | 15 comments

Update Nov 9:Georgia's parliament voted to uphold the state of emergency which has been in place since Wednesday.

parliament voted 149-0 to back the 15-day emergency decree Saakashvili had imposed on Wednesday, after police fired plastic bullets, water cannon and tear gas at peaceful anti-government protesters to drive them off the streets.

Update: Nov. 8 - In a seeming response to the ongoing protest, Georgia's president has declared that elections will be held earlier than originally planned.

Georgia's pro-Western president said Thursday that the country would hold early presidential elections in January to defuse a crisis fueled by protests against him.

The vote had been due to take place in late 2008, but President Mikhail Saakashvili said it would be held on Jan. 5 ''to receive the trust of the people.''

The state of emergency declared yesterday has taken full effect. Military and police are using a heavy hand to break up protests.

Troops armed with hard rubber clubs patrolled the center of the Georgian capital on Thursday to enforce a state of emergency imposed after a violent crackdown on anti-government protesters.Hundreds of the khaki-uniformed Interior Ministry officers flooded Tbilisi's main thoroughfare, the site of the main protests by demonstrators calling for the U.S.-backed Saakashvili to resign.

The riot police responded to the demonstrators with tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons. Saakashvili defended the use of force, saying it was necessary to prevent the former Soviet republic from sliding into chaos as it moves toward integration with the West.

Russia has responded by expelling Georgian diplomats.

Russia responded Thursday by expelling three "senior" Georgian diplomats in response to Georgia's "unfriendly acts," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said on Vesti-24 television.

From NowPublic Contributor BarryGeo:

Georgian police unleashed tear gas and water cannon on protestors calling for the resignation of President Mikhail Saakashvili. The clashes began at around 8 a.m. local time when police moved in to disperse around 100 protestors, including 47 hunger strikers, who had been camped outside the parliament building in the capital Tbilisi for the past six-days.

A further 3,000 had gathered in a show of support as demonstrators fled the gas, security forces in riot gear chased them through the streets beating them with batons. It is the first time the government had used force against the protestors, who accuse Saakashvilli of economic mismanagment, corruption and authoritarianism.

See here.

The situation in Georgia continues to devolve, the president has declared a state of emergency.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili has declared a state of emergency after sending in riot police to battle protesters demanding his resignation.

Tension between Russia and the US are growing and tensions betweens Russia and Georgia seem to have boiled over with recent demonstrations and now the expulsion of three Russian diplomats from the region.

Georgia descended into chaos on Wednesday as riot police fought pitched battles with demonstrators, special forces stormed an opposition TV station and President Mikhail Saakashvili blamed Russia for the crisis.

The Georgian leader, President Mikhail Saakashvili, publicly stated that the touted democracy of Georgia needs a firm hand.

We cannot let our country become the stage for dirty geo-political escapades by other countries," he said in a television broadcast. "Our democracy needs a firm hand of the authorities."

Shortly after his remarks, the main opposition television station Imedi said it had been stormed by Georgian special forces and went off the air. Imedi had been broadcasting extensive coverage of the opposition demonstrations.

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BigT

at 12:46 on November 7th, 2007

good stuff:

ryan nadel, good stuff.

The whole world is catching on fire. First Pakistan and now Georgia. Who next?

Rob Walker

at 13:10 on November 7th, 2007

good stuff:

Important story, great sourcing and pics!

jordan

at 13:35 on November 7th, 2007

good stuff:

This footage is remarkable.

mtippett

at 18:12 on November 7th, 2007

good stuff:

Some very good original reporting from people on the ground here.

Zlender

at 00:51 on November 8th, 2007

good stuff:

ryan nadel, I like this story. It's good stuff.

gryphon

at 09:40 on November 8th, 2007

good stuff:

Great job. I'm still not sure why this is happening.

TheBigRuski

at 11:35 on November 9th, 2007

A pro-democracy leader may have ruffled too many feathers and now those that just don't like democracy too much are crying foul. The protest is partly being fueled by a rich guy that wants the president out.

My quick analysis includes this: It's very hard to build a foundation in a young democracy. If it is not instantly a great place to live...people look for an out...even if it means going back to communistic roots.

kate

at 12:42 on November 8th, 2007

That footage from BarryGeo is amazing. Hey there is a broken link in the text - "corruption and authoritarianism...See here" was there another story associated with this issue?

ryan

at 12:48 on November 8th, 2007

Thanks...I fixed it.

Rob Walker

at 09:14 on November 9th, 2007

Early friday morning Georgia's parliament backed the state of emergency that was declared, going against pretty much everyone in the world and thousands of protesters. This is only going to add more tension to the situation there.

http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2007-11-09T145005Z_01_L07527682_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-GEORGIA-COL.XML

TheBigRuski

at 11:24 on November 9th, 2007

good stuff:

ryan nadel, Good stuff.

I've only glanced at your story and the headlines, but who is protesting the government? Anotherwords, what type of government do they want?

TheBigRuski

at 11:31 on November 9th, 2007

I read the NY Times story and get a bit clearer picture....seems like a rich dude who does not like the current government is financing and flaming the protest...now he has left the country after being asked to come in for questioning. That's a component anyways.

ryan

at 13:15 on November 9th, 2007

yes, it is all rooted in a Nov 2nd protest that called for an early election and the elimination of the office of the President. The protests were led by the opposition party and, obviously, met with resitance from the party in power and the situation escalated from there.