18:30, 11 November 2003

Georgian opposition rallies continue in Tbilisi

The Georgian opposition resumed its protest rallies in front of the parliament building in Tbilisi on Tuesday morning.

Despite the rain, about three hundred people gathered at the square and the crowd of protesters was gradually growing.

Several fires were made on the roadway and the sidewalk on Rustaveli Avenue for protesters to warm themselves.

The rally participants are demanding that the outcome of the November 2 parliamentary elections be invalidated and that President Eduard Shevardnadze resign.

One of the organizers of the protests, parliamentarian Georgy Baramidze, told the press that unidentified gunmen came to the square last night and tried to intimidate the protesters.

"Despite repeated calls to the police, they never appeared, and the drunken provocateurs soon left," he said.

Georgian rock bands staged a concert last night on the square in front of the parliament to show support for the protesters.

Source: Interfax News Agency