A protest rally organised by the opposition and representatives of civil society takes place on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi on the evening of 31 March. Salome Zurabishvili, the fifth president of Georgia, addressed the crowd and spoke about the Action Plan for the political crisis, Ekho Kavkaza reported.
Zurabishvili has repeatedly urged citizens to take part in the action dedicated to the 34th anniversary of Georgia’s independence referendum.
Some activists are demanding that Zurabishvili apologise for her previous assessments of the August 2008 war, when she openly accused her predecessor as president Mikheil Saakashvili of being subjected to Russian provocation that resulted in the five-day war. In particular, they chant ” who started the war?”
In addition, some activists call on politicians to voice the demand for the resignation of the current government.
Supporters of the third President Saakashvili appeared near the Parliament, demanding his release. Some opposition forces, including the Federalists party, have criticised the National Movement, the party of the former president, for these actions.
The protests in Tbilisi have been going on for 124 days. They began after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s statement about stopping European integration. Demonstrators are demanding the resignation of the government and early parliamentary elections, accusing the authorities of authoritarianism and departure from democratic principles.