Opposition leaders sit in front of the Parliament building in Tbilisi October 8, 2007. A Georgian opposition leader former defense minister Irakli Okruashvili on Monday withdrew an accusation that President Mikhail Saakashvili had plotted a businessman's murder, but his lawyer said the televised confession in police custody may have been made under duress.
Photo: Reuters
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Georgia’s Opposition Urges EU, NATO to Back Up Early Elections
Seeking assistance in the wake of the latest events in the country, Georgian opposition has called on the world community at large and released a special address to the NATO member states.
Activists of the opposition held a press conference right in front of the Georgia’s parliament. They told reporters they met the EU ambassadors in the France’s embassy Tuesday and had a separate meeting with the U.S. ambassador.
At those meetings, they explained the reasons for early elections demand, clarified the situation and asked assistance en route to the early elections instead of the coup-d’etat, which is the official interpretation of today’s efforts of the opposition, said Salome Zurabishvili, Georgia’s former foreign minister, who leads Georgia’s Way Party now.
The opposition has elaborated a special address to the NATO, Zurabishvili specified.
Georgia’s former hawkish defense minister Irakli Okruashvili has been recently released from Tbilisi prison on the bail of 10 million laris (roughly $6 million). On September 25, Okruashvili publicly accused Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili of having arranged the attempted murder of businessman Badri Patarkatsishvili and blamed on the president corrupt practice and intimidation of opposition. He was detained in two days after it exactly on corrupt practice suspicion, had to admit guilt on two counts, extortion of a bribe and office negligence, and acknowledge that he had no proofs to back up the accusations put forward against Saakashvili.
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